Last weekend, Roleen hosted her SMC Reggio course at NSW and parents Emily (Paisley), Melinda (Ephy), Jennifer (Fiona), Alex (Emilio), and Heather (Estelle) came to talk about what it means to be a part of a school that involves Parents as Partners in the learning and how documentation makes the process of learning visible. Adriana…
While parents brought in items to support the request for the Front Yard Sound Wall, the children began to make instruments and consider the space at the woodworking table. Ava: I’m bringing an instrument. I’m just not sure how many more sleeps until I bring it. Kirby: You have to bring it soon to put…
This past week, the parent teams were hard at work on the site. The gardening team has filled the custom planter box with soil and hung planter pots on the trellis work they installed. The Beautification Team tried several different researched methods to remove the graffiti on our alley fence and with some hard scrubbing…
Our objective, which we always will pursue, is to create an amiable environment, where children, families, and teachers feel at ease. . . at home. Loris Malaguzzi Do nothing without meaning. To live is to find the meaning of life. Carlina Rinaldi It was a night long overdue and it was great to…
Unstructured play, or play that happens when children are familiar with the properties of materials and no teacher has offered a direction for the work, reveals children’s thinking. It’s a great opportunity for us as a team and for you, as parents, to see what is in the minds of the children. In the East…
Last Saturday, Roleen and Ellen Khokha taught their Reggio class on ground at New School-West The Stevens (Harrison EW), Michies (Hayes EW), and the Karsentys (Diego WW) hosted a yummy Mediterranean Night with good spirits all around. On Tuesday, and every first Tuesday of the month, the parents host the the teachers for lunch! Thanks,…
Flowers and compost scraps to feed the worms that keep our garden beautiful were donated by Diego (WW). Aric (Everly WW) made and donated the first of three planter boxes for the side yard while Harold (Diego WW) donated trellises. All of them on the Gardening team, John (Kirby WW) and Naomi (Tallulah WW) and Brandi…
While making shadows in the atelier, a group of children theorized that the shadows would be stronger if the the room was darker. We tested this theory by using black fabric to cover some open spaces. The group was challenged: How could they darken the space even more while still having the overhead projector on? Ozzy…
While Roleen and I were attending a California Mentor Director training in a remote, Franciscan, monastic retreat space near San Francisco, The New School-West rocked on… We started the week with Luca (WW) and mom Katrina bringing snack and creating the menu and Agnes (EW) and mom Amanda added to the snack and made pancakes.…