Contributions in the New Year!

David, (Kou WW) syncing Sonos speakers over In-service on 1/7/19 xoxoxo

Nancy and David (Kou, WW) are gifting NSW a few things this year and we are over the moon, grateful.
1. Upgraded WiFi routers that will cover entire school with added security and super simple management tools.
2. New stereo for all the rooms and outdoor spaces.  We will hook up new Sonos speakers throughout the school and yard that teachers can then play music from phones or iPods. Teachers can play different music out of each individual speaker or group speakers together and play music throughout school over one system. It’s super simple. It will also hook up to your projector so that when you show videos you can play audio through all or some of the speakers. It will be a big upgrade to the current system and give teachers way more flexibility. The added WiFi coverage will enhance this ability as well.

 

 We had a parent sponsored teacher lunch! Every month, parents have volunteered to treat the teachers on the first Tuesday and this month did not disappoint with a hearth Greek salad, artisan sandwiches, baguettes and mini cupcakes! Thanks to Daina (Hendriks, WW) , Regina (Marina, WW), and Jennifer (Fiona, EW)!

Snack has been provided by Kou, Gia, Marina, Dillon, and Phedon in the West Wing and Jake and Charlie and Luscia in the East Wing.

 
And thanks to all of you who provided flowers to welcome us back.  Thanks, too, to Heather (Estelle EW) who came to the Prospective Parent Tour on Wednesday and supported the Q&A portion of the morning.  It’s great to be able to offer another perspective and honest answers to questions from the group.  
 
And last month, Heather (Estelle, EW) contributed to our EW team meeting and has this reflection:
 

Even though it has taken me a long time to email, I wanted to make sure I wrote and said thank you to you both and all of the EW teachers for letting me sit in on your the team meeting last month. I was so excited to have to the opportunity to learn and listen. It was fantastic to get to hear Cindy present her work with the children in the Atelier around the themes of light and shadows.  I was fascinated by her descriptions of the children’s learning and play as it moved from projection and color to explorations of visibility and then to the inclusion of technology and sound and even further into drawing led storytelling. I loved that she described different mediums that the children progressed through: projection of colored light on fabric, white paper and the introduction of brads to build structures, colored markers on clear film, and then black paper that the children punched holes into for the light to escape. Cindy also showed a video of the children using storytelling to interact with projection so we could get further insight. 

The presentation led to discussions about perspective taking and also how in many areas of the classroom, children have explored and been curious about homes (building them, what are important features of them and also what it means to not have one). They have conversations with the children about what they think are important features of a house (for example, it must have a roof but also it must have light). I loved the dialogue on how color and emotion are linked for the children (referencing the legend used in the west wing right now) and what colors used in the houses to light them up (we observed red/orange/pink) and if that might have any emotional significance.  The connections made to perspective taking were fantastic.
 

I also learned about the lessons of body language that emerged through shadow. Letting the children explore what is seen through your profile and limb movements when your face can not be seen is another way for them to understand emotion. I enjoyed hearing about and then thinking more about what emotions are shared though our body language and how those are interpreted by the children. Again along the important theme of perspective taking.

Overall, the time that I spent in the meeting was so rich with questions and insight. I am already looking forward to hearing from parents that get to attend meetings in the future.  
 
Thanks again,
Heather Andrews

 

 

 

 

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