Whew, that was a wild couple of weeks and I know you felt it because so many parents were involved in preparation for the tour last weekend! I have to say, it was delightful to bump into so many of you here during the day doing focused work, there was always a bright and shiny new corner to admire each day – and the food! If love is food, we are so well loved. All the hard work paid off, as it always does. Our school is the coziest and warmest, most inviting space but you know, it’s not the architecture or the Venice and May corner, it’s the evidence of you and your children’s presence that invites people to linger, investigate and slow down.
Many of the educators coming through The New School-West spoke out loud about the obvious involvement of the parents and were in awe of the children’s work with each teacher in all the spaces. From my position in the front yard, guiding educators through the charity garden, I could hear the sound investigation in the West Wing being tested and tried. I think it was the ‘rope from a can’ that was the most popular. The paper house was filled with people all day long who marveled at the space and the rich materials in there. There were crowds around the dirt pit, and I mean, who else but NSW would highlight a pit of muddy water and encourage children to get in?
Only excellent teachers can ‘hear’ what children are saying by endlessly dressing up and setting a stage in every school space and support their desire to make a movie. Only the best thought out environments can support emotional development and make learning visible by capturing the meaning in a boy comparing his pregnant belly to another peer (check out the documentation in the West Wing home area). Sometimes, we as educators get lost in our work and forget to ‘tour’ our own school. It’s an awesome and vibrant place. We wonder, knowing that you’re on an agenda to get in, drop off, get to the next step and then run in, pick up and hurry home to have some family time, if you get a chance to look around?
I encourage you to come a little early to school events and read the walls, look closely at the set ups and provocations, wonder out loud or write a question in spaces you’re curious to know more about. I’m so proud of you, the children, of us, of what we all create as a whole. I want you to feel the strength of this place and to know how intricate of a piece you are to our success. Thank you for choosing us, supporting us, and believing in our principals. Together, we have made one fabulous place. -Kris