The 79th Street Gate: A Lower Division Newsletter

Dear Garden School Community:

As this is the first newsletter from the Lower Division in 2021, Happy New Year to all of you. Many are thrilled that 2020 has come to a close and look forward for good things to come. And, the turning of the calendar page usually gives pause for making resolutions. Some of the resolutions will be upheld for the entire year, some never materialize, and most fall somewhere in the middle.

As adults we often think to losing weight, exercising more, increasing retirement accounts, advancing careers, spending more time with family, or developing deeper relationships. Children plan to resolve situations in a more friendly manner, to be a better friend, to complete homework without becoming frustrated, to spend less time with electronics and more time in outdoor activities, to read and write more frequently, to help with more chores, to explore and discover, or to learn a new skill.

Let’s all resolve to slow down, to realize the beauty within each of us, and to appreciate the world around us. And losing a few pounds wouldn’t hurt! Reading The 79th Street Gate about what lower division students are doing may provide encouragement for your 2021 resolutions.

Looking forward to upholding New Year’s resolutions.
Bill Vogel

By the time children enter the Nursery class they have already been exposed to the many reasons why we write. They have listened to loved ones read them their favorite stories, watched as someone has written out a shopping list, signed a greeting card or read a store or street sign. Perhaps they have even “written” their own lists at home with scribbles and their own letters and “read” these back to you! Or they have drawn a picture and you have encouraged their language development and thinking by asking you to “tell more.” This prompting encourages children to develop narrative skills and an understanding that we write to communicate meaning to others.

Nursery students are still developing their oral language skills and gross and fine motor skills in order to later communicate on paper. We provide young children with activities to strengthen the muscles in the fingers, hands, shoulders, and arms to lead into the act of handwriting. Try to incorporate some of these at home: squeezing, squishing and rolling playdough, building with blocks, using mealtime utensils, buttoning and zippering, beading, using tongs, clipping clothespins, painting and coloring on wall spaces, drawing with large chalks and crayons. Masterpieces in art, stories, and writing are sure to be appreciated!

Most children begin their writing career by scribbling and drawing in a circular motion. The students in Pre-K understand that writing letters is for a purpose and conveys a meaning. To help individualize the writing process, their written names were introduced in September. Items such as their chair, resting bed, water bottle, etc. are labeled with their name. Tracing their names on paper is a task they do each morning along with random letter tracing. Paper, crayons, pencils, and markers are just some of the materials provided to these young writers. The various media provided, encourages writing and allows opportunities to develop children’s emergent literacy capacities. For some this means making meaning and expressing ideas in texts as they develop their fine motor skills. Dictation is often added to students' authentic creations to help their ideas be expressed. Teachers offer support for all students as they foster important early literacy skills through writing.

Kindergarten students enjoy writing throughout the day. They write their names on pages in their books and all of their work. Signs, original sentences with inventive spelling, journal entries, bulletin boards, and stories on many topics show creative expression and convey inner thoughts. All are strengthening their skills with the written word.

The first graders are venturing into expository writing. This week in Social Studies we are learning about the works of Martin Luther King Jr. Watching the students connect this topic to writing is amazing. The purpose of expository writing differs from creative writing assignments, in the sense that this writing is to inform and provide information about a topic. Objectives at this level focus on writing a paragraph with a main idea and telling important information that supports it. The writing activity builds new skills and relates new information to prior knowledge. The students are learning to generalize information, form a main idea and write facts in support. The students are also learning to write a concluding sentence that connects back to their main idea. Learning to write in an organized manner can help with reading comprehension and retaining information.

Often reading and writing reinforce each other in terms of skills and content. The second graders have begun reading folktales and fairy tales from different cultures. We have just finished One Grain of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale, which has an exciting math challenge at the end. Students will read several more stories where they will encounter interesting characters working to solve problems. These stories will help build a foundation for the fairy tales that our class will write and have published in a book at the end of the school year. Writing skills are perfected as the year goes on, and the end result becomes a written masterpiece sure to be a family treasure.

The third graders have been doing weekly paragraph writing. They have been focusing on writing strong topic sentences to pique the reader's interest. They have been working on adding more details and descriptive words to their paragraphs and writing beyond the minimum. The third graders have also been learning about the importance of a good concluding sentence. Many of them turn the attention to the reader by concluding with a question. The writing topics have ranged from favorite activities to holiday traditions to people they admire. The third graders have also begun to write book reports. For the time being, this includes discussing the main characters, setting, plot, and identifying the moral of the story. However, the third graders seem to enjoy creative writing the most - especially spooky stories or wild fantasies. They have quite vivid imaginations!

Grades 4-6 have been working hard to strengthen their writing skills. They have done this through explicit grammar instruction - studying topics like pronouns, compound sentences, and organizing paragraphs - as well as through engaging writing activities. The fourth grade has been refining its paragraph structure through persuasive writing. They have shared passionate opinions about the best place to vacation, the best food, the best TV show, and even debated whether or not students should have homework. Through persuasive writing, the students have learned the importance of structure and supportive evidence. They have found ways to validate their ideas and created ways to convince others to agree with them. In the upcoming weeks the class will again develop their skills and find their individual writers’ voices as they begin a creative writing unit. In this unit they will learn about the essential story elements (characters, setting, problem, resolution) and adapt these components to tell unique tales. Some may gravitate toward science fiction while others create action and adventure; one student will immerse himself in fantasy as another captivates readers through mystery. The freedom to choose topics that pique their own interest supports learning for young writers.

The fifth grade has used writing to learn more about the characters in their novel Wonder. As the story’s point of view changes with each of the seven sections, the students realize that each character has been shaped by their personal experiences. They have written various reflections about August coping with his abnormalities, Via yearning for her own identity, or Justin appreciating the love and support he feels from the Pullmans. The students delved deeper into character perspective by writing as Mrs. Pullman, a character that RJ Palaccio does not explore. In this type of activity the students honed their empathy to express how Isabel Pullman feels, thinks, and responds to her children’s needs. It was a unique opportunity to analyze a lesser-known character that highlighted each students’ ability to connect with. Soon the class will be gearing up to prepare for sixth grade with their first formal essay. This essay will not only focus on writing mechanics, but call to mind character, interpersonal skills, and, most importantly, the impact of kindness. It is a report that is sure to help students evaluate their own behavior and values in a world that could use a dose of kindness, empathy, and compassion.

To prepare for middle and high school, sixth graders are constantly studying all forms of writing. Garden School stresses the importance of synthesizing information and conveying it in compelling and articulate ways, so essay writing has been a major focus of the sixth grade lately. Much consideration has been given to the most effective methods for organizing and expressing ideas, and the class has given great thought to developing the three-point thesis, transition statements, and conclusions, for instance. Their efforts have been centered around two novels, Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan and A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. The students’ reports highlight the perseverance and growth of the protagonists. In the upcoming weeks, the students are excited to view writing through a new perspective: poetry. The sixth grade is eager to take a step back from essay writing, but, invariably, the initial response to poetry is grunts and groans. The assumption is that poetry is boring, dull, and mushy; that all poems are childish or must rhyme. Through greater investigation, though, many students find that poets share deep emotions, create works of art, and write in ways that are both complex and meaningful.

The myriad styles of writing across grades 4-6 provide students new opportunities for self-expression and chances to find their own voices and passions as writers. Writing at Garden School is an area that is fun and experimental as it builds critical and evaluative thinking within the young minds of its students.

Since returning to school in the new year, the Kindergarten class has been learning all about the meaning and importance of making a New Year's resolution. What is a goal or resolution? Why do people make goals for the New Year? What are some things we might do to get better at or learn this year? A discussion was facilitated among the students and some ideas included learning a new sport, getting better at an academic skill, or helping out more at home! We were so excited to share our resolutions with the rest of our Lower Division friends on the Affirmation Wall!

For young children, a typical day in PE class begins with a 7-minute warm-up of jumping jacks, running, planks, squats, crab walk, bear walk etc. Meditation adds to the program throughout the week. Units on fitness and individual sports takes place several days per week. Since the New Year, Golf activities have begun! As an introduction, students examined rules of the game and heard about the life of several famous golfers: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Rory Mclloy. Soon they will hear about Lexi Thompson, Danielle Kang, and Nancy Lopez. Next came proper holding of golf clubs and practice of different strokes. Children become familiar with “great shots” and learned what to do with a “bad shot.” Putting the ball into a spot comes next. There is much excitement for these three-to-five-year olds. An understanding of proper techniques and equipment, and lots of practice will hopefully lead to enjoyment, health, and wellness. Much more follows in the weeks ahead with badminton, tennis, and relays-all activities enjoyed by our older students, too!

Providing opportunities for students to learn about differences. and to share and accept differences helps to build a culture of inclusivity.

This week our students in grade six through twelve participated in a virtual presentation on Disability Awareness. Two members from the Eye to Eye National Organization zoomed into our classrooms to discuss their personal journeys of growing up with learning disabilities. Our speakers Cole and Lia shared with students that 1 in 5 people have learning disabilities. They spoke of the complexities of being diagnosed with a learning disability at different stages in their lives, and the challenges of transitioning from elementary grades all the way through college and beyond.

Want to try something new? Many students enjoy studying various topics in science and thinking what’s out there in the world around us.

Science 2 explored what organisms need to survive, such as food, water, air, and shelter, and how organisms meet these needs. In a culmination of this unit, students constructed bird nests out of materials brought from home to demonstrate how birds would meet their needs for shelter.

Science 3 is currently learning about the states of matter-solids, liquids, and gases. Students investigated first-hand how a physical change in an index card could allow a person to literally pass their whole body through the card. Mr. Herman was a great sport by allowing students to demonstrate this to him.

Science 4 is completing an exploration of human body systems and will be wrapping up their investigations by conducting activities on digestive, nervous, and immune systems.

The second marking period is quickly coming to an end. This is a good time to check with your child and see if any missing work can be turned in for credit. Report cards will be emailed to families on Thursday, January 28th.
On behalf of all of the staff in the Lower Division, sincere thanks to all students and families for the many expressions of appreciation offered for the holiday season and the generous contributions to the Holiday Gift Fund.
There is still time to join our Foundations classes in Dance, Karate, Soccer, and Spanish instruction. So many new skills are being developed. Email Kim Hayes for more information.

In a few weeks you will receive an enrollment agreement for the 21-22 academic year. It is hard to believe that we are already thinking ahead to the fall, but an early understanding of who is returning gives us a sense of how many seats we can make available to new families.

This year we are amending our timeline so we can meet all of our goals. Therefore, re-enrollment agreements will be sent on January 27, 2021 and due back with your deposit by February 14, 2021. Contracts typically sent by mail will be sent through DocuSign and electronic signatures along with online payments (checks or cash are also acceptable) will be collected as we strive to move away from paper contracts.

If you are applying for financial aid, you should begin that process now by clicking Financial Aid Application. As you know, we have a limited financial aid budget and any applications for need-based financial aid received after January 22 will only be considered if the budget permits.

Running an on campus and remote program at the same time has been no easy feat and our systems and infrastructure were taxed greatly this fall. As a result, over the break, Garden’s Tech infrastructure received a well deserved overhaul so that the streaming equipment in every classroom can run more smoothly and that connections can happen faster and for more users. To accomplish this all, Garden had a new service line to campus and a heap of sophisticated equipment installed throughout the school. Along with our new top-of-the-line firewall, we are now ready to offer connections at double the speed previously available and with greater reliability. This is bound to enhance the experience for all teachers and for everyone learning on campus and from home.

As we enter the thirteenth week of on-campus testing, we are reevaluating systems, processes, and costs associated with the program. For a variety of logistical reasons, you may notice testing days have been moved to Thursdays. You will also notice that the rate invoiced to families has gone up slightly from $20 to $26. This is to help offset just a portion of the full cost of our testing which is estimated to total $75,000 this year. We are determined to continue this program at the current capacity and are pleased with the results, the assurances it gives us all, the information it provides, and the positive response from students, families, and staff.

We are elated that vaccines are now available to front line workers and were heartened to learn educators working with children in person were included by the Governor for eligibility. As a result, every staff and faculty member here is eligible. Upon learning this, Garden School immediately provided letters of eligibility for every staff and faculty member so if they chose to become vaccinated, they have what they need to show their eligibility. Join us again in thanking our faculty and staff for what they have done to ensure continuity of learning for all Garden students.

After months of collaborative community level work, we are pleased to announce the Board of Trustees of Garden School has officially adopted our new Strategic Plan, the Garden Road to 100.

This strategic plan will light the path forward for our school over the next several years as we approach our centennial. Join Head of School, Chris Herman, for a live webinar style presentation on Monday, January, 25th at 6pm to learn more about the plan.

RSVP here for details on how to tune in.

Learn to paint "Sunset with Cherry Blossoms"!!

Garden's first Virtual Paint Nite hosted by our own Mr. Orlowski and the Garden Parents' Association on Friday, February 12 from 6:00 to 8:30pm.

There are two ways to participate:

$100: tax-deductible donation gets you access to the Zoom room and you provide what is on our supply list.
$150: includes a $100 tax-deductible donation, access to the Zoom room, and a Paint Nite Kit (which we will mail you) with all the supplies you'll need (Deadline to register for this option is January 29).