The 79th Street Gate: A Lower Division Newsletter

Dear Lower Division Families:

Most commercial emails this week began with “Spring is Here!” And indeed, it is since March 20th. I enjoy the springtime, relishing warmer weather, more daylight, brighter colors, and spring activities. Spring is a time for “cleaning out cobwebs,” self-reflection, and planning.

Spring cleaning can be a real chore full of drudgery, but it can also be a time to organize, wade through the paperwork, declutter, and see tabletops and surfaces. Get rid of the piles around the house or workplace to cleanup half-done projects or “good intentioned’ activities. Take it one step at a time and feel the weight lift. Streamlining or minimalist scenes can be quite refreshing for adults and children. Think shredding, clean desks and lockers, and winter clothes storage.

The beginning of Spring is a good time to take stock of the year and think “Am I my best self?” I like to look for the “goodness,” in myself and in those around me. Many people, again both adults and children, focus too much on what they see others doing or perceive “wrongness” in relationships or interactions. When a child has a “complaint” about another child, I try to refocus by “Tell me two or three good/positive things first.” Yes, this helps to clean out the cobwebs and see situations a little more clearly.

Like New Year’s Day, the beginning of Spring is a great time to start planning, whether it be a garden, a trip, redecorating, finances, or summer plans. I enjoy planning each day over my morning coffee. Making a “To Do” list helps me stay organized. Of course, getting through the “To Do” list is another story! At Garden, we are busy planning: Spring activities, re-enrollments for the next school year, summer readings, the Road to 100, and Summer Programs. Plans help to structure the school day and the school year; they shape a student’s week. Read this newsletter to see what our students have been doing.

Good luck with your own “cleaning out cobwebs,” self-reflection, and planning. See you after Spring Break.

Bill Vogel

Early Childhood Cluster

The Nursery students have been investigating their five senses and how they aid in learning about their own world each day. When talking of sight, they learned that some people need help with sight, so they might wear glasses or contacts. Some people may be blind, and they may use a cane and/or a guide dog to assist in daily life activities. Students learned that Braille is a system for visually challenged people to read books and write. These young students were able to see, touch, and listen to stories presented in Braille, too! Helen Keller was discussed as a courageous woman who helped the world learn what blind and deaf people were able to accomplish- everything!

For Women's History Month, the Early Childhood students focused their learning on the amazing Helen Keller. We chose this woman in history because she persevered as a young child to learn how to read and write despite her disabilities. She overcame many challenges people thought would be impossible for her to achieve and went on to inspire others to never give up on dreams and different challenges we may face in life. The students learned about her struggles throughout childhood and made connections to their own life experiences. We reflected on different challenges we have overcome and asked ourselves: when was a time when I thought something was too hard to do and I wanted to give up? What did I do? What is something you may have failed at and had to try repeatedly to master?

The PreK and Kindergarten students also learned the method through which Helen Keller learned to read and write: Braille. Each student created their own names using the Braille alphabet and used art gems to create the bumpy effect of each letter. This allowed the students to use their sense of touch to explore the way blind people read and write. The Kindergarten students also completed an independent writing project on one thing they never gave up on learning. This was turned into a class book that the students will take turns bringing home to share with their families!

Grades 1-2-3 Cluster

March is Women's History Month and the first graders have been learning about the lives of many famous and brave women around the world. We have previously met the courage of Rosa Parks and Helen Keller who, with great determination, fought for equal rights of all people. In our studies we have also learned of the bravery of Harriet Tubman, who led hundreds of slaves to freedom on the Underground Railroad.

Most recently we explored the lives of Susan B. Anthony, Malala Yousafzai, Rachel
Carson, Kamala Harris and many others who have stood up to challenge limitations imposed on women. Students wrote and displayed quotes from famous women around the world all around campus. Outside the first graders enjoyed using chalk to write famous quotes from inspiring women.

In honor of Women’s History Month, the first grades recreated Kristen Visbal’s Fearless Girl as a mosaic mural. Visbal is an American sculptor living and working in Delaware. The bronze sculpture was commissioned, promotes female empowerment, and is in the Financial District. Also, in Manhattan is another famous bronze statue, Charging Bull.

Ms. Ahlfeld states, “It is my hope students recognize and appreciate the contributions of women in our global society and learn with great determination one can accomplish anything.” Well said!

Second grade students have been creating timelines and maps in social studies. Each student had the opportunity to create a timeline of their life to share with classmates. It was wonderful to learn about our friends and listen to them discuss the important events of their lives. Presenting work frequently helps build confidence and practice in communicating clearly with others. Students also have been learning about land features and maps. Some of the activities included making a book of landforms, learning about different kinds of maps and how they are used over a Zoom lesson with Mr. Roselli (high school English teacher), and finally making a map of their own island. Our young cartographers took on the challenge and got to work. The choices for spaces and places were limitless, and the students were enthusiastic to share their amazing creations with their classmates.

The third graders have been very busy learning about the American Revolution and some of the significant events that took place during that time. The children have especially enjoyed reading about the Boston Tea Party. This year the third graders will be performing the play, The Boston Tea Party, which they have begun to rehearse. The children have had a lot of fun pretending to be outraged patriots or indignant Redcoats, among other characters. We have just begun making props for our play, as well!

In celebration of National Women’s History Month, the third graders chose a woman to research. Some of the women chosen are Marie Curie, Mother Teresa, Sally Ride, Sonia Sotomayor, and more! Reports are confidently presented to the class.

Grades 4-5-6

Fourth Grade has reached the end of their tour of the Southwest Region. Each region has its own unique environment, but the Southwest was quite different than the previous three. Much of the focus was on how plants, animals and people have adapted to survive in this hot, dry climate. The class toured the Grand Canyon reading about the plants and animals that live there to write a summary about the physical or behavioral adjustments they made. The students also brainstormed ways that people conserve water in this arid climate and discovered ways that technology can help as well. The class particularly enjoyed exploring elevation and contour maps. Using playdough, each student built their own mountain and cut through the mountain in one-inch intervals. They traced each layer to create the contour lines and were able to identify the peak and which side was steeper. For Women’s History Month, the class read about famous Texas women, including politicians, athletes, musicians and first ladies. They created “lift the flap” posters to teach about these women. Next up is the West Region.

The Fifth Graders have been discussing the purpose of government. They learned how the government was structured under the Articles of Confederation and described the weaknesses of this structure. They created a chart of the principles and effects of the Northwest Ordinance; compared and contrasted the New Jersey Plan and the Virginia Plan; and explained the system of checks and balances and the powers of the state and national government. Fifth Graders learned about the first 15 First Ladies, which will bring them up to 1861. First the qualities of a First Lady were established including supportive of the President, a successful hostess, dignified and approachable. Students read independently about a First Lady then shared with classmates. Together they evaluated the First Lady and determined which qualities she possessed to place her on the chart. Students then selected the First Lady they thought was the most successful and wrote a paragraph describing why. Next Fifth Grade will learn how the young nation will grow and develop with the early presidents.

Sixth Grade has finished its study of Ancient China and its empires. The students created maps to explore the geography of the region. They learned about four dynasties. They evaluated the Shang Dynasty and completed a report for the dynasty, grading areas, such as, government, economy, social structure, and religion. Once again, the students completed “fast facts cards” for a rapid response group activity about Confucianism and Daoism. The class used this knowledge to identify movie quotes reflecting the ideas of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Not only did they enjoy matching the quote to the philosophy, but they also liked naming the movies. The students read a portion of Ban Zhao’s manual for women on proper behavior. Ban Zhao is believed to be China’s first female scholar. After summarizing the main ideas, the class engaged in a discussion of the ideas they agreed and disagreed with. Also, as part of Women’s History Month, the students completed a webquest about three modern women with interests in science, suffrage, and women’s rights. Next the Sixth Grade will travel to Ancient Greece and Rome.

The students in the Lower Division have continued their celebration of Women’s History Month with projects inspired by some the artwork of Louise Nevelson, Cindy Sherman and Georgia O’Keeffe. Nevelson’s monumental wood sculptures use found and repurposed materials to transform discarded objects into beautiful Assemblages. The children used untraditional art materials like cardboard, Legos and plastic packaging to create their own beautiful creations. The photographs of Cindy Sherman inspired a project for the third through sixth graders in which they imagined themselves as a character in their own movie. Sherman, in her Untitled Film Stills series loves to play dress up, often wearing a costume and a wig to play a character in an imaginary movie. The children made drawings in which they were encouraged to put themselves in their own favorite movie or video game.

The first and second grades, this week, learned about the flower paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe. O’Keeffe’s paintings of flowers and other natural imagery exist somewhere between realism and abstraction. Views of the flowers are ‘zoomed in”, in extreme close ups, that hide the edges of the flowers, so they appear not as a natural object but a mass of line and color. The students used pencil and crayons to create their own versions of themselves and their friends as characters from their favorite movie or video game. Some class favorites were characters from the movie Shrek and the video game Roblox.

Every year, 2nd graders embark on a very fun and creative sound project, pairing sounds they produce with an animated feature. They have just completed the creation of their sounds for the project; when they return from break, they will view a completed video uniting their sounds with the visuals. 2nd grade students came up with some surprisingly effective ideas, such as recreating the sound of a car engine by scraping pencils along the edge of their desk and pushing the pencils along the desk’s surface to imitate the sound of a balloon being inflated. The next step in the project will be voicing the characters in the video.

Last year at this time, 3rd grade students were ready to record their characters’ voices when the school went remote, and the project was put on hold. We revived this endeavor during this calendar year. After many rehearsals and preparations, 3rd graders completed recording of their voice-over work and are currently enjoying watching the fruits of their labor. Great job!

On Tuesday, Garden was gifted with the virtual visit by the artist and Garden alum from the Class of ’91, Cyrille Conan. Cyrille’s paintings and installations use geometrical abstraction in a style influenced by street art and commercial advertising. Cyrille often works on a large scale, making monumental murals with a combination of paint, tape, and other materials. His works are often process-based and sometimes include ambiguous or repurposed text. He lives and works in Massachusetts and has shown his work at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, where he works as a preparator for the Design department. He shows in areas around the Northeast including the Boston Children’s Museum. And for private clients by commission.

The fifth and sixth graders enjoyed meeting Mr. Conan, viewing his art work, hearing his philosophy on following personal interests as careers, and participating in Q & A.

Thank you for completing our spring break risk assessment survey. If you have not yet competed it, please do so here. Our goal in all of this is to limit exposure to students and staff, and thus every family in the community, by understanding travel plans and reducing the risk of COVID on campus after break.

We again are asking any family traveling outside of the five contiguous states, flying, or spending time outside of their "bubble" to meet the following criteria before having their child(ren) return to campus:

Self-quarantine and go remote for 14 days from the day after you return to your bubble or
Self-quarantine and go remote for 10 days from the day after you return to your bubble with a PCR test administered between day 6 and 8.

We have all worked so let us keep up the good work and keep our risk low! We need to remain aggressive in our approach to keeping COVID off campus and reducing spread when and if we do not. We thank everyone in the community for the sacrifices they have and will continue to make to achieve these ends.

Rainbow spectra always have the same seven colors in the same order. They are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Of course, the best way to spark interest in a rainbow is to see one in the sky. If this is not possible then one can be made. There are many ways to make a rainbow if the sunlight can be reflected onto water or through a magnifier. We learned how to make a rainbow with SciShow Kids. The lower division celebrated rainbows by wearing a different color of the rainbow for seven consecutive days. The Kindergarten students learned the color sight words in order. The Pre-K students made a rainbow using colored water and a paper towel called a walking water science experiment. The Nursery students made rainbows with pieces of construction paper. They also made a rainbow outside on the playground by doing an experiment using a small mirror, a glass of water, a large piece of white paper, and sunlight! Learning the colors of the rainbow allowed for some real hands-on fun which made the whole experience worthwhile.