The 79th Street Gate: A Lower Division Newsletter

Dear Lower Division Families:

This past weekend I returned to my family lake house for the first time in almost three years. We purchased this house from its original owner who left the house just as she had lived in it. We had not parted with many of her possessions. These were all visible to us this weekend, bringing back fond memories. Scattered throughout the house were her treasures-memorabilia, furniture, wall hangings, and handwritten notes. But we added our own personal touches to the house. These treasures, too, brought back many memories: our children’s artwork, board games we had played, written stories and accompanying pictures, and activity projects.

And so began my thinking of treasures. We all have so many, whether they be tangible, intrinsic, or memories. Interestingly, the reading series we enjoy in the lower division is entitled Treasures. When reading through these books, children and teachers are receiving treasures: the gift of reading, the described worlds, imagery, poetry, people, ideas, and connections.

Often, we hear of treasure chests or keep-sake boxes. What would be in yours, or those of your children? What treasures will your children speak of when they get to be your age? In our home, we have some stitchery created by my wife for our grandparents, “Children are the treasures of a long life!”

This past Friday we were fortunate to participate in Garden’s Virtual Gala honoring our former Head of School, Dr. Richard Marotta. He graced us with a fantastic message, ending with the thought that Garden School is our treasure! It truly is.

All the best,

Bill Vogel
Lower Division Head

Early Childhood Cluster

As the nursery students returned after Spring break, we read books about the season of “Spring” and observe signs of Spring as we walk to and from the playground and around campus. We noticed bits of green popping up through the soil, and then purple and yellow flowers, birds busy flying, chirping, and building nests, and the increase in the outside temperature and the decrease in our outer wear! With the celebration of Earth Day, we read Todd Parr’s The Earth Book and learned about the 3 R’s: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. We sorted pictures on a poster to help us learn more. The highlight of Earth Day was planting purple pansies in our room! This is leading to our new discovery about seeds and plants. Last week we took two white flowers and placed their stems in green colored water, and the flowers are now green! We learned that the stem carries water up to the flowers. We are now looking at some different types of seeds and how they grow.

Since spring began, the Pre-K students have been discussing what changes will occur during this season. The very first thing that they noticed was the weather beginning to get warmer which caused them to wear lighter jackets to school each day. Our outdoor play time changed to include looking for signs of spring. Signs such as birds chirping, buds growing on trees, grass turning green, and flowers blooming have been noticed. Earth Day was celebrated in our school with a school wide planting day. We read about how little things that can be done every day will make a big difference to all life on Earth. New vocabulary words such as reduce, recycle, and reuse were introduced as ways to help protect our planet. The children learned that if they help to protect the Earth and make it feel good, it will take care of them. We began the life cycle of the plant last week with One Bean by Anne Rockwell. This is a science book about planting and observing just one bean. We planted beans in wet paper towels, just as they did in this book. We observe the changes taking place every day. We also dissected a plant to explore the parts. Roots, stem, leaves, and flower are more words that were added to our list of vocabulary words. This unit of study also teaches responsibility of caring for a living thing as the children make sure their plants get water and sunlight every day. Many follow up activities and books were read to help support this unit of study. We read The Earth Book by Todd Parr, Let’s Celebrate Earth Day by Gail Saunders-Smith, The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle, and How a Seed Grows by Helene J. Jordan. We also watched a time lapse video of a Kidney bean 25-day time lapse with soil cross section showing how roots and the upper part of the plant grows.

For some movement fun, we participated in Can You Plant a Bean Dance from Dance 'n Beats, a research-based movement program with step-by-step training videos and dance choreography for early childhood educators and dance instructors to use with young children.

The Kindergarten students are engulfed in a science unit on the plant life cycle. Shortly after learning about different signs of spring, we started seeing sprouts and tree buds popping up all around campus. Now we are seeing the life cycle transformation occur right in front of our eyes with blossoms and leaves on the trees and flowers galore! We began the plant life cycle by learning about different types of seeds and the 5 things seeds need to grow: soil, water, sun, air, and space. The students also explored how to plant seeds through a grass seed activity. Each student prepared their own 'pot' with fresh soil, added grass seed, and has had the important responsibility of watering it every day to keep the grass growing! This week we are finally seeing those tiny, white, fiber roots as well as baby grass shoots sprouting up from the soil. Did you know that the roots start growing before the sprout of the plant?

The students also participated in planting petunia flowers for Earth Day! Each student got to plant their own flower with the help of an upper division student. They used special tools such as gardening gloves, shovels, and watering cans, and learned how to dig the proper hole, and replant a plant that is already fully grown. The students took much pride in this activity and admire their hard work every day when we walk outside for outdoor play. You can find our pink petunias around the birch tree at the entrance of the school!!

Grades 1-2-3 Cluster

After a great experience with the Rocket Boys project, our first graders began their Solar System unit! Focusing the first part of the unit on the solar system itself, we learned all about the different planets and were able to color and design individual solar systems. Tying the Solar System into a fun action-packed project, we took a jump into the atmosphere! For this week’s STEAM Challenge, first grade was tasked with developing a parachute to save their toys and create a safe landing. To allow for our parachutes to be the most successful, the class learned all about the atmosphere and how parachutes work before the planning and building stage. Safely working in small groups, the students began planning, designing, and building some awesome parachutes that indeed slowed the fall of our little toys. Creating hands-on experiences like these allows our students to get creative and brainstorm with their partners! We are looking forward to taking these parachutes outside for the ultimate test to see which group developed the safest landing! As we wrap up the school year our young scientists can expect more small-group work as they create spaceships and rockets!

The 6th Grade has started a new unit on Radio Science, learning about how radios work, what they are used for, and how to communicate with Morse Code. Currently they are learning Morse Code, learning the letters by sound at 10 words per minute. Our current project is to build Popsicle Stick Morse Code Oscillators. FYI- Many students, family members, and community residents participate in our Radio Club, moderated by Mr. Hale, and meeting in our Radio Room, located in Roberts Library.

Last week, the first and second graders took advantage of the incredible weather with an outdoor project to beautify the front courtyard. Using colored chalk and masking tape, students created colorful abstract shapes loosely inspired by the artmaking process of Carmen Herrera. They also learned about collaboration and teamwork, by working together to connect their drawings into one massive artwork. The sum was indeed greater than its individual parts.

Lower division students this week learned about the incredible paintings of Gustav Klimt and created their own portraits or animal drawings inspired by his style. They were encouraged to explore different decorative patterns and their own individual ideas.

Students in Nursery and Pre-Kindergarten have a rotating list of over 25 Nursery Rhymes that they perform! They are also reinforcing their knowledge of the alphabet, as we are identifying animals that begin with letters A-Z. Students take guesses based upon photographs, drawings, or descriptions. Kindergarteners through 3rd graders have also been taking part in this endeavor in a modified form; after the students volunteer some fun facts about the animal, they describe the type of music, in terms of tempo, volume, and mood, that might be right for that species. They then move like that animal to a piece of carefully chosen Jazz music.

1st graders are doing a magnificent job in our poetry unit. All students in the class have participated heavily, beginning with volunteering their own rhymes and alliterations. They have also enthusiastically contributed to identifying these literary devices in Nursery Rhymes and excerpts from poems and songs by William Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, Langston Hughes, and Joni Mitchell. Students choose from a series of shapes and colors for their paired words, the shapes are matched with drumming instructions or student devised motions, and they recite the selection while drumming along or executing their movements. The result is always fun to perform. In the Hughes passage, I referred to a line, “The stars went out and so did the moon,” as being very poetic, and the students were curious as to what I meant by the word. When one of the students substituted the word “disappeared” for “went out,” we had a more straight forward way of articulating this thought in contrast to Hughes’ expressiveness. Students will have the opportunity to create their own concise poems at the end of the unit, and I am excited to see what they produce!

Lower Division Moving Up Ceremonies for our Kindergarten and Sixth Grade students will be held virtually this year since we are not having large gatherings on campus. Students will be at home with their families and will be joined virtually by teachers and school leaders. A Zoom link and additional information will be sent later, but we wanted you to be able to Mark Your Calendar for these important events. Grade 6: Thursday, June 3 6:00-6:45pm and Kindergarten: Monday, June 7 10-10:45am.

Just around the corner as the weather warms, our camp season will soon begin! We have expanded to 12 weeks of activities….swimming, arts & crafts, sports, games, creativity, and fun. Submit registration forms for our Pre-Season, Regular Season, Post-Season, and Counselor-in-Training Programs. If you have already enrolled your child for a few weeks and are undecided about signing up for the full summer, please reconsider now. Summer camp is a real treasure and enrollment is happening at a quick pace. Some weeks may be completely booked.

If you know someone who really enjoys swimming and would like to become a lifeguard, pass along information on our Lifeguard course to be held here on campus.