The Courtyard: An Upper Division Newsletter

Dear Garden School Families,

As the weather begins to turn, we are now rolling towards October. Seven days into our school journey, we are thrilled to see so many friends each morning. Thank you for your support of Garden and your commitment to a dynamic education for your children. I like to introduce this new way for us to communicate. Welcome to The Courtyard, a new newsletter for Upper Division families. Through The Courtyard, we will connect twice per month to highlight exciting developments within the classroom and beyond.

For starters, congratulations to our teachers on their tremendous work. Since breaking for summer, teachers developed new curriculum for a robust set of classes that fully incorporate technology for students learning both on-site and remotely. Zoom lessons have evolved and Google Classroom affords unprecedented collaboration among classmates. This technology allows students from Taiwan and China to sit alongside students on 79th Street and other parts of the city. Still, these advances are only worth pursuing if the foundation of excellent teaching is strong and at Garden we have no shortage of excellent teachers, dedicated to supporting young minds.

In addition to faculty, tremendous gratitude goes to maintenance staff, headed by John Tocco, who gave countless hours to the preparation of Garden School for a safe return. They have been upgrading technology, cleaning the facility around the clock and even shielding us from a rainstorm on our very first morning. Similar kudos to our kitchen staff, who have allowed us to continue serving delicious hot lunches to the entire community. Finally, I would be remiss to not mention the tremendous support Matthew Helsing - Class of 2017 – who has been tireless in helping get remote learning off the ground.

While we are pleased to have opened on time and in-person, we are most happy with how quickly students have settled into new routines. Content is being delivered, books are being read and proofs are being written. Moreover, students are enjoying our pool, the tennis courts in Travers Park, the courtyard and numerous patches of grass like never before. We have set ourselves to exploring the outdoors more than ever as a means to socially distance, but also as a point of connection. The weather has been beautiful and students are finding ways to reconnect with friends they haven't seen in person for months. While we wear our masks diligently, the smiles behind those masks are evident.

This year, we are offering a few new courses. In the History Department, now co-chaired by Richard Kruczek and Sarah O'Sullivan, we are offering AP World History, Art History, and Activism to Legislation. In the English Department, our new Chair Greig Roselli, has offered exciting ways to enliven our texts while increasing collaboration among faculty and is running Myth & Its Discontents, a new course. Finally, we would like to congratulate Lauren Little on her appointment to Math Chair. She is an innovative and dedicated teacher here and promises to lead our already strong math program in new and exciting ways.

Brad Battaglia
Upper Division Head

To explore this year’s theme, we are beginning with a focus on Curriculum and Instruction. During our in-service week, Theme Leaders, Ms. Ahlfeld and Mr. Melara, led faculty as they investigated the difference between equity and equality, microaggressions in the classroom, personal experiences, and ways to incorporate equitable practice and promote cultural awareness.

A new course was added to senior curriculum titled “Legislation Through Activism” that covers how change has been made by and for marginalized groups and we switched from AP European to AP World History so students may develop a broader understanding of global topics. School wide displays focused on cultural awareness and global traditions are in the works. Displays will be made with and by students so they may see and celebrate the diversity in our community and in Art, students spent the week learning about El Anatsui, the renowned African sculptor.

Finally, several reading teachers from K-8 classrooms are getting ready to attend a workshop on the topic of Diversity in Children’s Literature. This workshop, being sponsored by NYSIAS will explore diversity as it pertains to authorship, genre, and character identify in books written for elementary and middle grades students. Other resources and articles are also being distributed and digested by our faculty each day and we hope to begin sharing resources and article with families soon as well.