Most Wednesday mornings the lower school assembles in the Chapman Room and parents are welcome. It’s usually a showcase for the work of the classroom and often includes the opportunity to sing. First the Hokey-Pokey On a recent Wednesday a seventh grader led children, parents and teachers in singing and dancing the hokey–pokey. It was music, movement and a great…
Cross posted from Josie’s Blog It was the spider started it. A noiseless, patient, useful spider had spun a tremendous web right there in the playground, across the chains of the swing. It was Sue Parise’s class that noticed it and made the sign that said: “This swing is closed because of BIG spider!” Lynn Fordin took the photo and…
Today is back-to-school day for the faculty at PDS and today we are launching Project Innovate: Five Teams with a Mission. The faculty were invited last June to sign up for cross divisional teams loosely organized around five major and interconnected themes: Cultural Competency I Digital Citizenship I Learning and the Brain I Project-Based Learning I Wellness There was no obligation to be on a…
On my recent visit to England I came across a small trove of Child Education magazines (published by Evans Brothers Ltd. of Russell Square, London) from the early 1960’s. They had belonged to my mother – a regular subscriber – who looked forward to reading each edition. Although she was by then near the end of a long career as…
This cartoon is making the rounds this morning: Reminds me of those words often claimed to be either a Chinese and Hebrew proverb: Do not confine your children to your own learning, for they were born in another time. And this from John Dewey: The world is moving at a tremendous rate. Going no one knows where. We must prepare…
Blackberries clustered against the sky, heavy and dark as thunder, which we plucked and gobbled, hour after hour, lips purple, hands stained to the wrists. Cider With Rosie, Laurie Lee Three farmers’ markets in the last three days mean a kitchen table overloaded with fresh bounty. No gooseberries or blackcurrants this week but at Arlington on Thursday there were plenty…
I had the privilege last week of working with a great bunch of educators at the NYSAIS Think Tank at the Carey Conference Center in Rensselaerville, NY. The location was perfect, the company inspiring and the work energizing. And facilitator Ann Mellow provided leadership and kept us all moving forward. It was at this event last year that we re-branded…
Dr. Yong Zhao addresses ISTE 2012 attendees on the topic of ” Global, Creative, and Entrepreneurial: Defining High-Quality Education.”
Lawnin Robinson Gindele – Poughkeepsie Day School parent and trustee. President of the Board 1968-1969
Poughkeepsie Day School – it’s just not the real world. Of course it’s not. And – thank goodness for that. And here’s why. 1. The Future: Schools work with children and young people whose lives are ahead of them. We need to be ahead of the curve and working to make things better not reflecting the status quo. Real world?…
An early morning visit to the kindergarten on Friday was a chance for a guided tour of the farm. It’s a magnificent project now complete – a capstone to a year of exploration, research, discovery and creation. And the children are proud to show their work and point out their individual contributions. And a grand farm it is too with…
Looking forward to reading Yong Zhao’s new book due out soon: World Class Learners: Educating Creative and Entrepreneurial Students The focus is preparing global, creative, and entrepreneurial talents. “College and career readiness” is the mantra in the global education reform circle. Uniform curriculum, common standards and assessments, globally benchmarked practices, data-driven instruction, and high-stakes testing-based accountability are touted as the…
I’ve been playing with Skitch. Here is one of the first efforts: A heart-felt thanks for the volunteer advocates for the Annual Fund. Source: flickr.com via Poughkeepsie Day School on Pinterest
Your one and only chance to see Venus transit the face of the sun. Stay tuned for what’s happening at PDS. It won’t happen again until December 2117. On June 5th, 2012, Venus will transit the face of the sun in an event of both historical and observational importance. The best places to watch are in the south Pacific, but…
“So the children of a democracy learn to take their place in the world of tomorrow.” The British Council has made its film collection public. What a wonderful gift. Take for example Learning to Live. Made in 1941 it presents: A typical school day for the three children of the Brown family at Nursery, Junior, and Senior Schools, and the…