JosieHolford 
So many things to be thankful for. PDS gave traditional Thanksgiving thanks at the all-school celebration on Tuesday. Groups gathered to eat, hear a story and re-connect. Older students from the high school led the way – served the food, read the story and then brought everyone together in the JEJ theater a for a … Read more
A high school parent writes: I think we knew this already (“study shows teens’ use of digital media show that America’s youth are developing important social and technical skills online – often in ways adults do not understand or value”) but it’s nice (especially as a parent) to be reassured. The study in question can … Read more
Work hard at what you are passionate about. Read lots of books. There was more, but that was how Mr. Feiffer opened his talk last Thursday. What a treat to hear him talk about his creative process and answer questions – mostly from children- about his life and work. How did he get started? Well … Read more
I’ve posted about leadersheep before and now I have heard from an Icelandic shepherd with more information. “Flannelberry” – who started a blog Flannelberry Farm (Small-scale farming, self sufficiency and all things considered…) – writes: I am a shepherd with an Icelandic flock and came across your blog while googling “leadersheep”. There are indeed leadersheep – … Read more
A parent sent me a link to this clip from Ulrike Reinhard‘s blog and specifically her story “Intrinsic motivation will play a major role…” Thank you for introducing me to the ideas and work of Chief of Confusion: Richard Seely Brown. Brown is a visiting scholar at USC and the independent co-chairman of the … Read more
First and foremost, I look for someone who asks good questions…We can teach them the technical stuff, but we can’t teach them how to ask good questions—how to think. Clay Parker, president of the Chemical Management Division of BOC Edwards. What’s your answer to the question: What skills do we need to be teaching in … Read more
Ninety years since the end of the First World War. Passengers at Paddington station on Armistice Day, 11 November 1919. stopped for two minutes silence to remember those who never returned. Most of the men have taken their hats off out of respect. Over 25,000 Great Western Railway workers were killed in the war. Railway … Read more
The PDS cross-country team enjoyed their last race of the season at the Hudson Valley Championships held at the Forman School in Connecticut on Wednesday, October 29th. Each of the runners achieved his and her personal best in terms of time and place results on a tough 3.1 mile course, which included a challenging woods … Read more
I had the pleasure today of hearing Shawn Achor speak on the topic of happiness and the science of positive psychology and school success. Just as there is learned helplessness there can also be learned optimism. It’s all to do with mirror neurons and other good brain stuff. Happiness can be a choice – a … Read more
Thank you for bringing John Palfrey to the school last night. He was fabulous, and he spoke directly to issues facing my family and our children – PDS parent. It was election eve for the parents and community discussion. And an election day workshop for PDS teachers and colleagues from other New York independent schools. … Read more
Click for a better view Wordle is no longer a novelty but here is a PDS high school curriculum Wordle word cloud. If you haven’t tried Wordle yet it’s a great tool to play with. Just enter any text or url and up comes a word cloud that you can alter and adjust in all … Read more
All-school activity groups carved their pumpkin and dressed their senior monster for the all school annual traditional Halloween pumpkin lighting and senior monster fashion parade.. And a lower school Halloween assembly
Click for a better view Pictures of some of the work behind the magnificent display in the lobby. The Day of the Dead by the 5th and 6th grades.
Among the many excellent things about working at Poughkeepsie Day School and living in the mid-Hudson Valley is that you are never far from so many places of great natural beauty. It’s fall and the trees are ablaze with color. Here is the view east from the top of the fire tower on Stissing mountain … Read more
