And speaking of adventure ….
This just in from Costa Rica:Perla and Jimena are with a Spanish immersion trip.They seem to be having an amazing time. More pictures on Facebook and Flickr.
The Top 100 Tools for Learning 2009: Twitter up. Powerpoint down.
For those who enjoy lists: The top 100 tools for learning. This is the 3rd year learning professionals from all over the world have been invited to share their top 10 online tools for learning to help build the Top 100 list. Check out the emerging list and compare rankings. Here is Jane Hart’s SlideShare … Read more
Setting your socks on fire
Looking through old PDS school photos – pictures of children working with tools, wading waist deep in muddy ponds and handling a plank on a cabin roof – started me thinking about risk. Taking risks is an essential part of children’s play and overcoming fears and obstacles is how we all grow and learn. Here’s … Read more
Music and Arts lag. Can poetry be far behind?
This week in the NYTimes – news of a rather discouraging report about music and arts education across the US. And even the test sample was smaller. In the test, formally known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress in Arts, administrators at 260 public and private schools were asked how much time they devoted … Read more
Good news for wool gatherers
A wandering mind heads toward insight WSJ article reports on findings that suggest: …our brain may be most actively engaged when our mind is wandering and we’ve actually lost track of our thoughts, a new brain-scanning study suggests. “Solving a problem with insight is fundamentally different from solving a problem analytically,” … “There really are … Read more
Are you phobic?
How many words are there in the English language? Estimates vary but most agree there are quite a few. And how many do you know, or own and have a personal relationship with? Meet Wordia – a visual dictionary where people famous and otherwise upload their personal definitions. Brigham tried it out in the high … Read more
Butterfly Waystation
The sixth grade began planning this in science class in the fall when the monarchs stop by PDS on their migration south. They located at area on campus that was already wild, got permission and then planned how to add plant diversity to attract and support butterflies on their journey. Here they are planting milkweed … Read more
Science Symposium 2009
The sixth annual Science Symposium meant 7th and 8th graders ready to share their work with the school community. As always – an impressive display of investigation, collaborative work and erudition. These students know their work and why it matters. And they are more than happy to share their research. In a new departure this … Read more
Early One Morning
A bird the color of a stop sign. High on a tree at the Buttercup Farm Sanctuary. A scarlet tanager. My first sighting. A black-winged red bird. Tree swallows swooping, the insistent chipping of an elusive flycatcher and the headwaters of Wappingers Creek swirling down to the river. What a great place for a Sunday … Read more
What a Concert!
Last fall Gabe (’11) made a Intensive Studies project proposal to Liz. It involved composing music, delving into theory, harmony, transcription and improvisation. With the full support of the school and his music teachers, Gabe took the project on and devised an authentic assessment – an end of study concert with exceptional musicians and performers … Read more
Thicker than water
I was sorry to miss this event but Lynn sent me pictures.This was a lesson in viscosity. They started with water and added oil. They placed three separate dry ingredients into the water/oil, one at a time: sugar, salt and baking soda. They counted the number of bubbles that rose up, observed their size and … Read more
The Pirates of Penzance
A hearing mistake means a boy indentured to a pirate not a ship’s pilot. Pirate or pilot, orphan or often — the problem’s in the pronunciation. And so the bumbling misadventures begin – musical muddles that only the name of Queen Victoria can quell. The fifth and sixth grade did Gilbert and Sullivan proud. Double … Read more
Brain Surgery
Can you tell the anterior cortex, amygdala, and parietal lobe from the optic chiasma and the corpus collosum? If not then you could benefit from Tanya’s Cognitive Science course. I visited this week. I was not up to speed on the science, but I did learn that the students in this elective are incredible well-informed. … Read more
Then and Now
Steve found this photograph in the basement. Along the bottom it says: Kindergarten Thru Ninth Grade Established 1934. And on the back it says: You can see the original by Tricia’s desk in the lower school office.
Winter Recital
Great Winter Recital on Thursday with music from J.S. Bach to James Taylor via Debussy and Charlie Parker along with some original compositions. Wonderful performances from students of all ages in all three divisions. Thank-you musicians for an outstanding evening of music and song. More pictures on Flickr. Photo: Marcin Nowak