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Sharing stories about inspired learning in independent schools

  • We Spark Creativity

    Seeing Math in a Picasso

    Second graders at All Saints’ Episcopal School recently donned their math goggles and engaged in a geometry exploration using the visual arts as a lens. Students learned about the Spanish artist, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), and used his “The Reservoir, Horta de Ebro” (1909) as a springboard to exploring two- and three-dimensional shapes. Using shape templates, […]

    1 Recommendation 1 Comment
  • We Cultivate Character

    The Hill School (Pottstown, Pa.) celebrates Honor Awareness Week with emphasis on “Integrity” theme

    The Hill School’s annual Honor Awareness Week, Jan. 10-17, 2014, included a series of events focused on “Integrity,” also The Hill’s academic theme for the year. To kick off this community event, the School welcomed Dr. David Gruder, a psychologist and founder of “Integrity Revolution” to address the student body and faculty and meet with […]

    4 Recommendations
  • We Strengthen Communities
    Video

    From Summer Reading to Service Learning at New Roads Middle School

    For New Roads Middle School students, this was summer reading with enough impact to last the whole year long: “Outcasts United” – the vivid and inspiring true story of a soccer team of refugee boys from war-torn homelands and their determined coach – had already stirred class discussions about migration, cultural differences and building a […]

      Recommend This 1 Comment
  • We Encourage Exploration
    Video

    “Empathy to Action:” Wind and the Punahou Camp Experience

    Our eighth grade team at Punahou School integrated the study of wind into our Camp Mokule`ia experience. By learning how the wind plays a role in the outplanting of naupaka at Ka`ena Point, students gained a greater understanding of how the resilient plant is an ideal choice to withstand the coastal winds of the area. […]

    1 Recommendation
  • We Encourage Exploration

    Students Model ‘Entrepreneurial Spirit’ at ESD’s First Invention Convention

    Thomas Edison invented the light bulb; Marie Curie helped pave the way for the development of X-rays; and László Bíró created the ballpoint pen. Over the years, researchers have collaborated to not only improve these inventions, but also sustain an environment that fosters creative thinking. These individuals not only changed our world, but also greatly […]

    3 Recommendations
  • We Encourage Exploration

    Celebrating Reading & Writing

    An exciting venture into Balanced Literacy was reading many versions of the Gingerbread Boy. The diverse cultures featured practice in recognizing character traits, comparing and contrasting, and creatively changing the ending…a fun and creative way to celebrate reading and writing during December.

      Recommend This
  • We Challenge Minds

    Yummy Synonym Rolls

    Word Study is lots of fun using the SmartBoard and ipad minis for interactive games, but baking is a bonus. Pinetrest had a wonderful activity that had children over the moon. First we read If You Were a Synonym. We talked about old, worn out words and how to revise our writing. Children worked with […]

    4 Recommendations
  • We Encourage Exploration

    Visiting the Polar Bears

    To inspire the love of learning in students, teachers also need to continue exploring. Effectively modeling life-long learning for the students, my school awarded me a grant for experiential professional development. I was sent on an adventure of a lifetime to visit “The Polar Bear Capital of the World.” In late October and early November, […]

    8 Recommendations 1 Comment
  • We Encourage Exploration

    Coral Classroom

    I always think that one of the biggest benefits of working at an independent school is the autonomy that we get as teachers. When I moved into the fifth grade teaching position, I was encouraged to develop a focus on oceans. I had seen some great activities on ocean acidification and coral bleaching that I […]

      Recommend This
  • We Shape the Future

    Authentic Learning through Applecore

    AppleCore is Wilmington Friends’ student IT support team. Members volunteer study hall time to work at the help desk–“The Orchard”–as the first level of tech support for our 1:1 laptop program (recently recognized as an Apple Distinguished Program). “When they announced that we were going with the 1:1, a lot of my friends were nervous. […]

    5 Recommendations
  • We Strengthen Communities

    Student-run Microlending Program Makes a Global Impact

    MicroBank, a student-run microfinance club at The Meadows School, has been lending money to entrepreneurs in 42 developing countries over the past five years, one of the first U.S. schools to take on such a global initiative. Their efforts are impacting many lives, encouraging entrepreneurship, and teaching club members about responsibility, business management, and financial […]

    3 Recommendations
  • We Nurture Growth
    Video

    Girls’ ice hockey at The Hill School aims to be an elite program

    Ari Baum, coach of the girls’ varsity ice hockey team at The Hill School (Pottstown, Pa.), aims to ensure that the sport is “an elite program” at the 163-year-old school which first admitted girls in 1998. Also an instructor of economics and dorm parent among his many roles, Baum is proud of the academic as […]

      Recommend This

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