Can You Imagine…?

…being inspired by historical fiction?  

That is exactly what happened to the second graders as they listened to Spy in the Sky, our most recent read aloud.  Along with learning about another place and time, the students imagined what it would be like to be an apprentice to a balloonist spy during the Civil War. They have also been sharing their impressions of the characters and imagining how they would feel about the challenging situations in the historical fiction books they have been reading at home and in book groups.

A few books from our historical fiction collection

      Their enthusiasm is contagious, and some students have been planning what book they want to choose for their next reading "Talk, Write, Draw" homework! We are also sharing our excitement with the whole Lower School via a display wall that chronicles our discoveries.  Be sure to stop by and see it!

Mapping the location

Identifying the time period

An example of the students' responses to Can you imagine...?

Lower School Home and School - It’s a wrap, 2014!

It’s been a busy fall and early winter for Home and School. We started the school year enjoying ice cream on the Nature Playground, while greeting teachers, “old” friends, and welcoming new families to our community.  

In October, Kindergarten and 3^rd grade students participated in the scarecrow event. Twelve creative and unique scarecrows adorned the campus for all to see at the Book Fair, open house, the creekside planting, and, of course, Halloween.  Students also collected and packaged 120 breakfast bags for Aid for Friends.

It was great to see families at Solebury Orchards on a day off from school. We enjoyed a wagon ride, picked lots of delicious apples, and ate too many apple cider donuts!

Campus was busy Halloween day.  Parents enjoyed hot coffee and sweets while excited students paraded in costume in this AFS tradition.  Early Childhood and K students were treated to a special Harvest Fest organized by clerks and room parents.  Delicious snacks, pumpkin bowling, leaf rubbings, pumpkin painting, and more were enjoyed by all. Thanks to all who helped to make this a great event.

November brought the Fall Food Drive and MusicFest. Thanks to all for helping to fill the shopping cart many times with food for the Whosoever Gospel Mission. Families gathered to make cards, sort and graph food,  share a meal, and enjoy a sing-a-long with Rich Nourie.  It was a heart-warming afternoon.

The Clerks planned a special and soothing faculty and staff appreciation event Friday morning, offering chair massages to our cherished teachers and staff.  A special thank you to Shana Washington, mom of Gen and Bella, and her colleagues, for helping our teachers experience a moment of calm in their day.  

Our final 2014 Coffee and Conversation will be Friday, December 19th. Stop by the Admission’s Office after drop off to chat with adults before the Winter Program.

Be sure to check the blog for Home and School events planned for 2015.

On behalf of the grade level clerks, thank you for all that you do to support AFS events and activities, both in and out of the classroom.  

Warm wishes for a lovely holiday and peace in the New Year,

Betsy Madway

Lead Clerk, Lower School

To all our families and friends who will be celebrating the first night of Chanukah this evening, we wish you much joy!

Bird Beak Adaptations

Just how is a pipette or a pair of tweezers like a bird's beak?  2nd grade students found out in a hands-on activity exploring what types of tools work just like bird beaks to pick up or crack open food!  What's the best tool to catch a marshmallow in the air?  Could it be a spoon?  A pair of tongs?  Or perhaps a net works best?  This activity is a very graphic way to explore just how bird beaks are uniquely adapted to the particular type of food that the bird eats.

Bird beaks come in all shapes and sizes!

Aly and Maura explore which tool can get floating Cheerios out of a tub of water.  They discovered that a strainer worked quite well.  Which bird has a beak like a strainer?  A flamingo has a beak that acts as a strainer, scooping up tiny water plants and animals leaving the water behind.

Neil, Oliver and Brandon try to get rice grains out of crevasses in a rock that represents picking insects out of rotting logs.  Tweezers work quite well for that job.  Many small songbirds like warblers have beaks that work just like tweezers.

 What about larger fish in water?  Just how does a pelican get it's food?  Gen and Miranda show how it's done with a slotted spoon.

  Jason and Sophie try the different tools at this station as well.

 Worms in the mud were represented by seeds in a bin of sand.  It was hard to get the seeds out without picking up a lot of the sand!  Needle-nosed pliers worked well for this job and are like the long, thin beak of the snipe.  Maggie and Luc decided that the spoons don't work very well since the bird would definitely end up with a mouthful of mud!

 Keiren and Hayden take a turn at trying the tools at this station.

Winter Program Rehearsals!

Last week began our Winter Program rehearsals for A Winter's Tale.

This is an exciting time when we come together and put the finishing touches on our program. On Monday, we moved our rehearsals to the stage in the Muller Auditorium.

Here is a sneak preview into some of the rehearsals:

4th & 2nd Grade Rehearsal in the Music Room

1st Grade's first rehearsal in the Muller

Early Childhood in the Muller

3rd Grade testing out the new space!

Snuggle up and Read

Winter vacation is a wonderful time to sink into a book as you snuggle with your child in front of a fire or on a comfortable couch. Snow, ice, wind and cold can actually be the invitation to stay inside and become lost in a great book.  I am including links to a few book lists that could help to guide your selection as you and your child pick out books at your library or a bookstore.

Brain Pickings is a wonderful site that reviews children’s books. This is a link to their list of The Best Children’s Books of 2014. I love how the author Maria Popova includes pages from each of the book in her list. You can sign up on this site to receive weekly newsletters from them.

http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/11/18/best-childrens-books-2014

This next list is from the American Booksellers Association. The titles are newly published books with a few of the books available in January 2015. It is always nice to have titles to look forward to. The books are listed under age groupings.

http://www.bookweb.org/news/winter-2014%E2%80%932015-kids%E2%80%99-indie-next-list-preview

The American Library Association has a list titled 2014 Notable Children’s Books. These books are listed in age groupings. All of these books are currently available in libraries.

http://www.ala.org/alsc/awardsgrants/notalists/ncb

It is very motivating for children to see their parents reading for enjoyment as well. The AFS Lower School Book Club for adults is meeting on Monday morning January 12, 2015 to discuss The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahirii and on February 23, 2015 to discuss The Orphan Train. The meetings are always at 8am in the Lower School library. Winter vacations would be a wonderful time to read these books or any other books that you have been waiting to read.

Our 2014 NAIS People of Color Conference Experience

2014 NAIS People of Color Conference

Indianapolis, IN

This year's PoCC conference brought together over 3000 students and faculty from schools across the country.  1620 of the attendees were students engaging in the S.D.L.C., Student Diversity Leadership Conference.  Attending from our AFS Faculty were Toni Williamson, Alicia Fernández, and Jason Novak.  AFS student leaders included Alicia Valle, Austin Levin, Ayannah Woods, Bridget Warleá, Dreyton Lomax, Erica Groomes, and Morgan Burrell.    

At AFS, preparing and excited for our trip!

 

Our final moments at PoCC with Rodney Glasgow.

An evening of connection with our very own Crissy Cáceres.

Alicia and Jason spent their days attending various workshops focused on race, inclusion, cultural competency, identity development and the intersection of identities, and maintaining equitable classroom environments.  In addition to the workshops, many experts in their fields were highlighted as keynote speakers throughout the conference.  The speakers included:

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson

"Race, Racism, and Race Relations in America"

Maysoon Zayid

"Growing Up Muslim in America"

Dr. Derald Wing Sue

"Microaggressions"

Jose Antonio Vargas

"My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant"

Dr. Sonia Nazario

"Immigration and Motivation"

Important aspects that Alicia and Jason upheld throughout the conference included leaning into discomfort, the expectation of non-closure, and accepting conflict as a catalyst for change.  In order to engage with complete presence, both faculty worked consciously to suspend judgment of themselves and others.  With a strong set of community norms established by the conference, Alicia and Jason were able to give of themselves emotionally, cognitively, affectively, spiritually, and cooperatively.   

A highlight of the experience was attending the Affinity Group sessions presented at PoCC.  These sessions were designed to help participants to engage in conversations that matter within a space defined and protected by and for those who share race and ethnicity in common.  On Thursday and Friday of the conference, Alicia attended the Latino/Latina Affinity group with 200+ participants.  She ended her Saturday experience with the opportunity to intersect her identities of 

Latina and Lesbian at the LGBTQI session.  

This year, Jason attended PoCC as both a participant and a facilitator.  On Thursday and Friday, he facilitated the White Affinity group with 400+ participants.  On Saturday he facilitated the LGBTQI session wtih 230+ students and faculty gathering to affirm their identities and understand their individual school experiences.  

As you can imagine, the work of this conference is not something that can be summed up in one blog post.  The experiences, learning, and insights formed are something that are carried by the individuals as a collective group.  Alicia and Jason welcome conversations from both faculty and families regarding this important work.  PoCC is part conference, revival, reunion, and safe space.  Thank you for taking the time to read this post.  Alicia and Jason are both deeply grateful that the community of AFS supports our identities and the diversity of identities that exist within our culture and community.