That Head of School Guy

Students Participate in Golden Gate's 75th!

A magical moment happened on campus today.  Thanks to a wonderful connection by music teacher, James Harding, our 3^rd-5^th graders participated in a session with renowned composer Rob Kapilow, from NPR's What makes it Great?  series and Fred Newman, the sound effects artist from  Prairie Home Companion. 

Mr. Kapilow was commissioned to compose a piece for the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge for the Marin Symphony and is partnering with Mr. Newman on the project.  They visited SFS today to share a bit of their work and talk about their collaboration. Fred Newman was particularly popular with the students as he shared many of his mouth sounds including cars, waves, wind and even clouds! 

Our 5th graders have been working on their own composition in honor of the bridge, and they performed it for our two guests.  Their presentation was wonderful—full of imagination, risk taking and impressive musical knowledge.  After their performance, both guests gushed about the students stating they had never seen “…a group of students this age perform in such a wonderful way.”

To find out more about the Marin Symphony's performance check out www.marinsymphony.org. 

Beethoven and the Bridge:  Sunday, May 6, 2012 at 3pm & Tuesday, May 8, 2012 at 7:30pm, Rob Kapilow Golden Gate Bridge Opus Commission, World Premiere, Beethoven Symphony No. 9

Hearing the Silence

At The San Francisco School, we empower our students to be leaders and advocates for social change. Today's ‘Day of Silence', organized by a cohort of middle school students, is an example of their education at work.  The students and I both know that, even at a progressive school like SFS, this day may lead to some uncomfortable feelings.  I applaud our community for working past this and standing for justice.

The 'Day of Silence' is a national youth movement bringing attention to the silence faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their allies.  By being silent, the students act in solidarity with all whose voices have been silenced by name-calling and harassment.  The students are committed to ending the silence by building awareness and acknowledging the injustice.

Four of the middle school students who organized this effort came to my office to share their thoughts.  I asked them to tell me (spur of the moment) why this day of silence is important to them.  Here are their unedited written answers:

Harriet (8th Grade) - "The Day of Silence is important to me for various reasons. Some of these include the acceptance of others. In the transition to high school, everything seems discombobulated, especially other students accepting each other’s choices on high schools and who they are. Because I have a direct link to the LGBTQ community, this subject is very important to me, and I am glad that the SF School is willing to spend a day supporting that community, and recognizing that LGBTQ teens do face harassment for being who they are."

Henry (7th grade) - "The Day of Silence is important to me because I believe that all prejudice actions against the LGBT community should stop. This day is not only to support the community but it is also about honoring the various kids who are bullied each day because of their sexual orientation - kids who have to be silent to protect themselves from verbal or physical harassment. I am thankful that the city of San Francisco also supports LGBT people and acts as a beacon of hope for those who need it."

Crystal and Noa (8th grade)- "This day is symbolic to us because we feel that it is important to show our support for people in the LGBT community that are bullied for expressing their feelings and being themselves.  Nobody should have to be silent about who they are, and we hope that one day all people will be able to openly express themselves without being discriminated against or judged. We feel that the Day of Silence is a small step in helping our community accomplish that, and we're really proud to be participating in this event."

Even with these efforts, our school still has further to go in combatting the silence.  However, these words, once again, make me proud of what powerful change-makers our students are at the San Francisco School.

 

Left Scratch(ing) My Head

When 7^th & 8^th grade math teacher, Kai King was excitedly explaining to me recently how he was utilizing Scratch in his math curriculum, I nodded as if I completely knew what he was talking about. But as he headed back to his classroom, I went straight for my computer to dig deeper into the subject.  While I was familiar with Scratch - I needed to know more, and this is what I learned:

“Scratch is a programming language, [developed at MIT], that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web.  As young people create and share Scratch projects, they learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also learning to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively.”

When Kai and I next met, he shared how he was utilizing this new programming language.  The Scratch Project is part of an overall vision to give middle school math students a strong computer science background.  The ability to combine mathematical skills and imagination to construct and invent will be pivotal for our students in the coming decades. 

Our 7th and 8^th graders took a first go at Scratch programming this winter by developing computer programs based on Black History Month. There was some incredible work created that we will try to share in the coming months.  In the next couple of years, Kai is hoping to turn this into a combined 7th/8th venture, where the 7th graders develop their skills with the far easier, "out of the box" Scratch Programming language, while the 8th graders utilize their skills to develop apps using the Java language.

On that visionary note, I wish each of you a happy and healthy spring break!  See you in April.

 

 

Lets Go Bears!

It was the 7th grade boys semi-final basketball game and the season was on the line.  Our boys were down by 10 with less than two minutes left in the game.  In an unbelievable turn of events, the boys mounted an amazing comeback to tie the game up but ultimately they lost in overtime.  There were so many things that I loved about that game.  The determination represented by the comeback, the support of the parents and fans, the sportsmanship and the kids themselves. 

It is about so much more than winning and losing –it is about healthy and positive competition. And, it is important to highlight that we have a successful athletic program.  Five of our middle school basketball teams made the playoffs, and both the Girls and Boys varsity teams went undefeated and won their championships.  

With the 4th grade girls headed toward the playoffs, basketball continues in the elementary school.  In total, there were 3 teams for the 4th and 5th graders, 2 girls and 1 boys team.  The 4th/ 5th grade boys made it to the championship game and we will keep you updated as the 4th grade girls continue their run.

I can't wait to finally have 'home court' advantage in 2013, and to hear the chant of "Let's Go Bears" reverberating in the gym!  Many thanks to our coaches, players and parents for their participation in these wonderful seasons.

 

SFS Community Comes to the Rescue

I would not change having three children for the world!  Our two oldest kids have responded to our newest arrival, Harper, with joy, sensitivity and an appreciation of what she brings to our family.  They have volunteered to change diapers, given her baths and soothed her with lullabies that only little boys might conjure up. And, it is remarkable how she, at only 7 weeks, responds to them--gazing deeply into their eyes as if she knows these are the brothers who will protect her for the rest of her life.  

A third child also brings challenges and valuable lessons.  We constantly have the fractured feeling of not being able to pay enough attention to each child.  Beth and I are two people who thrive on having every "t" crossed and "i" dotted and we have quickly come to the realization that there simply is no way we can have every angle covered.  "Yes, that is my child who left the house wearing his pants backwards." "What, today's the 100th day of school, and we need to count out 100 beans two minutes before we rush out the door" (of course the bag of beans spilled all over the kitchen floor).

Here is where the strength and depth of the SFS Community comes in.  As quickly as we realized what a shift our lives were taking, our doorbell started ringing.   Since then, our refrigerator has been stocked with food delivered from parents in our two boys classes.  Savory delights that have truly kept our family sustained! Well wishes and offers to have the boys over for play dates have warmed our hearts and provided our boys with a bit of a respite from being big brothers all of the time.  

So it is with sincere thanks and great pride that we thank the SFS community for its tremendous support and understanding--even if the pants are on backwards some days.

 

Holiday Wishes and Slideshow

This fall has flown by and it is hard to believe that we have already arrived at the Holiday Break.  Thank you for your partnership in continuing to make this a wonderful school community!  Here are a number of photos from the past few months.  Enjoy.

I wish you and your family all the best and look forward to welcoming everyone back to campus in 2012!

 

Untitled from sfschool on Vimeo.

 

 

 

Why go to MOMA when you can go to SFO?

I am proud to announce that a San Francisco School art exhibit has been installed at San Francisco International Airport!  The show, which features 22 of our students work, captures the sites and landmarks of our city. 

The exhibit area is Terminal 1 on the lower level near baggage claim.  I hope you and your family have a chance to view this wonderful exhibit and/or share this news with family and friends who may be flying through SFO over the holidays.  For more information, check out at San Francisco Airport Museum

While we are on the subject of art - I would be remiss not to give a Shout Out to the beautiful 2012 school calendar and notecards.  Please stop by the front desk to check them out--they do make great holiday gifts :). 

Thanks to our teachers - Karen Goodkin, Ruth Cardillo, Tiphani Russell and Solveig Dimon for their collaborative effort in pulling this project together. 

 

 

 

Raising Good and Kind Kids

A great aspect of educating students and partnering with parents for as many as 11 years is that together we experience the ‘foundational’ phase of the student’s lives.  When students enter the gate at three years old, often in their parent’s arms and fighting back tears, our primary goal is to nurture them and slowly broaden their horizons.  By eighth grade, these same students confidently perform alone on the graduation stage in front of those same parents that once held their hand into the classroom every day.

What happens in the 10 years in between is incredibly important in determining, not only what the students will be, but more importantly WHO the students will be when they grow up.  We must balance the tension between nurturing every child and building resilient young adults.  We must find the intersection between building strong and informed minds with building a well developed moral character.  It is not only about raising successful and happy kids--it  is also about raising good and kind children.  And in that kindness and generosity of spirit our students will find happiness and success.

Let me know what you think.

 

From Sniffles to Sweet Potato Pie!

Yesterday, I visited the South Class 3 year olds as they participated in a Montessori Material lesson with their Head teacher, Harald.  As they delicately pinched the pins (exercising the pincer grasp) and placed them in the salt shaker holes, the lesson was interrupted several times by sniffles and coughs.  The students enthusiastically continued to raise their hands and fully participate, but this was a telling moment in another way...the students are ready for a break!

And, let us be honest with one another.  It is not just the students who are winding down.  Aren’t we all ready for a well-deserved rest before the winter holiday sprint?   The School calendar stretches all of us both mentally and physically.  As we head into the Thanksgiving break, I encourage you to take advantage of the rare gift of time.  Lean into those family moments, exercise if you can and wear sweatpants all day if that is at all possible. Enjoy and give thanks to all that is good over the next week. 

What is the secret of success?

If you have not yet had a chance to read this article, it is well worth your time.  Let me know your thoughts.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=failure%20nytimes%20magazine&st=cse