New City School

Current PL 

August 2010

Dear Families and Friends,

Dear Families,

Welcome back! Did you miss us? August 30 is getting c-l-o-s-e-r...

The first day of school is always a favorite of mine. It's great to see the smiling faces and feel the energy in the building. A close second favorite day for me is when all of the teachers officially return to school; this year that's August 18. We have a week and a half of inservice before kids arrive, and it never seems like enough time. We'll be working on curriculum, teaming, diversity, technology, and having some fun too!

Are your children eager to return to school? I hope so! That first day is always a bit nerve-wracking, so please allow a few extra minutes or three to find a parking space and come on down. We want every student in the classroom and ready to learn by 8:30. Remember, the Parents Organization (P.O.) offers coffee, rolls, and Kleenex in Founders Hall that first morning, 8:15-9:15am. Do plan on hanging around after you drop off your child. Alum parents are welcome too!
This PL, parent letter, is coming to you in hard-copy in the Welcome Back packet and as an e-letter. Subsequent letters - you'll receive a weekly one from your child’s classroom teachers and a weekly one from me - are only sent electronically, so please be sure we have your correct email address. Please send me your parents' and friends' email addresses for the Friday e-letter list if they would like to be up-to-date on NCS. The PL is read by hundreds of non-parents - grandparents, other relatives, friends, and educators - so feel free to add a name or three.
space THIS IS THE HEADLINE FOR THIS MESSAGE
When is that Open House? Well, you can find dates for all 2010-2011 school events at our website, www.newcityschool.org, in the Current Families section. We'll soon be mailing you a NCS calendar, but here are dates to Thanksgiving. Note: All open houses begin promptly at 6:30pm in Founders Hall. You'll be out by 8:30pm.
  • Monday morning, Aug. 30, school begins at 8:30!
  • Wednesday, Sept. 1, 6:30pm -- Open House for grades KDG, 2nd & 5th
  • Thursday, Sept. 2, 6:30pm -- Open House for grades 4/5s, 1st & 6th
  • Tuesday, Sept. 7, 6:30pm -- Open House for grades 3/4s, 4s, 3rd, & 4th
  • Friday, Sept. 10, Field Day for grades 1-6.
  • Tuesday, Sept.14, 6:30pm -- Sixth Grade Parent Secondary School meeting
  • Thursday (PM) and Friday (NO SCHOOL), Sept. 16 & 17 -- Intake Conferences
  • Saturday morning, Sept. 25, 10:00am – Muffin Morning for Adoptive families
  • Tuesday, September 28, 11:30am - Parent Education: Food Allergies
  • Tuesday, October 5, 6:00pm - Adoptive Parents Discussion Group
  • Wednesday, October 6, 8:30am - New Parent Breakfast with Tom
  • Thursday, October 7, after school - Student-Involved Goal Setting Conferences
  • Friday, October 8, NO SCHOOL -- Student-Involved Goal Setting Conferences
  • Tuesday, October 12, 5:00pm - New Parent Very Late "Breakfast" with Tom
  • Wednesday, October 13, 8:30am, New Parent Breakfast with Tom
  • Wednesday, October 13, 6:30pm - GLBT Group meets
  • Friday, October 15, 6:30pm - Parent Diversity Dinner & Dialogue
  • Tuesday, October 19, 7:00pm -- Parent Education: "1-2-3, Magic, Part 1"
  • Wednesday, October 20, 6:00pm, The Daughter Project
  • Thursday & Friday, October 21 and 22, NO SCHOOL - Teacher Retreat
  • Saturday afternoon, October 23 -- P.O. Fall Festival
  • Tuesday, October 26 6:30pm - Families of Color meeting
  • Friday, October 29, 2:30pm - Boo! Halloween Costume Parade.
  • Wednesday, November 10, 7:00pm - Parent Ed: Reading Tips for Parents, Preschool, KDG, & 1st grade
  • Thursday, November 11, 6:00pm - Adoptive Parents Discussion Group
  • Friday morning, November 12 - Grandfriends Day (noon early dismissal)
  • Saturday morning, November 13 - Prospective Parents Open House
  • Wednesday, November 17, 8:15am – Breakfast with Tom
  • Wednesday, November 17, 6:00pm - The Daughter Project
  • Thursday, November 18, 6:30 - Fifth Grade Performance
  • Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday, November 24, 25, 26, NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving Holiday
Is this a busy place?
space Our Team
While we receive quite a bit of interest in our work with MI (multiple intelligences), and while MI is a powerful tool to help students learn and to create joyful learning, make no mistake: It is the quality of the faculty that determines the quality of a school. I am pleased to work with so many talented and caring people. Good teachers make the difference, and it's great to have so many teachers with a proven track record of excellence here. You’ll note an absence of an * to indicate a new teacher; we have none!

I'm sorry to report that a few of our valued team members are no longer with us. Patrice Murphy worked as our learning specialist for quite a few years, and won't be returning, and Aubrey Bildner is not returning as Program Coordinator for Family Support. Leslie Peters, our Assistant Head for Institutional Advancement, is also leaving. Each of these people will be missed. (Leslie, however, will still be around a bit but in a different capacity. She'll be working to help us raise capital from our intellectual capital. I'll share more on that in the future.) There have been some shifts in placement too. Chanaya moves from grade six to three; Lisa moves from grade three to two; Carla Carroll moves from grade two to become our learning specialist.
space Who is where?
So what’s the deal with no new teachers? Well, we have three returning teachers joining us. Lucie Garnett rejoins us after a two-year hiatus spent traveling the world, among other things, and will be teaching math to our 5th and 6th graders. Claire Reinbold returns after a sabbatical year to teach 1st grade. She will bring us lots of ideas about the Naturalist intelligence. Sandy Bigg is back with us after a score of years as a tutor, and will be working as a part-time learning specialist. (Years ago Sandy was one of the original committee members who read Frames Of Mind, the book that first set out MI theory.) Here's the team:

Scholastic specialist teachers
  • Information Specialist/librarian/Linguistic -- Joe Corbett
  • Science/Logical-Mathematical (3rd-6th) - Eric Eskelsen
  • Spanish/Linguistic - Nina Nichols (grades KG-6); Nina will go on Maternity Leave in September, and her place will be taken by Roxy Hass in the interim.
  • Learning Specialist - Carla Carroll
  • Learning Specialist Assistants - Jen Kaslow and Sandy Bigg
  • Technology Specialist - Liz Tomasovic Gaydos
Fine Arts specialist teachers
  • Bodily-Kinesthetic/PE (2nd-6th) - Lauren McKenna
  • Performing Arts/Musical/Bodily-Kinesthetic (KDG-6th) - Ben Griffiths
  • Preprimary movement/Bodily-Kinesthetic/Musical (3/4s-1st) - Tommi Rogers
  • Spatial/Art (KG-6th) – Shannah Burton
  • Counselor/Intrapersonal/Interpersonal – Laurie Falk
Classroom teachers
  • 3/4s Mary Cullmann & Martha Erickson
  • 4s Eileen Griffiths
  • 4/5s Kristi Cloninger & Joyce Gray, Heidi Kehle & Megan Schneider
  • KG Monette Gooch-Smith, Joy Poole, Jackie Voelkl & Susan Matthews
  • 1st Sally Boggeman, DeAnn Pomatto, Chris Wallach, & Claire Reinbold
  • 2nd Sheryl Reardon, Megan Sanders, & Lisa Blue
  • 3rd Julie Stevens, Missey Doll, & Chanaya Jacobs
  • 4th Carla Mash Duncan, Anne Simmons, & Hallie Lindemann
  • 5th Susie Burge, Denise Willis & Lucie Garnett (math)
  • 6th Linda Churchwell-Varga, Charlotte Nagy & Lucie Garnett (math)
Sarah Foss will be our substitute coordinator, and Christine Knoten will be our Preprimary Assistant. Jessica Brod Millner will again be our MI Library Coordinator.
mailing.
space The Rest of the Team
Beyond our teachers, I'm fortunate to work with so many talented people who do other important things for us. Hats off to our front-line folks: Joyce Lanos, Debbie Nausley, and Dena Morton. They're always smiling and holding everything together. They make us a better school!

Betsy Blankenship is our Assistant Head for Admissions; Pat Nuernberger is our Assistant Head for Academics; Mary Daly is our Assistant Head for Student and Family Support; Sheryl Reardon is our Diversity Coordinator (and also a second grade teacher); Tobie Taylor Hudson directs our extended day and camp programs. Shawn Runge is our business manager, and is assisted by Bob Kerr; Bill Sprung is our director of facilities, assisted by Johnnie Burton. Leslie Peters is our Assistant Head of Institutional Advancement and Jami Dix is our Development Coordinator. As noted, however, Leslie is transitioning to a different, part-time job with us. A donor gave us a grant so that we can pursue earning revenue from our intellectual capital (e.g., from our work with MI), and she will coordinate that effort. We hope to have a new Director of Development on board soon. And Scott Boyles keeps us cyber-connected. Thanks to all of them for their efforts.
space Screech!!!
Traffic safety is always a concern. Please drive slowly and carefully around school, please do not allow your child to exit your car from the street side, and please cross only at intersections. Please! Westminster Street, on our north side, is private, so it cannot be used for parking (other than immediately adjacent to the school). Likewise, please do not park on Lake Avenue north of Westminster.
space Is it Ted, Teresa, Thad, Tim, or Toni?
So, just who is my child's teacher? Sometimes parents want to know in which teacher's room their child is assigned. This is less of an issue than it might seem. Thanks to our Performance Pay Plan, all of our teachers are good (if they're not good, they don't get to remain here). Also, kids in many grades see more than one teacher. However, if you want to know your child's teacher before the start of school, class lists will be posted outside the office and classrooms at noon on FRIDAY, August 27. If you can't come in then, feel free to call or email us that day. Our goal is to create equal and heterogeneous classrooms, balancing kid diversities and friendships.

All children who will be in the 3/4s through first grade will have an opportunity to come and meet their teachers, see their classrooms, cubbies, etc. before the first day of school. This optional and informal "Meet and Greet" for children and their parents will be during the day on Thursday, August 26, from 11am-noon. This takes about 15 minutes and is very helpful in alleviating some of the "First Day Jitters!"
space Extended Day News
From Tobie: WHATCHA DOING AFTER SCHOOL THIS FALL? Stay and sign up for an Extended Day Talents Class. Try one or a couple of these: Rock Band; Dance with Christina; IMACS; Abra-Kid-Abra Magic; Young Rembrandts; Mini Talents for Mini People; Mad Science; Piano; Band; Drums; and the list goes on. We are looking forward to another great semester of course offerings.

Look for the FALL TALENTS CLASS 2010 brochure online by Monday, September 6. And 4th-6th graders, please remember Band Night on September 13, at 7pm.
space In case there is an emergency...
Emergency form! When you return your emergency form, please give us a phone number that will be answered by a real-live person during the day. In the event that we would need to make automated calls to everyone during school hours, we want to reach a person. (And remember, unless you tell us not to do so, your cell phone number will be buzzable - listed in our Buzz Book.)

New students and all KDG students: Betsy shouts, "You should have received your health form, and it must be on file here by the first day of school." She shouts because we must have them. Questions: dnausley@newcityschool.org.
space Estivating linguistically...
OK, it's book report time. What did you read? What should I read? Summer is a time for me to catch up a bit on the ever-increasing pile by my bedside although I never seem to gain ground in this effort. This summer I read The Bridge by Remnick, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Larsson, The Help by Stockett, The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain by Strauch, Why Change? What Works? edited by Tracy and published by NAIS, The Lost City of Z by Grann, and The Great Brain Race by Wildavsky (I'm still working on the last one). Alas, there's more! At the top of the to-read pile are The Invisible Gorilla by Chabris and Simons, The Relentless Revolution by Appleby, The Flat World and Education by Linda Darling-Hammond, and Wiki Government by Novek.

A year ago I mentioned a new book, MI Around the World, edited by Howard Gardner and two others, with chapters about MI implementation in a score of countries, including how we use MI at New City School. The MI momentum continues: I am pleased to note that in late August Jossey-Bass is publishing a book written by our faculty, Celebrating Every Learner: Activities and Strategies for Creating a Multiple Intelligences Classroom. Here's the cover. You'll hear more about this!

Note that we are enclosing a copy of our Allergy Procedures. For whatever reason, more and more children - not just here, but everywhere - come to school with a range of allergies. Here's how we address them.

Thanks for wading with me through all of these syllables. I appreciate your enthusiasm, your effort, and, most of all, your kids. It's going to be a great school year! As special thanks for wading through all of these syllables, here's a link that may interest you. It’s a TED presentation that talks about the millions of other Earth-like planets that are in our galaxy: http://www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/07/27/sasselov.earth.planets/index.html?hpt=C1 or: TED: Millions of Earths

If not before, I'll see you on Monday morning, August 30, after drop-off, in the lobby of Founders Hall for some coffee, pastries, tissues, and moral support. Thanks to the P.O. for this welcome!

TOM
Thomas R. Hoerr, Ph.D.
Head of School
trhoerr@newcityschool.org

p.s. And NEW to NCS parents, we hope to see you on Tuesday evening, August 24, 6-8pm, for our New Parent Orientation Dinner. No child care is provided for this evening. You'll receive your invitation shortly, but please plan on joining us. (Let us know if the invitation doesn’t make it to you.)

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