From the director:

The Case of the Weekending Puppets has been solved! Last Thursday morning, several first graders whizzed into my office shouting that the puppets were GONE. I was taken to see the empty puppet basket (clear evidence that they had indeed vanished), and a note saying that they had scampered off to Inspiration Point.

By lunchtime, drivers were at the ready for the whole class to head to Inspiration Point to find their puppet pals. Instead, they found another note: “The view here was not great today, so we’ve gone to the beach. See you there!” Which beach? Crissy Field was close by, yet the students knew from the photographic evidence that Baker Beach was Mr. Cool Cat’s hangout. To check their hypothesis, the class decided to try Baker Beach, where they found middle school humanities teacher Lisa Spengler having a picnic by herself.

“What are you doing here? Where are Moo, Miss Tea, Guillermo, and Mr. Cool Cat?” Lisa replied that she had come to the beach to have a picnic with her friends, but was worried that she may have the wrong location because they hadn’t turned up. A cell phone call confirmed that her luncheon companions were at the Golden Gate Bridge instead. The first graders took this information as a hot clue, and charged off the beach—determined to get to the bottom of the ongoing mystery of the traveling puppets.

When Kelly, Lisa, and the students arrived at the bridge parking lot, they were befuddled. Tourists were everywhere, but the picnicking party was not in sight. As a large group of saffron-robed Buddhist monks passed by, Clio piped up that she had spied Mr. Cool Cat behind the big cable display. Indeed, all four puppets were having lunch on a blanket with two strangers, who were reading them a story. Moving closer, the students remained unsure of the identity of the suspects, who were wearing scarves and sunglasses; it seemed that these rapscallions were also masters of disguise. Yet soon enough, they were revealed to be (drum roll . . .) Sara Anderson and Adra Valentine. The book they were reading was the story of the puppets’ adventures in San Francisco, complete with all the photographs and a dramatic denouement.

Every teacher at PHS delivers wonderful examples of progressive education on a regular basis; I can tell a story from every grade and subject, as this is our stock in trade. This particular tale is fun to share, partly because it involves so many creative adults and excited kids, and partly because it came out of the blue—Kelly was caught by surprise, and ran with it.

Big thanks to Sara for the original Cool Cat Caper idea, and to all of the culprits (including Adra’s husband Jason) for their joyful ingenuity, acrobatic photography, and geographic intrepidity. Thanks to the first graders for being such avid detectives, and to everyone else who went along for the ride with such enthusiasm.

Cool Cat

From the deans:

Trite as it may be for this time of year, I am going to write on the theme of thankfulness. I recently remembered a Friday letter that former PHS director, David Hockschartner, wrote several years ago. He pointed out what a challenging job our teachers have. Their work is always a public performance for which there is no rehearsal nor real script. Hundreds of decisions are made from minute to minute and they differ from day to day. Which child shall I call on to answer a question? Do I reprimand a pair of children for whispering during an instructional period when I know they are talking about the current lesson? How many math problems is a reasonable assignment? Should I return an email to a parent or call them on the phone? Is my voice the right volume for the current mood of the class? Did we review the vocabulary enough or shall I require that the students do it again? We arrived five minutes early to the assembly, how do I constructively use this time? Which four children should sit at this table? A student is complaining of a sore throat, do I take her temperature or is this not necessary? It is no wonder that teachers are tired at the end of the day!

It also helps explains the exhilaration teachers feel when a lesson goes well and the decisions come easily and feel like the right ones. And the reverse is also true. It helps explain the sense of dismay a teacher may feel when things do not go quite so smoothly. Teaching is a complicated job and it is impossible to do it perfectly for every student every minute of the school day. So, what does this have to do with thankfulness? Please thank your teachers for the many wonderful things you see happening. (I know many of you do this without my gentle prodding!) We work really hard to provide the best possible learning environment for all of our students and lots of the time we get it just right. Just as our students need to hear all the ways they are doing the right things, our teachers need the positive feedback as well.

Ann Meissner
Lower School Dean and Learning Specialist

The 3rd grade architects of this amazing sand structure.

Aerial view of “Fort Greenberg.” It respectfully survived for a week thanks to cooperation from all the lower school classes. Thanks to the creators and the spectators as well.