Presidio Hill School Weekly News

January 30, 2004

From the director:

Many of you have asked about Carey, and I’m grateful to be able to tell you that her surgery went well. She is recovering slowly from the operation, as the doctors expected. I’m sure I’ll have more to report when Carey is feeling better. Susan Byrd (mother of Ethan in 1st grade and Nina in kindergarten) has graciously agreed to help co-ordinate volunteer efforts in the “care and feeding” of Carey. We will let you know when Carey is home from the hospital and how you might be helpful. We are planning on Carey being away from school for the next six to eight weeks.

This particular period in the school calendar is an especially busy one from an administrative perspective. The admissions season is in full swing which means we are meeting with students, reading student records, and making enrollment decisions. Kindergarten play dates take place throughout January and February and middle school students have been visiting consistently throughout the fall and winter. Re-enrollment contracts for families go out this month and teachers renew their contracts next month. We are also in the midst of interviewing and hiring for the expanded middle school positions and for Dedee’s replacement in the development office. Many of you have been involved in the strategic planning efforts and are aware that we are hoping to finish up that work this spring.

[image] And, of course, all of our regular work of lesson planning, teaching, writing student evaluations, mentoring teachers, attending professional development conferences, planning for summer camp and meeting with parents continues. When at all possible we are deferring administrative tasks to the summer, when the calendar is slightly more relaxed. Suffice it to say, we are hard at work! I am in regular contact with the board of trustees and we are working together to manage this time as efficiently as possible. Please offer your support to faculty and staff during this busy time.

Join me in sending our best wishes to Carey.

Ann Meissner
Acting Director, Lower School Dean and Learning Specialist

From The Deans

I’d like to take this opportunity to highlight upcoming events in the middle school.

Grades will be mailed home on February 13.

Mark your calendars…spring mid-semester conferences will be held on March 25 and 26.

[image] In an ongoing effort to raise additional funds for the Costa Rica trip the 8th grade class is planning two fundraisers. The ‘Patched’ concert, scheduled for Saturday, February 7 at 2:00, is open to all members of the PHS community, family and friends. Tickets will be sold at the door -- $8.00 for adults and $5.00 for children. The bake sale committee will be back in action for what will be a ‘rockin’ hour with Aaron, David, Jacob, and Reed.

The second fundraiser is a ‘Tamales Sale’. Maricela Encinas (Martin, 8th grade) is once again making chicken tamales, to be sold to the PHS community. The enclosed flier and order form provides more detail about how and when to order your tamales. Forms should be returned to my office no later than February 4. Help support the 8th grade students and have a delicious Mexican favorite while doing so!

As you learned last week, Sue Marvit will take a medical leave of absence for eight weeks. Sue’s leave date has been changed from February 2 to February 9. Please welcome Wendy Flurry to PHS. She will be teaching Science until Sue’s return. Wendy is a Natural Science major, currently studying at JFK University in the East Bay.

Students in 6th and 7th grade are now presenting their ‘Whole Me Portfolio’. Parents are invited to attend the brief but nonetheless captivating presentations. Please check with your child for the presentation schedule.

Please feel free to contact me if further information is needed. And, have a great weekend.

Karen Amaker
Middle School Dean

Curriculum Spotlight - 3rd Grade - Reena Panchal

Music Update - Dan Goldensohn

My transition from public 5th grade to private 3rd grade teaching has been rewarding. In my move from the public sector to a progressive school, I’ve affirmed that students learn best when, in addition to skills and information, they are taught how to think and not what to think. Students learn best when their innate curiosity is stimulated. Presidio Hill School is the ideal place to teach and to learn because it is a place that encourages children’s interests and passions. PHS is a community that values the individual while striving to maintain and cultivate an atmosphere of cooperation and trust, safety, and togetherness.

In the third grade the big buzz right now is People in Profile, commonly referred to as PIP, an integrated thematic unit that fuses reading, writing, history, science, math, and the arts. In this long-term research project each third and fourth grader assumes the identity of an historical figure. As they study a notable person of their choice, the students develop the ability to extract important information, record facts, and synthesize their research into a cohesive interview. The students will also be creating biography altars honoring the lives of these historic people. This is an opportunity for students to integrate research with creativity. This week students began an activity called “Mystery Biography.” Each student will create a drawing and descriptive clues of their PIP person. The students’ Mystery Biography sketches will be displayed in the third grade wing. Please come by and play! This extensive project and all of the hard work put into it culminates on March 18, when each student dresses as, and assumes their chosen character’s persona, answering questions about their lives and accomplishments.

Starting the day with community morning meetings is an important aspect of the third grade. During morning meetings students and I gather in a circle to greet one another, listen and respond to one another’s news, practice social and academic skills, and anticipate the day’s events. The kids look forward to morning meeting because it is time dedicated to sharing. The information the kids share extends their knowledge of each other while the respectful reception of their news builds the students’ sense of significance. “My basketball team won this weekend.” “My cat just had a litter of six kittens.” “My grandma is visiting this weekend.” These are just a few glimpses of our discussions. The children often spot common ground for further conversations on the yard or at lunch, which enlarges each student’s circle of friends and allows students to learn about each other’s lives.

As you can see, while reading, writing, and math are a huge part of 3rd grade, so are activities designed to support the children’s development, not just as students but as human beings.

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Happy New Year to you all! I’m hoping the New Year will be bringing good things to you and your families. Here are a few musical notes I’d like to share with you.

First of all, I want to thank everyone for making this year’s Follies one of the all-time all-star events. As the musical director for the show, I am so grateful to all of you for your hard work and support. The costumes were fantastic, the food sublime, and your children were simply wonderful! Please allow me, in my gratitude, to share a few ideas about how music emerges within the arts world here at PHS.

For me, the Follies experience reveals the depth of art activities here. From the creative writing and thinking that our classroom teachers foster and nourish in each and every grade comes an 8th Grade class that can pour out a full play in a truly collaborative process. From Janna Sobel’s rich work with all ages in developing dramatic awareness, drawing out character, and encouraging expression of movement and soul comes a whole school full of children who seem comfortable, happy and proud to be on stage. Sara Anderson’s fine program opens our kids up to so many fun ways to work and play together physically. And Adra, always amazing in her ability to make all kinds of visual art become real and alive for our kids, from her stunning sets in the Follies to the remarkable breadth she offers the kids through portraits, pottery, painting, and many etceteras. Also, the fact that the school brings in special talent such as Sheila Lopez to direct and stage the Follies shows that we appreciate what art in the broadest sense can bring to our kids and community.

I hope you all appreciate as much as I do that this fully experienced artistic activity that our children go through results from a deep understanding of its value by you, the parent community, and especially by the full PHS faculty and staff. I love seeing Steve, Sharon, Erainya

and Patty dancing and singing away with their classes, Reena so deeply involved in her classes’ joyful number, the Middle School team of Sue, Mike, Karen, Josefina, Andria and Jono singing out with their masses, Lisa S helping her students be at their best, Adam trying not to smile, Mohammed providing the beats! Matt was so helpful, open and happy in his first Follies. And I especially wanted to showcase Kelly’s bravery and grace for stepping up so wonderfully into her choreographer’s role! Of course, Carey’s long experience in children’s theater and music, Lisa J’s in dance, and Siamak’s in writing, further enrich our children. So many of the people who work here have a passion for artistic expression in their daily lives: we have writers, dancers, photographers, painters, musicians, actors, impresarios, designers, and devoted fans of all these arts. All this is what it takes to make an arts program really work: it is integrated and natural within the whole curriculum and school experience.

Well, I’ve expressed my gratitude and admiration for you all, and I hope you understand that the strength of the musical element here is that our kids are learning that musical expression is a joyful reality. Despite constrictions of space and time, the kids at PHS experience music that is meaningful, expressive, and fun. Music and singing are social events that are also deeply personal and private. Music encourages deep thought and curiosity, about a world that the children can feel and hear and experience. It’s my pleasure and my job to help our children keep music as a reality that can open their hearts and minds in their daily lives, and not just as a commodity or background of sound.

Thanks again for your wonderful children!

Dan

The Friday Archive

Presidio Hill School | 3839 Washington St | San Francisco CA 94118
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