We had perfect fall weather with lots of sunshine for our Annual Founders’ Day on October 15. Students and their families, faculty and staff and a number of alum all joined us for our celebration!

There were dozens of activities for kids which were organized and run by our Eighth Graders. The dunk tank was particularly popular! We all enjoyed a delicious farm-to-fork luncheon thanks to Chefs Peter and David and the kitchen staff.

We officially opened our newly renovated playing field with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Head of School, Sharon Lauer thanked Board Chair, Mark Greenawalt and Campaign Chair, Joan Panagos for their leadership and also the generous community members whose tireless work and donations made this renovation possible.

Students and alums held a green ribbon around the field, and after a short announcement by Coach Boccamazzo, the ribbon was cut by Coach Burton and the alumni/ student soccer game began! Over seventy-five players joined the game!

Thank you to all who helped organize and run the event. We are looking forward to next year’s Founders’ Day!

Twelve of the seventeen Unquowa artists whose work has been on display at The Watermark at 3030 Park were honored at a special reception last week.

Last May art teachers Mrs. Ponden and Ms. Desgranges selected 2 pieces of artwork from each of our grades 1-8 at the end of the Student Art Show to be brought to The Watermark and displayed for residents to enjoy over the summer.

On Friday the artists, their parents and residents of the retirement living community got together for a special reception which included make-your-own ice cream sundaes! Each student was honored with a certificate and a water bottle, engraved with the words “my artwork hangs out at 3030 Park.”

We are looking forward to continuing this art partnership with The Watermark! Thank you to all the artists who participated, to Mrs. Ponden and Mrs. Desgranges, and Al Johnson and Tracy-Ann Samuel at The Watermark.

On June 7th the Unquowa community gathered for two very special events, the Closing Ceremonies and the Commencement Ceremony to honor the Class of 2011.

This year, during the months leading up to the Closing Ceremonies the faculty and staff collaborated to write a personal recognition for each graduate. The reading of these moving tributes by the faculty gave every member of the Unquowa community the opportunity to celebrate and recognize each of the eighth graders for their personal accomplishments.

This year the closing ceremonies also included a presentation by Sharon Lauer and Chef Peter to recognize and thank Unquowa’s first Kitchen Resident, Lauren Issaeff. Lauren’s contributions to the school, in the kitchen as a chef, on the court as a coach and in our broader community as a role model for our students, were deeply appreciated and we wish her luck! Of course, the Closing Ceremonies ended with every Unquowa student lining up to say goodbye to each of the graduates.

Underclassmen awards announced at the Closing Ceremonies included the Robert L. Cleveland Award for the Seventh or Eighth Grader who demonstrated a “keen mind, sound body, and unafraid spirit” which was given to Keelin Fitzsimons and the Unquowa Parents Association Award for a Seventh Grader who “has shown the most significant growth in intellectual discipline” which was given to Sisso Makhraz.

The evening Commencement Ceremony was a joyful gathering of the faculty and families and friends of the Class of 2011. The graduates and their guests were welcomed by Salutatorian Deborah Leszczynski, who thanked the parents and teachers for their support.

Sharon Lauer then introduced a new award , The Jean Carpenter Winton Distinguished Alumni Award. This award was established this year to celebrate and honor an alum whose loyalty and support of The Unquowa School has been extraordinary. It was only fitting that the first time this award was given, it would be given to the alumna after whom it is named, Jean Carpenter Winton, Class of 1934. Sharon spoke of Jean’s steadfast commitment to Unquowa. Over the years, Jean has helped Sharon and her predecessors to be mindful of the school’s history and roots. Jean was at the Commencement Ceremony with her children to accept the award. In her remarks, she encouraged the graduating class to always remember “the school by the brook”.

Gemma Lein-McDonough, class Valedictorian, spoke of the reality that everyone, teens and adults, faces challenges big and small throughout their lives. She emphasized the importance of focusing on the larger ones and keeping the smaller ones in perspective. Gemma reminded her classmates that when things seem difficult, they should “…always know that there are people to support and teach you.”

Speaker Kurt Soderlund, Founding CEO of Safe Water Network, spoke to the Class of 2011 about the importance of stepping outside of their “comfort zone” in their lives, both through their work and other activities. He encouraged them to look at the global community and to think of ways that they can use the skills and dispositions they’ve learned at Unquowa to have a positive impact on the lives of those less fortunate.

After the conferring of diplomas and awards, the Class of 2011 and their guests enjoyed a wonderful reception hosted by the Seventh Grade families.

The Summer 2011 issue of Pen & Paper, Unquowa’s Creative Arts Magazine, is published! You can find artwork, photography, poetry, and short stories created by the talented upper school students within its pages. Thanks to the hard work of student layout editors, this issue is beautiful. Thank you to all contributors and staff members for this wonderful display of Unquowa’s creative students. I look forward to seeing the future writing and artistic talents of fifth through eighth graders for the fall issue. Any upper school students interested in becoming staff members are welcome to join us this fall as well. Happy reading!

Summer 2011 Issue

The Unquowa School, in collaboration with three other leading progressive schools, plans to create a visionary teacher education program that aims to change the landscape of how teachers prepare for their profession. A $250,000 Education Leadership Grant from the Edward E. Ford Foundation to The Cambridge School of Weston, along with matching funds raised by the partner schools, will help the collaboration launch the Progressive Education Lab (PEL), a two-year teaching fellowship that places aspiring teachers in schools from the get-go and provides a dynamic, experienced based training not typically found at traditional university-based education programs.

Leaders from the four schools - The Cambridge School of Weston in Massachusetts, The Putney School in Vermont, The Calhoun School in New York City, and Unquowa - will begin planning the program immediately, and PEL is expected to begin accepting applications from candidates who will enter the program in September 2012.

This unique collaboration brings together four very different schools; two city-base, two rurally-based; and upper and elementary school divisions. Each school will provide PEL teaching fellows with exposure to certain kinds of learning and teaching. For example, they may learn about integrated studies at CSW, project-based learning at Putney, the city as school at Calhoun, or museum collaboration at Unquowa.

The idea for such a program was born at a symposium on progressive education at Putney last summer, where leaders from these four schools brainstormed ways to foster teacher training that was, at its heart, truly progressive.

Currently, a majority of traditional teacher training takes place at colleges and universities, away from the classrooms and the environments where teachers would actually teach. Oftentimes, school leaders have found a disconnect between theory and practice. The PEL collaboration seeks to find ways for progressive schools to take the lead on teacher education that would not only train new teachers but strengthen teaching at each of their schools.

As the grant team explained in its application, the Progressive Education Lab is premised on the schools’ shared belief that “progressive schools offer the ideal environments in which to train skillful teachers. These communities demand both deep subject-matter knowledge and creative child-centered and inquiry-based pedagogy. They also require an enduring understanding of how children learn and grow, the ability to connect school to the community, and stamina.”

The Edward E. Ford Foundation aims to improve secondary education as provided by independent schools in the United States. The educational leadership grant is the largest grant that the foundation awards each year to schools that propose a program that’s generative, transformational, replicable, includes partnerships with other schools or organizations, and addressees the question: “What is the public purpose of private education?”

Yoga has been practiced for at least 5,000 years. “Yoga” is derived from the Sanskrit word “Yuj,” which means to “unite” with the mind, the body  and the spirit. About 11 million people practice yoga just in America  and have been enjoying the benefits, which include flexibility, strength, posture, breathing, stress relief and improved concentration. Only recently studies have confirmed why people feel so good after yoga. Neuroscientists now know that the release of GABA(gamma-aminobutyric acid) is clearly shown in those who practice yoga. This means the practitioner will feel a sense of calm and keener mental awareness after  just one class.

Yoga is ageless. Anyone can participate. Here at the Unquowa school, we offer after-school yoga classes to our students from grades Pre-K 4 through 8th grade. In the summer, a Creative Art and Yoga Workshop is offered to students currently in grades 4-8. Each day the participants in the workshop, practice yoga for the first half of the morning with a  focus on the 7 chakras, highlighting a specific energy center. The second part of the Workshop includes various visual art projects that correlate to the color associated with that day’s chakra.

Yoga classes will resume in the fall and I would like to extend my sincere gratitude for the continued support of this program and to my little Yoginis! Namaste!

The Connecticut Invention Convention started in 1983. Its goal is to develop and enhance students’ critical-thinking skills using creative problem-solving techniques.The program is open to students K through 8 state wide. The 2010 convention hosted 600 student inventors from 90 Connecticut schools. Unquowa is proud to be participating in the 2011 convention.

Our inventors club was open to all students from grades 5 through 8. During our after school meetings, students worked through the essential lessons that were part of the inventors’ curriculum. At our first meeting we toured the school trying to find as many inventions as possible. Students’ lists were endless. Other meetings included: brainstorming the following questions: What is an Invention, Invention Improvement and the most popular, Take Apart Lab. During this meeting students brought any broken invention from home and took it apart. From computers to hair dryers, they were amazed at how complex or simple some of these inventions were.

Besides attending meetings, our inventors worked on their inventions at home. They were required to keep a log of their progress, and they researched to make sure that their invention was unique. The 2011 Invention Convention is on May 14th at the University of Connecticut’s Gampel Pavilion. Unquowa’s inventors can’t wait to show the results of their hard work to the judges, and to have the chance to participate with all the other schools who will be attending.

The eighth grade traveled to NYC for a curriculum connected rhythmic experience at the Orpheum Theatre in NYC with the music department.  Professional performers displayed beats, humor and energy in mini-skits that would exhaust the fittest.  Creativity and physicality captured everyone’s attention and awe as audience members were amazed at the many unfolding surprises.

Our students are now developing their own performance skits for their music class. They are on an adventure  to look at the magic of sounds that everyday items offer and create a beat-driven performance that incorporates humor, imagination and yes, the use of their bodies.  Our fearless students were able to catch a picture with one of the main performers in the show. Looking forward to seeing  their inspiration and interpretation at a future assembly.

Students at The Unquowa School enjoyed an all-day event on Earth Day. Presenters from the CT Audubon, Maritime Aquarium, Beardsley Zoo and New Pond Farm brought many species of live animals, some of which included honeybees in an enclosed hive, a spotted turtle, barn owl and touch tanks filled with horseshoe crabs, snails and blue mussels. Upper School students paired with Lower School “buddies” and enjoyed a delicious lunch of hot dogs and hamburgers prepared on the grill by Chef Peter, Chef Dan and Chef Lauren. Parents visited Lower School classrooms in the afternoon where they led many creative Earth Day activities. Professor Farber also brought several of her students from Sacred Heart and directed hands-on science investigations with 5th and 6th graders. The day ended with a whole school assembly celebrating Earth Day with songs, poetry and a wonderful speech on conservation by eighth grader, Alex.

Seventh and eighth grade students attended the 9th annual CAIS/CODIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference at Choate Rosemary Hall April 10, 2011. This conference shares insights and conducts workshops that explore and celebrate cultural and sub-cultural identifiers throughout our independent school population in Connecticut. This year’s theme embraced the immigration journey as told by the keynote speaker Mawi Asgedom. It was a personal telling and perspective that endeared the audience of 435 attendees. We were fortunate to witness a personable telling from a survivor and refugee of Ethiopia. He is now a successful alum of Harvard University.  After Mr. Asgedom’s moving share, breakout groups were organized by grade and returning experiences. Students learned to inquire about their peer group experiences in the independent schools. It was a rich experience that continues to prepare our students for a world of wonderful differences and contributions from cultures everywhere.