March 1, 2010, Fairfield CT, The Unquowa School today announced a new four year contract for Head of School Sharon Lauer.  This is Lauer’s third contract as Head of School at Unquowa. It enables her to complete the third phase of her 10 year plan for The Unquowa School, in addition to positioning her to remain as Head of School through Unquowa’s 100th anniversary in 2017.

“We’re extremely happy with Sharon’s leadership over the past 6 years,” said Kevin Taylor, President of the Unquowa Board of Governors. “Under her guidance, Unquowa has risen to new heights, as evidenced by a 93% enrollment retention rate and a thriving academic environment where 45% of Upper School students qualified as Johns Hopkins Scholars. This new contract ensures our stability as Sharon and the Board work together to implement their vision for The Unquowa School,” said Taylor.

Under Lauer’s leadership, Unquowa has been recognized for developing several innovative programs including one of the first organic school dining programs in the region and a groundbreaking in-depth partnership with local museums - The Fairfield History Museum, The CT Audubon and The Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art.

“Certainly I’m thrilled to stay at Unquowa and I thank the entire Unquowa community for this vote of confidence,” Lauer said. “The Unquowa School has a long history of innovation in education and I’m glad to be given the tools and the support to continue this tradition.”

Lauer came to the Unquowa School in 2004 from the prestigious Winchester Thurston School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  Awarded the Edward E. Ford Fellowship in School Leadership from the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), Lauer has served on the Board of the CT Association of Independent Schools (CAIS), and currently serves on its accreditation commission.

Located in Fairfield CT on the banks of the Rooster River, The Unquowa School is a co-educational day school founded in 1917 on the principals of innovation, integrity, and personal excellence. Entering its 94th year of serving families, the school still relies on these core values as its compass.

Westport Minuteman - February 2010

In response to the devastation caused by the recent hurricane in Haiti, students at The Unquowa School are participating in a fundraising project called “Houses for Haiti”.  This project was started by two art teachers in Florida who spread the word to their colleagues across the globe through their website www.haitihouses.org. They encouraged other art teachers to help students create pins of miniature houses to sell as a way of raising funds for the relief efforts in Haiti.

This request struck a chord with Kristin Sabol, Art Department Chair at The Unquowa School. Ms. Sabol immediately created the necessary template and students began working on their pins the next day. All Unquowa students in preschool through eighth grade have been busy decorating cardboard pins in the shape of houses and selling them for $5.00 each. The proceeds from these sales are being donated to Westport-based Save the Children in support of their on-going efforts to re-build communities in Haiti.

Looking at hundreds of the colorful three inch pins laid out for sale at a recent school event, one parent commented, “…the symbolism of creating a safe home for others in need is something every child can relate to.” The pins measure about three inches across and every student brought their own personal style to the project.

Ms. Sabol was overwhelmed by the positive response the project received. “I thought that actually creating something was a more tangible way for the students to be involved than just donating money. I was touched by the care that each student put into creating their houses and it sparked some deep conversations about the meaning of home.”

To date, the students raised close to $1,500 through this project and are donating 100% of these proceeds to Save the Children.

Charles MacCormack, President and CEO of Save the Children says, “In my seventeen years as CEO of Save the Children, I’ve never seen a more dire emergency. As terrible as the damage was in the Gulf Coast after hurricane Katrina or in Indonesia in the aftermath of the tsunami, the level of destruction, the absence of even the most basic of needs and the dangerous living conditions for hundreds of thousands of people are far more extensive in Haiti. The funds raised by the students of The Unquowa School are going to go a long way toward making a difference in the lives of children and families in need in Haiti.”

“Houses for Haiti” pins are available for sale at The Unquowa School throughout the month of February. If you would like to support the “Houses for Haiti” project by purchasing a pin, please contact Unquowa at 203-226-3801.

Fairfield Citizen- January 15, 2010

For many, a family tree is a chart - a collection of names and dates recording family order, but a group of 8th graders at the Unquowa School have taken their ancestors records one step further. Inspired by a recent exhibit at the Fairfield Museum highlighting family heritage, these students made members of their family trees come to life in an exhibit of their own entitled Our Nations Generations: Letters In Time, opening at the Fairfield History Museum on January 21.

The exhibit is the result of a multidisciplinary project involving faculty from the Museum and The Unquowa School working together to teach family history through art, writing and history. Students explored their family histories by interviewing relatives and gathering their stories. Students uncovered their connection to history, such as Charlie who learned that his great, great, grandfather served in the 21st Regiment of the Connecticut Volunteers during the Civil War and Marc who discovered that he is related to Ethan Allen. When asked what he would tell his descendants, Marc said, ‘You’re related to Ethan Allen; he’s a cool guy who fought in the Revolutionary War.”

A field trip to the Fairfield Museum educated students about exhibits and they participated in a Primary Source Workshop, uncovering the experiences of immigrants through photographs from the Library of Congress, and learning about the trials of finding work and settling in America through transcripts of Hungarian oral histories from the Museum’s library collections. The workshop supported Erica’s interview findings from her discussion with her great aunt, Nicolina Cerino. “She told me all of the stories from back in Italy all the way through their voyages and when they arrived in America.”

In school, English teacher Michelle Lamb had students identify a relative and write fictionalized letters based on their stories. Information about the time period and culture came from history class with teacher Debbie Leidlein, where students conducted research on their relatives’ home countries. Christine Jewell, director of education at the Fairfield Museum, discussed the aspects of curating an exhibit and writing descriptive labels for the audience. The exhibition was designed in art class with teacher Krissy Sabol, who helped the students scan photos and design the layout of each student’s project.

The result is a special exhibit of student-designed graphic panels featuring selected letters and photographs as well as loaned family treasures. The show opens on January 21 and runs through February 21, with an opening reception on Thursday, January 21 at 7pm.

The museum thanks the students for their energy and enthusiasm in creating this exhibit, as well as Sharon Lauer, Head of School, and teachers Debbie Leidlein, Michelle Lamb, and Krissy Sabol.

The Fairfield Museum and History Center is located at 370 Beach Road in Fairfield, CT and is open seven days a week. For more information about this exhibit and the many exciting events and programs that the museum offers, please visit their website at www.fairfieldhs.org or call 203-259-1598.

September 2009 - Press Release

Students at The Unquowa School celebrated International Day of Peace with a variety of projects and speakers.

On Monday September 21^st, official International Day of Peace, each of the school’s 177 students in grades PreK through 8^th grade wrote a personal wish for peace on a small map of the world. Each student then made a paper airplane out of their map, symbolizing their desire to send their wishes for peace out into the world. Krissy Sabol, Head of Unquowa’s Art Department, incorporated all of the paper airplanes with their peace messages into a giant 12 foot mobile which now hangs over the school’s stage and will be permanently installed above the main staircase.

Beneath that mobile at an assembly on Wednesday September 23rd, the school gathered to hear the 1^st, 2^nd and 8^th grade students sing a song of “Peace And Liberty - Paz Y Libertad” in both Spanish and English. Eighth grader Peta-Gay then spoke on the history and mission of International Day of Peace. Peta-Gay asked her fellow students to remember the importance of “being kind and treating others as you would like to be treated.”

As part of the English and History curriculums and the school’s Global Awareness Initiative, two invited guests then spent Wednesday morning with students in the Upper School to discuss international human rights issues and the situation in Afghanistan.

Mr. Jonathan Fanton, former Chair of the International Human Rights Watch and more recently the former President of The MacArthur Foundation, led the 7th and 8th graders in a discussion about the vital role individuals and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play in combating injustice around the world. Mr. Fanton emphasized the strong connection between poverty and human rights abuses. “I was very impressed with the quality of the discussion and the commitment of the Unquowa students to work for a more just and peaceful world. Their questions showed a deep knowledge and a real interest in other parts of the world as well as issues here at home”, said Mr. Fanton. He encouraged the students to continue to educate themselves about social and political injustice and to recognize their own potential to be part of the solutions.

Mr. Imran Mughal, who is from Pakistan and has worked extensively with Save The Children’s programs in Afghanistan, spoke with Unquowa’s 4^th, 5^th and 6^th graders. His discussion of Afghan history and culture, in particular his work with refugees, provided an opportunity for the students to gain a deeper understanding of life in that country. Mr. Mughal is also a parent of two Unquowa students.

International Day of Peace’s mission is to create “a day of non-violence and ceasefire in accordance with UN GA 55/282, and to encourage action on Peace Day that creates a united and sustainable world.” For more information log onto  www.internationaldayofpeace.org.

Chef Peter and second grader,Hannah, were on Channel 8’s Connecticut Style Show. Chef Peter cooked “Unquowa style” with his assistant, Hannah! The ingredients were simple, delicious, mostly local* and easy to prepare. He demonstrated yogurt chicken, arugula and mixed green salad with rhubarb vinaigrette, quinoa bread, and apples & honeycomb.

* The Unquowa School Garden;  Sport Hill Farm, Easton;  Mountain View Farm, Kent;  Red Bee, Weston

Click here to watch the video.

The eighth grade had the honor of developing and curating a special exhibit for the Fairfield Museum and History Center. Working with Christine Jewel of their education department, they spent the month of December delving into their own families’ histories and finding objects that best represented their traditions and cultures. Each student brought in a treasured heirloom and photographed it, and then they wrote about the history of the object and why it is special to their families. The photographs and written statements were then combined into a visual memento of their own personal family history. The museum printed, mounted, and displayed the finished works in one of their galleries along with several of the actual objects in glass cases. On Thursday, January 8, 2009, the eighth graders and their families attended an opening reception of the exhibit where they were able to share with each other and visitors their special and unique heritage. It was truly a remarkable and monumental event for everyone involved, and it showcases the talent, diversity, and insight that our students possess. The exhibit runs from now through February, with a special Family First Sunday event on February 1st.

Click here to read about this exhibit on NorwalkPlus.com

Click here to see the students’ exhibits.