claire

Ten Questions to Ask Schools about Kindergarten

by claire

The ABCs of ISW

Welcome to ISW’s closing ceremonies. It’s good to be together to call an official end to the school year.

As always, we have many people to thank tonight. First, many thanks to my wonderful husband, Bob McDonald. Therapist, pack mule, truck driver, and strategist, you are my rock.

Thank you to the ISW Board. No Head of School has ever been blessed with a harder working more supportive Board than I have. Boardies, your tireless work on behalf of the children in front of us today and those who haven’t yet been born yet is greatly appreciated.

Meghan, you have been our Director of Operations for two years, and we can’t wait to see what you do for your next act as Campus Dean and Director of Marketing and Development.

Teachers, please stand and receive our well-earned applause. You are the heart of ISW. Thank you for your dedication and tireless work on behalf of our wonderful students!

Parents, on behalf of the staff at ISW, we thank you for trusting us with your children and supporting everything our community sets out to accomplish. Without your endless support, from teaching to driving, from arranging for amazing speakers to standing on the playground during recess, we couldn’t function.

And finally, students, it’s really all about you! Thank you for a lovely year! Thank you for making it a pleasure to come to work every day. Thank you for teaching everyone in our community and for staying so engaged in the learning process.

As you students know, we have a closing tradition: the ABCs of ISW. Here is this year’s version. And I must say, this is always a bit of a Dr. Seuss-ish tongue twister.

A is for Azzy, Avery, Anna, Andrew, and the Ames kids (two of them, a Kate and a Ryan), Ms. Angie, Ms. Alisa, Annie Jr., Art, American Sign Language, and awards—which are plentiful here despite the small size of our school.

B is for Mr. Ben, Mr. Bob, Mr. Brendan, Dr. Bryan, Ms. Becky, Ms. Brigitte, and our favorite food, Bacon.

C is for Charlotte, CeCee, Ms. Christy, Ms. Christina, Ms. Carmen, Ms. Claire, Camping with the High Schoolers, CATs, Clues and Blues, and Caught Ya’.

D is for Mr. Dave, Ms. Donna Day, Ms. Devon, Ms. Dunia, Ms. Dee, Ms. Diana, Disaster Man, and Destination Imagination.

E is for Eli, Emma, two Elizabeth Graces, an Elizabeth Loring, and an Elizabeth Williams, and of course, oh Middle Schoolers, Evita.

F is for Ms. Faith, 44 field trips, free dress days, 4H Ropes Course, Footloose, and FAME.

G is for Garrison.

H is for the High School, tiny but mighty (like its students), Huzzah! (our new student-run production company), and Hamilton—the student-kind, named Isaac, AND the musical.

I is for Ms. Ingrid, the Independent in ISW and the Imagination in DI.

J is for Jordan, James, Jake, Joe, Josh, and Jack, and Ms. Jessica, Mr. John, and Mr. Jeremiah.

K is for Katrin and Katherine, and two Khans—one large, one medium--Ms. Katie, two Ms. Kerrys, Ms. Kristin, and Ms. Kate.

L is for Lia, Liana, Lucas, Ms. Lenore, Ms. Lisa, Ms. Lorna, Ms. Liz, Laptops, Leif Ericson, Lords and Ladies, long division, and Landers—small, medium and large.

M is for two MJs (a McGowan and a McDonald), two Mayas, a Maddex, a Mason, and a Miranda, and a Madison, Ms. Meredith, Mr. Matt, Mr. Mark, Mr. Mike, Michele Elliott, our dear Ms. Michelle, Monday Morning Meetings, and Milestone Projects.

N is for Nicholas, Nature, Ms. Noelle, Ms. Nichole, and the National Mythology Exam (and let me just say that every Middle Schooler who took it medaled!)

O is for Open Mic Nights and “Oh, Ms. Katie, Ms. Becky, Ms. LaTasha, I can’t find my homework!”

P is for Ms. Pam, Pajama Day, planners, Performing Arts, Phantom of the Opera, and Poetry Panels—three of them.

R is for Rena, Rita, Ms. Rebecca, and rehearsals, rehearsals, rehearsals.

Q is for quiet, which is in short supply at ISW.

S is for two Sadies (a T and a W), Skyler, Sofia, Sydney, Ms. Sarah, Ms. Saba, Ms. Susan, Spanish, the Smithsonian, snow, and summer.

T is for Thatcher, Ms. Theresa, Ms. Trish, Mr. Tim, Ms. Tasha and Ms. Tosha, Thanksgiving, and Thriller flash mobs.

Uh-oh, school is cancelled again.

V is for Valentine’s Day and two Viners, or four Viners, or six.

W is for Warren and one Watterworth who became a Whitlock.

X is for xenocryst, a crystal foreign to the igneous rock in which it occurs. There's a sneak peek at Geology for you rising juniors!

Y is for our beautiful yearbook, the YDC, and four letter words the start with Y and end with A, like yoga and Yona.

Z is for Zarak, ziplines, and my wish that throughout the summer, you all know when to zig and when to zag.

by claire

Am I OK? by Becky Lloyd

Every year, our 8th graders select an adult speaker. This year, our students chose Becky Lloyd, their Middle School Science teacher. 

So, I struggled a bit with what to say to y’all. You two, who can be sooo different, yet are such soulmates. What should I tell you about your future, where I see you going, who I see you becoming?

I took me a long leisurely stroll down memory lane. It struck me that in my time with y’all I’ve been asked the same question at least a hundred times. But it hasn’t always come out the same. It’s come out as “what will the quiz look like tomorrow”, or “what will the judges think of my science fair board”, or “are you mad at me for not finishing this question on the homework”, or “what will high school be like”. But really, I think, they are always the same question. “Am I going to be OK?”

So I try my best to answer you. “Get the work done and show me tomorrow, and it’ll be fine” or “You’ve already proven to me that you got this stuff down, the quiz is just another way to show me.”

But I know I wasn’t always the best at answering your deeper question. So, let me try now.

You’re going to be OK.

And I’m not speaking with bravado when I say that I KNOW that you’re going to be OK. I’m speaking from years of delightful experience with two extraordinary young ladies. Two ladies who have the BEST ability to see the joyful in the world around them.

However, let me be clear about “OK”. OK can look like a failed test with the assurance that you have still mastered most of the concepts, OK can look like tripping over your own tongue while talking to Mr. John, but in the end earning a chance to go to the JMU regional science fair. It can look like my stern face when you haven’t done what I asked, or my grateful face the very next day when you are the only one who completed the task correctly. And it can look like standing beside my car in the rain, pulled off of Route 66, with a flat tire, after having walked in that same rain five blocks in the WRONG DIRECTION before making it to the cathedral where we never DID get to climb the bell tower… then being able to laugh as we talk about the angel who saved our lives and helped us get home so that we could share our heartbreaking story.

It’s all OK.

Because OK can be hard, and OK can be scary, but OK means that you’ve survived, and you’ve learned and perhaps you’ve even laughed about it. The truth is…we all have a chicken-duck-woman thing waiting for us.  Even if every day you worry all day about what’s waiting in the bushes of love…

You both are gifted with an arms wide open, running full-throttle, probably singing or laughing approach to this life. You embrace the absurd, you embrace the people around you (sometimes aggressively so) and, most crucial to your success, you embrace the chance to learn and grow.

When George Lucas was making the original Star Wars trilogy, he said, "You simply have to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Put blinders on and plough right ahead." And really, I don’t think that applies to you. I threw it in there because it’s George Lucas, and you know, Star Wars. My perception of y’all, though, is that you keep your eyes wide open. Taking in so many potential roadblocks and terrifying possibilities. In a lot of ways you refuse to put on blinders. But, you do put one foot in front of the other and keep going. Probably laughing or singing or being dragged along by someone who you are snuggling or hugging. And maybe not as gracefully as you always hope, you keep plowing right ahead. That, my loves, is why I know that you’re going to be OK.

I would go so far as to say that odds are you’ll be fabulous, but I never tell anyone the odds. I am giddy with excitement for you in this next leg of your epic adventure. OK or not, know that at least you have this one old princess rooting for you. Love you guys.

--Becky Lloyd

by claire

Leaving Middle School

Welcome to the Independent School of Winchester’s third annual luncheon honoring students completing Middle School. Welcome, teachers—who have worked so hard to prepare our 8^th graders for high school and for life!  Welcome, 6^th and 7^th graders—in whose honor this event will be in just a year or two. Welcome to our rising 6^th graders—who begin Middle School in the fall--and to our high school students, who are here to see their dear friends through this important milestone. And welcome especially to Azrael, to Grace, and to their parents. We are here to honor you!

Over the past few years, this event has evolved. Far from being the traditional Girls in White Dresses and Boys in Blazers Faux Commencement, this is a much more personal celebration. We avoided the White Dress approach because though they are supposed to symbolize innocence, my feminist heart is always left wondering why the young men aren’t also in white. It’s not a graduation because, as you know, your education is far from complete.

Nonetheless, you have reached an important milestone, and we want to recognize that achievement. ISW’s Middle School is demanding. The good news is that your classes are small so you get lots of attention. The bad news is your classes are small so you get lots of attention. If you don’t know how to do a math problem, Mr. Jay or Mr. Jeremiah WILL know because there are only two or three of you. There’s literally nowhere to hide! If you didn’t complete your homework, Ms. Katie WILL know. On the other hand, if you have struggled mightily to master a counter-intuitive scientific concept, Ms. Becky will know. If you have finally started to dream in Spanish from time to time, Ms. Christy will hear the improvement in the fluidity of your speech. If you are taking a risk on stage or on a canvas, Tasha or Kerry will know it—even if no one else has any idea.

At ISW we ask you to read and write far more than most Middle School programs. We don’t use traditional grades for many reasons, perhaps the most important of which is that we want you to aspire to mastery as opposed to the bare minimum and we want you to pursue your education because you value it. Anyone who wonders if a school that doesn’t use traditional grades can possibly succeed in motivating anyone need only look at our 8^th graders to see that it’s entirely possible and wildly successful.

The bottom line is that ISW’s program asks much of our students, and you two have many accomplishments to point to with pride. To paraphrase Darth Vader’s comments upon encountering Obi Wan, “The circle is now complete. When I met you, you were but the learners; now you are the masters.” We want to honor both your achievements and the fact that you are passing out of childhood and into young adult years. And so we settled on “themed” celebrations. Our first year, the theme was The Wizard of Oz. Last year, the theme was Little Women. This year, Azzy and Grace have chosen Star Wars. I love the fact that a school that nurtures creativity in all its forms has created its own signature event to honor its students.

Azzy, you joined us in the 4^th grade and you have come so very, very far. Remember the bouncy ball? Remember your delight in learning that you wouldn’t have to wait 2-3 more years before you would be allowed to sing in performing arts? Grace, you attended ISW from Day One as a first grader. You have come a long way from telling Ms. Emery that you couldn’t read and then getting tricked into revealing that you had read many chapter books.

Yes, you have both grown up, and now you are sitting here…dressed as Chewbacca and Queen Amidala. What that tells me is that while are well on your way to mastering the art of "adulting," you haven’t lost, and hopefully will never lose, the art of "childing." Congratulations, 8^th graders.

And now it’s time to enjoy a feast! To paraphrase C3PO, “I’m rather embarrassed, Azzy and Grace, but it appears that you are to be the main course at a banquet in your own honor.”

Photo by M. McDonald

by claire

Huzzah and the Alamo team up in June!

During the month of June, the Alamo has very kindly chosen Huzzah as the beneficiary of their KIDS CAMP movie program--which shows a movie every day at 10:30 AM. Tickets are a deal at $1 to $3. Please come see one of the excellent movies and support your community's theater students! Check it out:

https://drafthouse.com/winchester/news/announcing-alamo-drafthouse-winchester-kids-camp-programming-2016

Huzzah! We are small but we are mighty. Made up of 16 middle and high school students from all over the Northern Shenandoah Valley, Huzzah is one of the only youth-run theater boards in all of America! Together we perform all the functions of a performance company: we determine our productions, we engage sponsors and venues from around the area, and we create our own budgets and goals!  

Due to our youth run style, Huzzah’s shows won’t be your typical, cut-and-dried teacher run artistic environment. Instead, we want to grow our artists as both performers and innovators; they will have great input into the interpretation and presentation of every show.   As we develop, Huzzah hopes to bring all these growing artists together and begin an artistic outreach program--performing for schools and teaching student master classes.

Huzzah is in the process of securing the rights to “Beauty and the Beast, Jr.” for our Fall 2016 show.

Huzzah's mission is to be an accepting, positive, enjoyable environment that grows disciplined and educated performers and artists. With a commitment to the arts, we will promote a professional balance between personal artistic growth and quality productions. We strive to take any text laid before us to discover depth that moves both our audience and our ensemble through challenge and support.

Huzzah is part of the community outreach program of the Independent School of Winchester, Inc.

--Rebecca Balcom, President of Huzzah!

by claire

Welcome, Tosha Tillman!

ISW is thrilled to welcome Tosha Tillman to our teaching staff for the 2016-17 school year! A passionate advocate for progressive education, Tosha will teach High School Humanities classes and serve as our campus dean on the Middle and High School campus.

Tosha earned a Masters Certification for Teaching in English and Language Arts, grades 6 through 12, from Shenandoah University and graduated cum laude from Hollins University with a BA in Dance. Over the last eight years, she has taught English, writing, and language arts at many levels and served as both a classroom teacher and a coach for teachers. She has also danced professionally, taught dance, choreographed many shows, and worked with a wider variety of performing arts programs. Tosha and her husband Matt live in a multi-generational home in Winchester with their two children and Matt's mother.

by claire

Service Learning Comes Alive at ISW!

How can our school engage our students in discussion about what it means to live out ISW’s Core Values (respect, responsibility, empathy, integrity, and commitment to education)? That was the question that faculty considered last year. Affirming that our students should see themselves as leaders with the responsibility to make a positive impact on the community today (not some far-off time when our students are finally “grown up”), our faculty adopted an annual service theme that includes literature studies, field trips and speakers, and, of course, service projects. In other words, we adopted a true service-learning model.

Last spring, our students voted to make 2016-17 the year of Animal Welfare. And then the real fun began. Understanding that before students can help others, they must first educate themselves, teachers researched fiction and non-fiction, and we read (and read and read) many titles, including:

• The One and Only Ivan, by Katherine Applegate
• Hoot, by Carl Hiaasen
• Wesley the Owl, by Anna Sewell, adapted by June Brigman and Roy Richardson
• Dear Whiskers, by Ann Nagda
• Black Beauty, the graphic novel
• Iditarod-related books

Students wrote about animal welfare and debated it. One of our 4^th graders wrote about a persuasive essay on the conditions in which hens are raised. A 3^rd grader wrote a persuasive essay on testing human products on animals. A 9^th grader created a photo essay about a cat colony in Front Royal. Kindergarteners spoke extensively during science units about treating all creatures with respect and kindness.

We hosted cross-divisional sessions:

• Upper Elementary students will visit the Middle/High School campus to share a morning of activities and to watch Hoot, the movie, over a potluck breakfast. (Incidentally, our Middles and High Schoolers volunteered to read Hoot, so they would be ready to discuss it!)
• High Schoolers visited the Uppers to teach sketching and some games in connection with Black Beauty.
• Uppers put together an Animal Lit unit to share with the Kindergarten and Lower Elementary students.

Our students enjoyed field trips and speakers, including:

• Blandy
• Blue Ridge Wildlife
• Dakota’s Dream
• Purposeful PAWS
• Timmy, a rescue dog
• Safe Approaches to Dogs
• Pollinator Release Program
• Camel Rides (which tied into the Middle School study of the Silk Route!)

And of course students created many service projects. A few highlights :

• Lowers made dog treats for the SPCA.
• Uppers decorated an origami animal-welfare-themed holiday tree for the YDC’s Festival of Trees.
• Middles created an owl-themed wreath for the YDC’s Festival of Trees.
• High Schoolers collected supplies and donations for Blue Ridge Wildlife.
• Art classes at all levels made nature drawings and animal portraits and collages.
• The High School photography class made education about animals at Esther Boyd and the SPCA a key subject for their photo exhibition at Tin Top.

We are loving this approach to service learning, and we judge it a huge success. Next year’s theme: Art in the Community. We can hardly wait!

by claire

Ten Questions to Ask about Your Child's Kindergarten

Kindergarten sets the foundation for the entire elementary experience—which in turn determines, for many, their high school and college experiences as well as their trajectory as adults. Choosing the right Kindergarten class is, therefore, incredibly important.

1. Who will your child’s Kindergarten teacher be?

Your child’s first academic teacher should be warm, loving, positive, and capable—someone who helps your child (and you!) embrace the classroom as a second home.  We recommend that Kindergarten teachers have at least 5 years teaching experience and/or a master’s degree. Ideally, teachers have a major other than education for their BA and a master’s in an education-related field.

2. What are the goals and strategies of the class?

The best Kindergarten classrooms focus on the development of social and emotional skills necessary for lifelong learning--patience, self-control, focus on task at hand, ability to follow directions.

3. How many students are in the classroom?

Class size is very important! Studies show that classes with fewer than 20 students yield significantly better outcomes than classes with 20-plus and that fewer than 10 students is ideal.

4. How much time do students spend sitting?

Five-year-olds can focus for 15 to 20 minutes maximum. The best Kindergarten programs avoid asking children to sit for more than 20-30 minutes.

5. How much recess time is there?

Kindergartners need two to three outdoor recesses—unstructured but supervised!--per day for many reasons. Physical exercise and fresh air dramatically improve brain function, and frequent breaks allow the consolidation of new lessons into long term memory. In other words, recess matters.

6. How will my child’s reading level and skills be assessed and supported?

The best schools meet the individual needs of the children. If a child arrives in Kindergarten reading chapter books, the school should not require the child to sit through lessons learned long ago. However, it’s perfectly normal (and OK!) to arrive in Kindergarten not yet knowing how to read.

7. Are there field trips and expert speakers?

As Benjamin Franklin said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Trips and speakers create hands-on opportunities to bring learning to life and to expand your child’s world!

8. How much of the curriculum is hands-on? How much time will my five year old spend in front of a screen?

As enticing as technology is and as important as it will be later in their lives, five and six year olds need to: work with all their senses, put their hands on as many lessons as possible, spend time outside, and build their knowledge through projects, art, song, drama, and play. There will be time later for screens. And the foundational skills learned in a solid Kindergarten class will serve students well when they are developmentally ready for technology.

9. How does the school handle discipline issues?

The very best schools are small schools where every child is known and understood by many adults on campus. The focus should be on highlighting the positive and training students to consider their alternatives and make good choices.

10. Do Kindergartners interact with older students?

Multi-age classrooms have long been wonderful places for children to interact with students of a wider range of ages. Children in multi-age settings have opportunities to lead, to follow, and to develop crucial social and emotional skills.

by claire

An Open Letter to ISW Parents

March 2016

Dear ISW Parents,

Ever wonder how ISW students stack up? Is an ISW education really something special?

This past weekend we sent five teams to the Regional Destination Imagination Tournament with wonderful results:

• All five teams placed in at least one challenge.
• Two teams qualified for the State Tournament
• One team placed third and was recognized in a field of 88 teams for outstanding teamwork.
• Two teams won their instant challenges.

ISW has been participating in DI for 6 years, and we have never walked away empty-handed. How can a tiny school with just 50 students, a school that sends all of our elementary students and most of our middle and high school students to competition, routinely beat schools of 500, schools that send only the best of the best?

An ISW education yields confident, creative, innovative thinkers and doers. We spend two hours a week on DI. We spend every hour building strong academic foundations, fostering the so-called “soft” skills like working on a team, and nurturing creativity and self-discipline.

When we send our students out into the world—whether it’s the regional science fair, art competitions, DI tournaments, performances, or national tests like the National Mythology Exam or the National Latin exam—they show us what a difference an ISW education has made in their lives. Worth. Every. Penny.

I guarantee you that the investment you are making in your children today will pay dividends tomorrow--in college and throughout their adult lives.

Best,

Claire

by claire