Happy Friday!
Morning Meetings have become a highlight of my day. I thoroughly enjoy gathering with the entire school community at 9:45, welcoming parents and other visitors. It’s a unique and very special routine here at NNS, one that I have come to appreciate in my short time here. It’s such fun to hear the different sharing from grade-level groups and the insights into classroom learning across the campus.
Starting with “QCAs”, we learn about wins and losses of sporting events. We hear about travel plans or trips gone by. We clap and cheer one another on. The student leaders’ responses are also impressive. One child stands to report, “We won our soccer game yesterday,” and the QCA leader replies, “Congratulations on your win!” It’s no small thing for children to stand and speak publicly - and to have the skill to respond appropriately and supportively to the comments shared. The finale of the QCA introduction is the New School’s special birthday song, sung today to two students.
This week, we had a special visitor, Matt Spies. Matt came to us from Brookfield, CT, as a regional coordinator for CoCoRAHs. Matt’s visit was coordinated by Lisa and Laura: their second and fourth graders regularly collect precipitation data through the CoCoRAHs. Matt Spies explained that CoCoRaHS is an acronym for the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. CoCoRaHS is a unique, non-profit, community-based network of volunteers of all ages and backgrounds working together to measure and map precipitation. It’s exciting that our 2nd & 4th graders are researchers for this work.
Third graders also provided highlights this week, including their plant research (water is actually more effective than Sprite when tending to a crop!) and facts about hummingbirds. Did you know there are two species of hummingbirds on Nantucket? I learned that from third graders today!
Have a wonderful weekend!