The LP Bulletin #07September 29th, 2016

UPCOMING LP EVENTS

Thursday, 29th September 6:30 pm - 2nd/3rd Grade Pot LuckFriday, 30th September 12:15 pm - Early DismissalSaturday, 1st October - Adventure Trip CANCELLEDMonday, 3rd October - 6th Grade Conference DayTuesday, 4th October - 2nd Grade Conference DayWednesday, 5th October - Kindergarten Conference Day/ Secondary School Night.Thursday, 6th October - 4th Grade Conference Day6:30 pm 4/5th Grade Pot LuckFriday, 7th October - 5th Grade Conference Day.

HEADLINES

First Board Meeting

Ever since it was formed in 1973, and through many changes in membership and 9in leadership, The Learning Project's Board of Trustees has been one of the mostextraordinary groups of dedicated and thoughtful people that I have ever workedwith. Having served on several Boards in my lifetime, I can honestly (if not un-biasedly) say that none has compared in quality or in functioning and performanceto the Board that we are fortunate to have overseeing our little school. For those of you new to LP, our Board's By-Laws provides for up to 22 members inthree different categories: four current parents; up to two alumni, and fourteen tosixteen members-at-large, three of whom can also be current parents. The Headserves ex-officio without vote. The current Board has 23 members. Twenty one ofthem were able to attend last night's meeting. People sometimes wonder how the Board is selected. The Committee on Trustees isannually responsible for bringing forward names of candidates for election by theBoard. The Committee considers what skills or perspectives the Board might needto add to its deliberations, and candidates are evaluated according to that analysis.All candidates, of course, are expected to have a deep kinship with the school's valuesand approach. The names of current members are published annually in our Blue Book, which isavailable on line. This year, in the Members at Large Category, there are 13 formerLP Parents, two current parents, and one member who is an elementary publicschool principal, who had known this school for decades before being asked to be onthe Board. Our current Board Chair is Jim Duane, in his third year as Chair, but a long timeBoard member who first served in 1994-95, stepped off after 9 years, and returnedin 2013-14. He is the father of James, '94; David, '96, and Caitlin '99, and he ismarried to Michelle Duane who served as the school's Events Coordinator foreighteen years.

CURRENT 'HABIT OFTHE HEAD, THEHEART, AND THEHAND'

Diligence

WORD OF THE WEEK

TarnishFlounderManeuverArtifactPrompt

ATTACHMENTS

October 2016 Calendar

2017-2018 School Calendar

Field Day was a huge success!Congrats to all who participated-- it was a great warm up for the

Olympics in the spring!

Our Board meets five times a year, with most of the in depth work done betweenthose meetings by Committees. The standing committees of the Board are: Finance,Planning, Advancement, Personnel, Trustees, Honorary Diploma, Marketing andHead's Review and Compensation. Already this year there have been twocommittee meetings, typically at 5:30 in the evening. Board Meetings are also at 5:30 and last night's followed a familiar pattern: Wealways read the school's Mission Statement at the first meeting of the year; weapproved minutes, from the May meeting, and then there were a series of staffreports: from me (re: enrollment, faculty and briefly some program updates); fromMs. Cesarz (on academics); and from Mr. Hajj (on admissions and fundraising.)Then there were several Committee Reports. Ned Gray, Chair of the FinanceCommittee, reported on the schools Annual Audit, and its revised Budget, whichwas voted on and adopted. James Hackney, Chair of the Committee on Trustees,reported on the Board's Annual Survey, on the annual Board 'Report Card,' onExpectations for Board Members, and distributed Conflict of Interest Forms werepeople to complete and sign. Jim Duane, Board Chair, reviewed the year's agendafor each Committee, with input from Committee Chairs. It was a longer-than-usual meeting, and it was adjourned shortly after 7:30. The Board is the steward of the school's mission and the keeper of its finances and itsreputation. Ultimately, the Board is responsible for the hiring (and possibledismissal) of the Head of School who oversees the school's operation. What makesany school board great is a combination of elements: a deep understanding of aschool's history and values; a strong commitment to its mission; a clearunderstanding of the interlocking but different roles of the Board and of a school'sHead; and a willingness to work respectfully and collaboratively. No Board combines those elements better than the Board of our small school. All ofus are fortunate for its oversight.

The No Nuts Announcement

I reported quickly to the Board on this policy shift. It was a long overdue change for us, given today's allergy epidemic--which is not imagined, but very real (and potentially life threatening) for whatever set of reasons. I mentioned to the Board that I had heard very little from parents about the change and that either indicated howwonderfully understanding and community-minded LP parents are . . . or there could be serious rebellion quietlybrewing. I believe the former to be true--and always will! That said, I do always welcome feedback. As we say around here, it is perfectly okay to disagree; the only thing that isnot okay is being disagreeable!

"Forks and Spoons and New Policies, Oh My"

Last week was daunting for all of us in terms of 'policy changes.' You'll be relieved to know that there's nothing 'new' thisweek to announce; I think I'm done for a while. On the change in routine about missing utensils in lunchboxes, I received an email from a very kind and thoughtful LPparent (actually that's a redundancy--both qualifiers are virtually synonymous with "LP Parents") offering to buy theclassroom a box of forks and spoons. Here is a slightly expanded version of what I wrote back: I think an extra fork in the desk is a fine idea. Let me suggest that in the next LPB. As to having utensils in the classroom, we used to do that and the problem from my standpoint is that with some children it was enabling rather than instructing. So . . I really want to teach the children and to alarge extent some routinely forgetful parents (by which I do not mean the occasional 'drop the ball' parent of whichI was a prime example!!) that remembering is a critical life skill, and that asking other people to routinely 'pick upfor you' is not really an attractive personal quality. If we, at school, can shift onto the child some of the responsibility for getting that spoon or fork (first by walking downstairs to the front office and second by remembering to have it in the lunch box going forward),the child will pay more attention (and perhaps remind their parents to pay attention) to packing what they

need. I see in this small detail of school life a fairly large 'teachable moment' about personal responsibility. Frugal as I am about the school's resources, this is certainly not about the cost of a box of spoons (Thank you for thinking to organize a solution for that!); it's about the personal and social 'costs' to our students ofinsufficient self discipline. And we care about that a lot.

Parent Conferences

These seem to be going well, with very few missed appointments--thank you very much!--and good exchanges ofinformation and ideas. Ms. Toker has prepared the sign up process for the Winter Conferences-- they will go hometomorrow via backpack mail. We were pleased with the new/old system of soliciting choices but then assigning slots, andwhile it was more work for Ms. Toker than the email sign-up process we tried the year before, it worked much moresmoothly. Allowing parents adequate time to arrange or re-arrange schedules was no doubt helpful. We understand thatno one likes the inconvenience of medical appointments (or parent conferences) midday, but with sufficient advancednotice, we can cope with inconvenience. This system (the 'old' one) is much better for the teaching staff--and hence forthe children in their classrooms--because it compacts conference times into two days As always, I welcome feedback and suggestions for improvements.

Saturday's Canoe Trip (for fourth graders on up)

Cancelled because of predicted horrible weather. I told the children at All School Meeting. They were obviouslydisappointed, and doubly because we do not try to reschedule it.

Field Day

I was unable to get down to the field last Friday (a great personal disappointment,) but, by all reports, the day was a hugesuccess for the children and for the wider community. Certainly, some happy looking and tired looking children piledthrough the door around 2:00. My thanks to impresario Mr. Robinson who puts it all together and to the faculty who obviously make it happen. Reports back were that we had a number of parents who could come to watch. Hooray. (Children do love an audience--sometimes a bit too much!!)

Word of the Week:

Tarnish: Lose or cause to lose luster, especially as a result of exposure to air or moisture."silver tarnishes too easily" Synonyms: discolor, rust, oxidize, corrode, stain, dull, blacken."gold does not tarnish easily" Antonyms: Polish, brighten Make or become less valuable or respected."His regime had not been tarnished by human rights abuses" Synonyms: Sully, blacken, stain, blemish, blot, taint, soil, ruin, disgrace, mar, damage, harm, hurt, undermine,dishonor, stigmatize;"it tarnished his reputation" Antonyms: Enhance Dullness of color; loss of brightness.A film or stain formed on an exposed surface of a mineral or metal.

Synonyms: discoloration, oxidation, rust, film"the tarnish on the candlesticks."

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Half Day Tomorrow

Children should bring a snack but not lunch. Dismissal is at 12:15. The faculty will be working on sections of the Self Study, which we are preparing for our AISNE (Association ofIndependent Schools New England) 10-year recertification visit in the spring of 2018. It may sound early, but thepreparation of the Self-Study-- a thorough review of all that we do (and why)--is the real value added to this exerciseand we want to do it thoughtfully, thoroughly, and without the pressure of impending deadlines. Ms. Cesarz and Mr.Hajj who are co-chairing this massive effort, have us moving along a timeline that will accomplish those objectives andfinish the self-study in ample time.

The Annual Report is Now Online

The 2015-2016 Annual Report, which lists all of our supporters and asummary of our fundraising achievements over the last fiscal year, hasbeen posted on our website athttp://www.learningproject.org/support/annual-report/ . We hope youwill read it, as last year marked a highly successful year for The LearningProject, thanks to you and our extended community! Significant time and energy has gone into the creation of this document inorder to make sure that it is complete and accurate. However, if you findthat you were not listed, and, indeed, that you should have been listed,please do not hesitate to reach out to us so that we can rectify the error. Wewon't be able to change the shortened version of the Annual Report thatwas included in the back of the most recent LampPost, but we cancertainly update the full version on our website. Hopefully there will be no need for that. In any case, we welcome yourfeedback about this year's Annual Report. Please direct comments and questions to Justin Hajj atjehajj@learningproject.org. Thank you all so very much for another year of tremendous generosity and support for ourbeloved school.

Secondary Schools Night

This event is coming up on Wednesday, October 5th at 7pm. At this evening we have a panel of LP graduates(mostly in seventh grade) from different schools to answer questions. Fifth grade parents are invited (not fifth gradestudents,) and sixth grade students and parents are expected to attend.

The Book Fair: October 15th

October starts this Saturday so this grand event is 'just around the corner' (October 15th) and NOW is the time for allLP parents to respond to the call of the Book Fair Committee for volunteers. That call went out yesterday in a longemail. Please read that this evening, or mark it for reading-and action--for this weekend. The Committee needs YOU!!And the sooner they have a picture of the volunteer brigade, the easier it is for them to plan. For those of you new to the school, the Book Fair is a wonderfully fun day with games for children, arts and crafts, dressup, food to eat, The LP boutique, frozen home made food to take home (dinners to go) and, yes, books galore. This yearwe expect two new features: Some street music and Katrina Goldsaito, LP '91, the author of The Sound of Silence. Shewill be available to sign her book.

A bonus: Our Book Fair is the same day as the John Winthrop Street Fair in the next block, where there are rides andgames and, usually, a trampoline type inflatable for young children to bounce around safely inside.

Reminder

Elisabeth and I will be away for the first two weeks of October on our trip to Italy. In our absence, the school will be in thewonderful care of Ms. Cesarz and Mr. Hajj, the rest of the administrative staff, and of course, the teachers who truly runthe operations that most impact our children. I want to take this opportunity to encourage all parents to bring all issues,problems, concerns, etc-- current or anticipated--to either Ms. Cesarz or Mr. Hajj, so I will have little to do on myreturn-- and for the rest of this year! You are in good hands!

Meet the Middle Schools Night

Atrium Speaker Series

New York Times Bestselling Author and InternationalSpeaker Michael G. Thompson is to speak on a veryimportant subject for all students. The topic is BestFriends/Worst Enemies: Friendship Development,

Popularity and Social Cruelty in Childhood. There will be aQ&A as well.

Boston Society of New Jerusalem - Children's Chorus - Beacon Hill,Boston

The BSNJ Community Children's Chorus is a comprehensive musical training program for children in grades 3 to 7.Children can participate in a program that promotes: the Love of Music, expressive singing, teamwork-cooperativelearning, building new friendships, self assessment and the fun of being in a well organized program. The rehearsals takeplace at 140 Bowdoin Street, Beacon Hill on Tuesday afternoons. Tuition is free for any child with a Boston address. Alllevels of singing ability are welcome. To sign up, please contact Mr. Doctor at 617-523-4575 or visit the websitewww.churchonthehillboston.org (click on children's chorus.) The Church on The Hill sponsors this initiative but we arenot promoting any religious ideology.

The chorus will meet once a week:Tuesday afternoons from 3:45 - 4:45pm.

Ms. Cesarz's Blog

You can now benefit from some of Ms. Cesarz's professional wisdom 24/7 by going to her blog athttp://lpparents.weebly.com/about.html and reading some of the articles she has posted for your consideration, and,because it is a blog, you can share with others your own insights.

ARTISTS OF THE WEEK

Rangoli DesignsTo coincide with the Second Grade unit focusing on AncientIndia, the children learned about the Diwali Festival andthe decorative Rangoli art created during the celebration ofDiwali. The students learned that Rangoli are symbols ofluck and are usually made on the floor in front of homes toserve as sacred welcoming areas. They are made of flour,rice, or colored sand. To create our rangoli, we discusseddesign elements, shape, color, and radial symmetry. We

then used various materials such as crayon, watercolor,and sand to give our rangoli designs vibrant color.

Sam Parsi, Second Grade

Underwater ScenesIn this mixed-media project, the students considered whatlife might be like for a creature living under water. Theylooked at images of fish, underwater mammals, andaquatic plant-life, and created a drawing in foam of thecreature of their choice. They then printed it using variouscolors of ink and a brayer. They then used oil pastels to adddetails surrounding their prints. Once that was completed,the students used watercolor to create an underwatereffect.

Teddy Choe, Third Grade

Shaded Self-PortraitsFor this project, the students studied the element of artcalled value (the contrast between light and darkand highlights and shadows in a work of art). Using agraphite pencil, the students first created a value scaledisplaying gradations between the lightest and darkestvalues. They then used blending techniques and tools tocreate a sphere with a three-dimensional effect. Thestudents then cut a photograph of their faces in half andrendered the value of the other half using various graphitepencils and charcoal pencils. Their shading looks sorealistic, it is difficult to tell which side is the photographand which side is the drawing.

Jack Tompros, Fifth Grade

Radial Symmetry Relief SculpturesFor this project, the sixth grade class studied the differencebetween sculpture-in-the-round (sculpture in which allsides can be viewed) and relief sculpture (sculpture thatprotrudes from a flat surface and can only be viewed fromone side). They also learned about radial symmetry, andused origami fold designs to create intricate, radiallysymmetrical relief sculptures.

Maddie Borovoy, Sixth Grade

The Learning Project Elementary School | | ctoker@learningproject.org| http://www.learningproject.org107 Marlborough St.Boston, MA 02116