News — Hayground School

Ryan's Class Notes

Ryan's Class Notes

With all of this snow, it has been challenging to get out into the field to continue our water quality monitoring program. It has been a good opportunity to explore the effects of climate change within the classroom and how it creates extreme weather conditions and can have an impact on temperature fluctuations. Students explored the polar vortex conditions that brought over 2 feet of snow to different areas around Long Island and we explored some of the different forecast models that are used to predict snow fall and other weather conditions.

Class NotesMadeline KissMarch 24, 2026Ryan's Class, Science Class, Scientist-In-Residence

Art Studio Class Notes

Art Studio Class Notes

Our months long collaborative project is up at the Parrish Art Museum!

Our exhibit, 'Masks Whisper Stories,' is Hayground's installation that is the culmination of our study of masks from around the world. Students studied the history and cultures of masks throughout Asia, the South Pacific Islands, Central and South America, The Pacific Northwest and countries throughout Africa. Students then envisioned and created their own masks out of a variety of materials.

Class NotesMadeline KissMarch 24, 2026Art Studio Class Notes

Lucy’s Class Notes

Lucy’s Class Notes

We are still reflecting on the wonderful memories from Soul Food Night! The students did a fantastic job facilitating games, performing, and showcasing their artistic work, honoring influential Black Olympians and singers. It was a meaningful celebration of Black excellence, allowing them to share their creativity with the community.

Class NotesMadeline KissMarch 24, 2026Lucy's Class

Sakiko and R.J. ’s Class Notes

Sakiko and R.J. ’s Class Notes

We kicked off the month of March by celebrating Women’s History Month with a reading of A Life Made by Hand: The Story of Ruth Asawa by Andrea D’Aquino. Through our discussions, students reflected on important women in their own lives and shared how these individuals have influenced and inspired them.

Class NotesMadeline KissMarch 24, 2026Sakiko & R.J.'s Class

Marybeth & Lora’s Class Notes

Marybeth & Lora’s Class Notes

The children continue their exploration of the night and all its wonders. By now, they have completed three of their four formal observations of the moon and have created animal masks inspired by the poem Welcome to the Night by Joyce Sidman.

Class NotesMadeline KissMarch 15, 2026Marybeth & Lora's Class

Tohanash and Javis’s Class Notes

Tohanash and Javis’s Class Notes

March has been a green month, with Saint Patrick's Day taking over our mornings, working with egg cartons and paper towel rolls the students have been busy creating crafty ways to trap those tricky leprechauns.

Class NotesMadeline KissMarch 14, 2026Tohanash and Javis's Class

Kitchen Class Notes

Kitchen Class Notes

March is a busy month in Jeff’s Kitchen. To kick off the month, we celebrated our annual Soul Food Night on the evening of March 4th to celebrate Black history, culture, music, and food. Our chefs spent the days leading up carrying picnic tables from around the snowy campus, baking cookies to fill platters for the dinner tables, and arranging flower bouquets.

Class NotesMadeline KissMarch 14, 2026Kitchen

Liz's Class Notes

Liz's Class Notes

As part of their study of the American Revolution, our senior learners were tasked with developing tabletop games around topics related to the revolution's origins. The results were impressive!

Class NotesMadeline KissMarch 14, 2026Liz's Class, Senior Learners

Mark-Antonio and Aisa's Class Notes

Mark-Antonio and Aisa's Class Notes

We can see clearly now—the snow is gone! We began studying which plant varieties survived the winter and started seeding for an early start in our greenhouses. Our visits to the John Jermain Library continue as we restock and organize the seed library.

Class NotesMadeline KissMarch 14, 2026Garden, Mark-Antonio and Aisa

Julie's Class Notes

Julie's Class Notes

Our class is moving steadily toward our Hayground Show performance date of April 30. Mark your calendars! Our opening theme song has been written and we are creating and learning choreography to go along with it. Most of the acts for the show are complete, Vaudeville information is being written, and we’re looking forward to tweaking our scenes through feedback from rehearsals once we get back from February break. Then, we will also begin building sets and props for our acts.

Class NotesMadeline KissFebruary 16, 2026Julie's Class

Liz's Class Notes

Liz's Class Notes

We’ve been taking harmonica lessons as a class since the fall, and the students are excited to perform a new piece they’ve been learning for our upcoming Soul Food Night. The kids especially appreciate the portability and creative freedom that the harmonica offers, and it has been wonderful to watch their confidence grow as musicians.

Class NotesMadeline KissFebruary 16, 2026Liz's Class, Senior Learners

Marybeth & Lora’s Class Notes

Marybeth & Lora’s Class Notes

Owls, owls, and more owls! The children have wrapped up their study of these fascinating creatures with presentations of their research. Many questions were answered, such as How far can an owl turn its head? and How do owls hunt?, among other topics that piqued their interest.

Class NotesMadeline KissFebruary 16, 2026Marybeth & Lora's Class

Ryan’s Class Notes

Ryan’s Class Notes

So far during the new year we have been continuing some of our projects which include finishing up our Long Island Map, the model of Long Island’s aquifer and water table, a chemistry day, and water quality sampling. We have sampled at Mecox Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, Mill Pond North, Mill Pond South, and Sag Harbor Cove. We have combined our data together and began plotting these on graphs to view the data in a more streamlined way and will be collaborating with the Mecox Bay Conservancy to share our findings.

Class NotesMadeline KissFebruary 16, 2026Ryan's Class, Science Class

Tohanash and Javis’s Class Notes

Tohanash and Javis’s Class Notes

This February, our classroom has been buzzing with creativity and kindness. We have been spending the weeks before break, celebrating Valentine's Day with heart art, paintings, and thoughtful gift exchanges for both our friends in class, and our new book buddies, that filled our room with smiles.

Class NotesMadeline KissFebruary 16, 2026Tohanash and Javis's Class

Kitchen Class Notes

Kitchen Class Notes

This week in Jeff’s Kitchen, we are cleaning out our fridges before the break. This means that our chefs have the limitations, and inspirations of what remains of our fresh ingredients. For this week, that meant chocolate covered strawberries, Hayground salad with everything but the kitchen sink, butternut squash soup from the Hayground garden, and sprouts on top of everything!

Class NotesMadeline KissFebruary 16, 2026Kitchen

Sakiko and R.J.s Class Notes

Sakiko and R.J.s Class Notes

We have been braving the cold weather and making the most of winter by building igloos and playing outside in the winter snow. In preparation for Soul Food Night, the students are learning the song “Wonderful World” by Sam Cooke and have been practicing both with Music Josh on Monday afternoons and in the classroom.

Class NotesMadeline KissFebruary 16, 2026Sakiko & R.J.'s Class

Lucy’s Class Notes

Lucy’s Class Notes

February has been a busy and inspiring month as we honor Black History Month and prepare for our upcoming Soul Food Night. Students have been deeply engaged in researching influential Black singers throughout history. While there were many artists to choose from, students identified ten artists who repeatedly emerged in their research.

Class NotesMadeline KissFebruary 16, 2026Lucy's Class

Lucy’s Class Notes

Lucy’s Class Notes

We welcomed each class to visit our galaxy. Acting as curators, the students designed ways to darken the room and illuminate the galaxy with flashlights, bringing their vision to life and guiding visitors through a storytelling experience. After each session, the class reflected on what went well and why, as well as which components they might try differently and how—making each experience closer and closer to how the curators envisioned it for their visitors.

Class NotesMadeline KissFebruary 5, 2026Lucy's Class

Tohanash and Javis’s Class Notes

Tohanash and Javis’s Class Notes

This month has been cold but filled with joy, whether we are reading books to each other inside or playing in the snow, our days have been filled with activities and learning. This month we focused on friendship. We began our class friendship books which will be written for every student by the end of the year. This reinforces kindness and community which are driving forces in our learning process.

Class NotesMadeline KissJanuary 29, 2026Tohanash and Javis's Class

Liz's Class Notes

Liz's Class Notes

The Senior Learners are in residence at the Watermill Center this month, where they are developing a performance of The Lexicon Project in collaboration with artist Philippe Cheng. An in-process performance is scheduled for Wednesday, January 28, from 1:00–2:00 PM at the Watermill Center. We look forward to sharing this evolving work with our community.

Class NotesMadeline KissJanuary 25, 2026Liz's Class, Senior Learners