Last month, students welcomed two monarch caterpillars found on our campus into the classroom, allowing the opportunity to witness metamorphosis before our very own eyes…
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This month and last, four caterpillars made their homes in our classroom, emerging into beautiful Monarchs. We named them Sparky, Vanilla, Baby Lily and Chocolate, in order of their births. Fortunately the weather was warm enough to release them, and we wished them well on their journeys to a warmer climate.
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Most of us know Chef Jacques Pépin from his work on “Jacques and Julia Cooking at Home,” the groundbreaking PBS series from the 1990s. But did you know that during his military service in the 1950’s, Pépin was the personal chef to three French heads of state, including Charles de Gaulle? It was in 1959 that Chef Pépin came to New York to work at Le Pavillon,
Read MoreThank you to all of the friends and family that came out to celebrate at our end of year party! The kids enjoyed sharing their books, paintings and projects. It was a wonderful way to wrap up their year-long research of the sea and all the ways in which it has changed us and we change it.
Read MoreWe have been working on building our models of playground structures. We are using a scaled down model of the hill to create structures that will fit in that area of the playground.
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From the roadside, the campus of the Hayground School appears uncluttered. Barnlike buildings are set back on a nearly 13-acre site between Mitchell and Butter lanes in Bridgehampton. But a visit to the alternative school, where the current enrollment of 85 students spend much of their time in the original six-room classroom building, tells a different story.
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Mentorships can allow students to work hands-on in professional disciplines, guided by professionals—that was the basis for starting the Hayground School in Bridgehampton more than two decades ago.
Read MoreSteve and Aikido from MonoNoAware were with us on Thursday to teach the kids about Super8 filmmaking. The kids learned about the variety of film sizes, the origin of Super8 filmmaking, and the miraculous process of how film works by way of chemistry and light. The kids were prepared as they had formed film groups last week, developed ideas and storyboards, and so after a discussion about in-camera editing, the groups began filmmaking.
Read MoreLast week our class made its second to last visit to Circle Beach as a part of our year of Sea Change. Much different than our last few visits, the kids enjoyed painting outside and exploring along the shoreline. They noticed more wildlife and people taking in the view along with them. We can't wait for the spring weather to arrive!
Read MoreOut of class, students have been creating amazing music with Bruce Wolosoff. They are having a fabulous experience and we are starting to hear their ideas come together, which is fabulous.
In class, the students did research and created Inspiration Boards for the playground area/structure they chose to focus on. We are beginning to practice building scale structures so that we can begin our own playground model. We are working with a landscape architect to begin this project.
Read MoreSpring seems to be here for real this time! With the warmer weather will come more time spent outside. Probably an updated/seasonal set of backup clothes will be in order, as well as sunscreen. On particularly sunny days we ask that if your child uses sunscreen, to apply it before school, and then we can reapply it in the afternoon. We intend to take advantage of the weather to do some exploring as spring slowly unfolds.
Read MoreThe kids enjoyed the Budding Author's program at Bridgehampton Library on Monday. Author and illustrator, Michael Praskevas shared stories about his development as an illustrator and writer that were interesting and hilarious. We asked the kids to read through their work and to select a favorite sentence from their submissions
Read MoreIn the past few weeks, our local Sea Change experts have been making a splash in the classroom! We were excited and delighted to welcome several new and existing Hayground community members into our room to share their stories!
Read MoreMarch has certainly come in like a lion this year! We've been enjoying the end of a snowy winter at Hayground. The playground has been covered in the fluffy white stuff making it perfect for snowman building, fort construction and of course, snowball fights.
Read MoreIt was a busy February for our class. We learned about the “March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom” for our Soul Food Night performance and began the Senior Learner Projects. Each student was asked to chose a topic, or area of study, and set a learning goal for themselves. After meeting with a mentor, they have spent the past 6 weeks reading, watching videos, experimenting, investigated, drawing and
Read MoreWe've been working on our Budding Author books over the last few weeks. All the children in class decided they wanted to participate. They are very excited and happy with their finished products and had fun in the process. Some children wrote fantasy while others wrote non-fiction.
Read MoreThe Friday before our break, we had cookies and conversation with documentary filmmaker, Susan Lacy. Susan pioneered the biographical documentary series, American Masters, and has directed numerous biographical documentaries, most recently, Spielberg for HBO, and Jane Fonda in Five Acts. She discussed her emergence as a filmmaker which began after receiving her Ph.D. in American Studies. Susan shared that she wanted to tell stories of real people
Read MoreThe performance at Watermill Center was a huge success. From beginning to end, the kids worked hard, collaborated with and supported one another, and immersed themselves in the artistic process with maturity and poise. During the question and answer period, the kids expressed their commitment to the project and appreciation for the opportunity to work with Lora and Bran in the beautiful Watermill Center.
Read MoreThe children have been busy creating one-of-a-kind Valentine's Cards for one another. We read Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really Stink by Diane de Groat to get ideas for thoughtful Valentine's messages. We got ideas for some not-so-kind messages as well! Don't worry, we won't be using those!
Read MoreWe finished our epic read aloud, A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle. In his summary of the novel, Charlie Troy wrote, “A girl named Meg has a missing father. She must journey with two boys and three mysterious figures into the darkness of space and time and survive. But they know nothing of what's to come in this wonky wrinkle." We are extremely interested in seeing how Ava De Vernay, the director of the film, adapted the novel to the screen.
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