It’s a time of reconnection at Opal School. A little more than two weeks ago, Opal School staff reconvened. Last week, students returned. Tonight, we welcome parents for Back to School Night. Back to School Night holds different schema for all of us. As a parent, I’ve felt inspired and connected by some – and …
“A child’s most sought after goal is to recognize himself in others, and to find in others parts of himself.” -Loris Malaguzzi, founder of the pre-primary schools of Reggio Emilia Dear Primary Community families, At Opal School, we see all children as competent, creative, curious, and courageous. We believe they come to school full of experience …
Dear Intermediate Community families, At Opal School, we see all children as competent citizens with rights. We see them driven to connect, eager to empathize and be understood. We know that the arts are powerful pathways to develop understandings of ourselves, each other, and complex ideas. We value increasing proficiency with the conventions of communication …
Read more “Intentions: Interdependence and perspective taking”
Dear Families, In this complicated and uncertain world, we believe school is where we learn to be human. And right now, more than ever, we need people who can listen with empathy and understanding, imagine multiple possibilities, communicate their ideas in a variety of ways, and see challenges as opportunities for learning and growth. One …
My recent post, Say What You Mean, began as this post — but I got so tangled up in thinking about the relationship between knowledge and meaning and learning and relationship and power and vulnerability that I realized I’d better split these posts in two. In this post, I’ll share the experience I had recently …
Within a social-constructivist context, shared experiences offer children a chance to build their understandings of themselves, each other, and the world. Earlier this week, the Cedar community visited the Farmer’s Market in downtown Portland. This rich environment — filled with a variety of colors, textures, flavors and scents — provided us with a memorable, multi-sensory experience. In the days …
Don’t for heaven’s sake, be afraid of talking nonsense! But you must pay attention to your nonsense. -Ludwig Wittgenstein As Opal School staff reconvened last week to launch the new school year, we were inspired by and found connections in two essays. In Zadie Smith’s Speaking in Tongues, we saw our drive to support children …
Opal School has two intermediate classrooms, Opal 3 & 4, which include third-, fourth-, and fifth-graders. In many ways, the teachers from the two classrooms function as a team. As a first collaborative effort, the Intermediate Team composed and sent this letter to parents before the first day of the 2016-2017 school year. We’d love to hear the reflections of Opal …
Read more “Setting Intentions for Our Year Together – Intermediate Team”
Opal School has two primary classrooms, Maple and Magnolia, which include kindergartners, first graders, and second graders. The teachers from the two classrooms function as a team. As a first collaborative effort, the Primary Team composed and sent this letter to parents before the first day of the 2016-2017 school year. We’d love to hear the reflections of Opal …
The Beginning School Team sent this letter to parents before the first day of the 2016-2017 school year. We’d love to hear the reflections of Opal School Online members: What do you notice? What do you wonder about? How do you imagine the process of composing this letter will influence the work of this group of teachers? …