Happy (Belated) Snow Day

Dear Lab School Families,

I am just winding down from a very spirited pep rally. We had the Gator Pep Squad perform a few numbers, heard from some of our student clubs about upcoming events and had a homeroom hula hoop contest. It was a fun time and it is always nice to see that much school spirit. It reminds me of how happy and proud I am to be a Labbie.

I sat in 701's humanities class today as the students were completing the revision phase of their Crucible monologue project. Students in 7th grade just completed reading Arthur Miller's play The Crucible and are all writing "unheard monologues" from the point of view of one of the characters. As Ms. Morrow explained, revision is not like editing...students were challenged to give honest, reflective feedback on their classmates work. Peer Revision is an important step in the writing process because it allows students to receive feedback on their writing and also challenges them to reflect on others.

801 and 802 are completing a solar energy unit in Earth Science. Lab School has been working in partnership with the Solar One organization. Students were able to learn about solar energy and build solar powered cars as a culminating activity. This partnership is part of a larger unit on energy that Ms. Cortes and Mr. Skinner are teaching.

Next Wednesday, February 2nd (Groundhog Day), I will be presenting the annual State of the School address in the auditorium. We will be starting at 8:15. I will also be posting the power point presentation on the website after the meeting.

Next Saturday, February 5th we will be holding our annual admissions day for prospective (5th grade) Labbies. We will be testing a record number of kids - more than ever before. Over 850 families ranked Lab School as one of their top two choices for a middle school. We are excited by the enthusiastic response and thank everyone for their hard work during the tour season. This high number is no doubt a reflection of that work.

I hope everyone enjoyed the unexpected snow day yesterday...I heard that many congregated in Central Park to celebrate.

The first home game for the girls basketball team is about to start so I must sign-off here.

Warmest,

Meg