In Around

As the doors of St. Thomas’s Day School opened for the first day of school this past year, Head of School Gina Panza remarked, “There has never been a more exciting time to be a part of this community.” With the largest enrollment class in recent years, renovated classrooms and learning spaces, new technology, and updated curriculum, the school year began with an incredibly positive charge. The excitement was palpable as students not only took part in the usual first day fun, but got right down to serious learning as well.

Last summer, Panza led a team of designers, contractors, administrators and teachers in re-envisioning and then renovating classrooms and spaces for learning and playing in the 21st century. In addition, Assistant Head of School Sarah Walters

and faculty co-developed curriculum that the spaces could now support.

Although the first floor renovations are breathtakingly new and fresh, the upgrades are not simply aesthetic. Everything from the carpeting to the furniture to the lighting was carefully considered and chosen based on proven research regarding the most productive learning environments. In addition, safety, accessibility, and flexibility were just some of the additional factors considered in the upgrades.

Perhaps most exciting was the upgraded technology and the makerspace. Formerly referred to as the Instructional Space, last summer it was transformed into a space to accommodate the new integrated learning program. Starting this past school year, each grade was given a weekly one to two hour time block dedicated to integrated learning where students worked with their teachers and the Technology Integrator on open-ended projects that demonstrated learning in content or curricular areas. Technology Integrator Chris Stapleton said, “To be able to stimulate problem solving and critical thinking skills through students and see their creations is one of the more exciting things I’m looking forward to.”

Touch It boards were also added to each classroom and is where we saw the most impact in the classrooms starting on the first day. Fourth Grade Teacher Lesha Daley reported, “The students were able to begin showcasing their summer projects using the Touch It board. It helped presentations come alive with clear visual and audio effects,” and in Erin Clark’s second grade class, she says “We used it for our interactive morning meeting today. We also use apps such as Google Earth during Lower School Express to give the children a rich understanding of other countries, geography & culture.”

Though the school surely looked different for the start of its 63rd year, St. Thomas’s remains unchanged in its mission and commitment to its students. St. Thomas’s will forever be a school that empowers students to be independent thinkers who appreciate, understand and serve others by engaging active happy minds, open hearts and brave ideas.

Character-based education is woven through all aspects of our curriculum in authentic and meaningful ways. Our daily lessons, classroom activities and service learning opportunities are intentional and aligned with our mission. We know that students who engage in a range of service learning experiences during their formative years show increased empathy, cognitive complexity and greater acceptance and awareness of cultural differences. We also know that as children help others, they develop generosity and moral character.

One of the most powerful and impactful experiences that our students have here at St. Thomas’s is the Annual Fall Penny Harvest. The Penny Harvest is the cornerstone of our school-wide service learning initiative. It empowers our children to become engaged citizens by giving them the knowledge and tools

to make a difference in their community.

The idea is simple. Children convert natural compassion for others into action by collecting pennies and turning those pennies into donations for community organizations. Over the past seven years, our entire student body, led by the sixth grade students, have researched and identified local charities in need. They have collected hundreds of dollars in support of these charities, which have included The McGivney Center, IRIS, YSY and The Diaper Bank. Sixth Grade Teacher Chaundra Vasseur describes the Penny Harvest as “a project that provides students with the opportunity to give back to a local community while teaching them persuasive presentation skills as they seek to convey their mission to a variety of age groups.”

Year after year, we watch our students come together as they deepen their understanding of leadership, teamwork, inclusivity and compassion. It’s truly a mission moment in action at St. Thomas’s Day School!

Have you ever taken the time to sit back and watch children play? To truly observe them, paying close attention to what they do and how they interact with each other and the world around them?

The truth is children learn through play and their play includes using what they know in combination with what they learn through experimentation, exploration and design to create new understandings.

In essence, the act of play is integrated learning.

That said, it is only logical for schools and educators to use that same approach to teaching. As a school that celebrates and preserves childhood, we have been using an interdisciplinary approach to teaching and learning for the past six plus decades. Through traditions, performances, Chapels, field trips and classroom projects, St. Thomas’s Day School organically creates experiences that help students make connections across the curriculum while developing their attitudes, skills, and knowledge. Our whole class, small group, and cross-grade experiences provide opportunities for critical and creative thinking, and for students to experience learning that is relevant and

meaningful. S t u d e n t s at STTS are involved in a variety of integrated activities throughout each year and in each grade. They participate in a welldeveloped performing arts program, which allows them to express themselves through drama, singing, dancing, music and art. Plays and other performances reinforce leadership and public speaking skills and provide students with opportunities to explore concepts in new and interesting ways. Field trips and educational excursions support the learning that takes place in the classroom, providing handson experiences and exposure to resources that would otherwise not be available.

The Makerspace is the hub of integrated learning at St. Thomas’s Day School. In fact, it represents a place for children to develop a wide range of 21stcentury skills, which include the “Four Cs”: critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity. Students create real-world applications from concepts studied in the classroom. They use the space to collaboratively work on comprehensive projects that demonstrate a deep conceptual understanding of the curriculum. Technology is viewed as a tool for learning that is woven throughout all projects in the Makerspace. The technology curriculum is carefully developed and presented in age-appropriate ways throughout the grades. Students are eager to incorporate their newly learned technology skills into their projects. For example, in Kindergarten our students worked on a life-sized geoboard which was then recreated on the ipad. Our Grade 4 students are in the process of creating stop motion animation videos to demonstrate their knowledge of the Boston Tea Party. They are also currently using their knowledge of circuits to create light-up Valentine’s Day cards. Our Grade 6 students are creating Civil War-themed video games based on the information they learned in class.

I’m sure you’ll agree that our classrooms are filled with purpose and passion. Our goal to provide dynamic, innovative experiences for our students remains at the forefront of everything we do and every decision we make. Students will live in a world where the demands of their personal, public and professional lives will be very different from today, and it is our job to design programs and experiences that equip our 21st Century learners to excel as young leaders in this global society.

It goes without saying that graduates from all over the country experienced great disappointment over the cancellation of year-end capstone events due to the current world pandemic. For our own sixth-graders, the disappointment ran deep

as they realized their highly anticipated Washington, DC trip would not happen. For schools such as St. Thomas’s who are partially defined by an extensive field trip and experiential learning program, the closing of school came not only with the cancellation of classroom academics, but the cancellation of many events and field trips that are usually a large part of the overall educational experience.

Shortly after the announcement of school closing and the cancellation of the DC trip, Head of School Gina Panza wrote in a letter to sixth-graders, “There will, most likely, be more postponements and cancellations to come. And when they do, you get to be disappointed, you get to be upset, and you get to really be bummed-out about it. Then at some point, the wind and the waves will calm, and we will refocus as we look for ways to do what we can to make up for this together.”

And that is just what the School, students and teachers alike did. Sixth Grade Teacher Chaundra Vasseur and specials teachers worked collaboratively with the class and successfully created an innovative, integrated, and fun Washington, DC experience all their own. While acknowledging their disappointment about not being able to walk the streets of the city physically together, the sixth-graders showed great leadership by controlling the controllables and creating opportunities which took remote learning to the next level.

From Tuesday, April 14 to Friday, April 16 (the original dates of the trip) the sixth grade class participated in a virtual exploration of Washington, DC that they will remember forever. Mrs. Vasseur began the week by assigning “roommates,” pairing students together and providing them several opportunities and activities which allowed them to bond and grow closer together. At night, they participated in social events such as a pizza and pasta party, a live viewing of Guys and Dolls, and a late night Google Meet where they talked and played games.

The educational component of their DC “trip” included daily virtual tours of notable DC museums and exhibits. Additionally, each student was tasked with researching and building a model of a landmark or monument. They then presented about their monument/ landmark on a schedule that coincided with the day they would have originally been visiting in person. They got creative throughout the week as well, creating a map of DC with materials found in their houses, and putting together a scrapbook collecting memories and facts about exhibits and experiences that have stood out for them throughout the week.

Lastly, they created the Walk DC Challenge and invited the community to participate. In DC, they would have walked an average of 7-9 miles per day and therefore challenged themselves and community members to walk as many miles per day as they could. A total of almost 400 fitness miles were recorded! Mrs. Vasseur said of her class, “I’m was so proud of our sixth-graders for maintaining a positive attitude while embracing the challenge of traveling to DC in such a unique way! It was such a special experience.”

The sixth-grade Washington, DC trip is just one of many ways through which we carried on. The fourth grade participated in several educational and virtual experiences to celebrate their Philadelphia trip, the third grade had a Google Meet Q&A with Grace Lin, author and illustrator of The Year of the Dog (a book they are currently reading), and the entire student body came together to participate in the Egg Drop Challenge to honor the Science Festival. Furthermore, teachers and students worked together to figure out creative ways to present their class plays, Field Day and Arts Week commenced, and All School Chapel was a weekly occurrence. This is just a smattering of examples of how, despite the challenges of learning amid a crisis, in an entirely new medium, St. Thomas’s was able provide students with a multi-faceted and immersive educational program. n