Yearly Archives: 2017

Steve Schaefer's class deciding which historical periods to study Students at The New School have a strong voice in the design of their classes. This is apparent in Steve Schaefer's second semester history class where students are defining the historical periods they want to learn about, based on their families' histories. For several weeks students explored their family trees through the website Ancestry.com. They were particularly looking to uncover the time frames and countries from which their ancestors immigrated to America. (Two students discovered family records going back to the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries!) Students are now narrowing [...]

A major goal of The New School is to help young people identify their passions and gain the confidence to actualize them before and after high school. Students are encouraged to weave their interests into their coursework throughout their time at the school -- and this is particularly true during senior year. Senior Projects are a significant undertaking that students must complete in order to graduate. With ongoing guidance from their Faculty Advisors and roundtable committees of students, faculty and parents, seniors design projects that engage their talents and interests while challenging them to grow in new ways. [...]

In February, four students and TNS Teacher Marylyn Wentworth spent over two weeks in Peru during a recent Intensive. (They had spent the first semester learning about Peru's history and culture, and planning the trip.) The group was based in the city of Cusco, which was the historic capital of the Inca Empire from the 13th until the 16th-century. Each morning the students were immersed in learning Spanish at a Spanish language school; during the afternoons they assisted with the school's after school program for children living in poverty. And of course they visited Machu Picchu and other amazing sites [...]

Students on the England Intensive have been journaling about their adventures --- below are some excerpts. Led by Language Arts teacher Christine Knowles, the group so far has visited The Tower of London, The British Museum, Globe Theater, Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, Windsor Castle, and lots more! FROM SOPHIE: Essentials such as bathrooms and caffeine were accessed before deciding to go to the Tower of London for the rest of the day’s activities. The tour started with a projected short film talking about all the families that had lived in the fortress and how they were all related/connected. It began [...]