Life at Valley

On Friday, September 24, Valley students and teachers from all grades marched to the small park near the intersection of Madison Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Waving signs about climate change – The seas are rising, and so are we. Save our earth, save the women. Plants, not profit – our students gave voice to their concerns about the impact of the environmental crisis on people and our planet.

The Valley School celebrated 100 days of school on February 15th. Over the past 100 days, our students and staff alike have grown, have learned, and have played. We have made mistakes, made new friends, and made entirely new games. It’s not as straightforward to quantify experiences or progress as it is time, but counting the passage of time invites reflection. What have we learned? What games were our favorites? How have we grown?

Recent research about how kids learn has repeatedly shown that academic learning and social-emotional learning are deeply interconnected, and that, in fact, when the two are deliberately intertwined, as they are in playful learning, kids not only experience academic and social growth, they learn how to learn. Learning how to learn not only helps prepare students for 21st century opportunities, it prepares them to be lifelong learners.

This week during recess something spectacular happened! The first graders found long boards and combined them with the swings to create thrilling, dynamic seesaws. Watching them experiment with how to make these new toys work was a treat. Great questions spilled out of the first grade tinkerers: Where should we balance the board? Where should we each stand to make this work? Can we add different numbers of people to each side? Can we swing and seesaw at the same time?

In the science lab, Valley scientists are encouraged to practice curiosity and ask questions. Students learn that science is all about asking questions and then designing experiments and conducting research to answer those questions.

Our science lab is bustling with the excitement of a new year! Students are exploring the lab and making it their own by adding to our list of field notes (animals and plants that Valley students observe in the wild) and putting questions on our “I wonder…” wall.

Kindergarten students took on a big collaborative project during recess.

Valley School 4th Graders Dissect Sheep Brains
Stinky. Awesome. Scientist. Wow. Fun. Maybe. Smelly. Slimy. Smooth. Weird. Surprising.
These are some of the words our fourth graders used to describe their hands-on science lab this week after they dissected sheep brains in the lab with Katie-Rose and Erica.

At Valley, the primary goal of the Spanish language program is for children to enjoy learning and practicing Spanish together.

By early October, I know each of the children at my school. As Head of The Valley School in Madison Valley, I get to greet our students by name each morning at the gate and ask questions that let them know I care about them.