6th graders have been working with teacher Jeff Steele on a maze project, with a focus on the full engineering design cycle: Students sketch, blueprint to scale, develop functional prototypes, and then build their final product, an art installation and interactive game. Click here to watch a fun video of the process.   Last week students presented the final product to fellow students during morning meeting, adding public speaking and the ability to succinctly summarize to the list of skills practiced during this project. This project also embodies the collaborative spirit at Hyla. As students struggled…

Have you seen the wall in Kim’s room where students write inspiring quotes? The wall is partly about space, because at this age it’s important for students to influence their environment. It’s also about taking responsibility and ownership of that environment, which transcends into responsibility for learning. The wall connects students to the subjects and themes we cover in English class because many of the quotes recognize and celebrate famous literary artists, political figures, humanitarians, social activists, and celebrities. The wall helps students understand the words themselves, but also something about the person who says them…

Today the Window of the Week is about what we see when we look outside our own windows here at Hyla: lots of kids outside. Even as the weather begins to turn, they still want to be out there, enjoying the fresh air, undeterred by rain. During PE, they spread across campus, dodging in and out of trees. During breaks and lunches, you’ll find them engaged in energetic rounds of Gaga Ball, lounging in trees, taking in a quiet moment by the pond, climbing the cargo net, and eating at picnic tables. Throughout each day and no…

Dear Parents and Friends, I am writing to let you know that Laura Jones, our art teacher of 23 years, will retire at the end of this school year. Her letter is below, but I absolutely have to share some thoughts with you first. As most of you probably know, Laura is the last teacher currently at Hyla who was here when the school opened. For me that means my memories of Hyla have threads of Laura and her art program inseparably and consistently woven through them. Field trips – it is like an addiction with…

6th Grade: With the 7th and 8th graders away on retreat, the 6th graders had all of Hyla to themselves – and they were busy! They built natural sculptures using materials from around campus to apply the philosophy and technique of Andy Goldsworthy. Returning to the beads they chose at the overnight to symbolize the gifts they bring to a community, students built a dream catcher incorporating the beads to reinforce the many ways in which they are connected as a group. While reinforcing their positive attributes, they also worked to recognize the rougher edges they…

Join us in the Hyla Library on Tueseday, September 20th from 1:45-2:30 PM for a conversation with Khet Mar, Burmese writer, poet and activist. In Humanities class in sixth grade, students participate in Hyla’s ongoing relationship with Educational Empowerment, a local non-profit devoted to promoting literacy and community in Southeast Asia. Over the years, Hyla students have connected with students in Myanmar, and contributed to many EE projects, such as making books for students in Myanmar, providing library books, and raising money for new schools. Last year we also supported EE’s efforts to translate the book I Am…

It’s not unusual for students to approach math teacher, Cindy Schacht, at the end of the school year looking for summer math work. Motivated by their own momentum in math, students often ask Cindy for suggestions on how to keep going over the summer months. Cindy recommends a range of options, from workbooks, to skill review, to special projects. We started the year off with a great example of a special project: One student took on the proportional expansion challenge and made a fork cake. She measured a standard kitchen fork and then enlarged the dimensions five…