Our Global Town
Town School for Boys
Through the Halls of Town School and Beyond
Town School Welcomes Teach With Africa's Alfred Tebogo Aramogale
Kindergarten Leads the Way with a Chinese New Year Celebration
Six enthusiastic parents participated in this year's Kindergarten Chinese New Year Celebrations. The parents started by sharing their unique family traditions on bringing in the new year. Parent Michele Lo then read Oliver Chin's latest book, "Year of the Sheep," which tells the story of a special friendship between a shepherd's daughter and her young sheep while touching on lessons in basic engineering, teamwork and the Chinese zodiac. After the story parents explained all the food brought in for the celebration.
- Chinese dumplings, known as Jiao zi, are one of the most important foods in the Chinese New Year; the shape is similar to ancient gold symbolizing wealth.
- Tangerines and oranges are believed to bring wealth and luck and it's particularly good if they have leaves as they symbolize longevity.
- Nian gao is a sweet sticky rice cake which can be steamed or fried and because gao sounds like tall or high in Chinese, the cakes symbolize achieving new heights in the coming year.
- Hong bao or lai see are red envelops filled with either money or lucky candy and the red symbolizes good luck and is believed to ward off evil spirits.
Every student received his own pair of chopsticks to practice picking up the treats. At the end of the in-class celebration the boys enjoyed participating in their very own parade around school with an impressive plaster dragon head they all worked on in class with Mrs. Hollister.
In 2nd Grade, the students watched video highlights of SF Chinese New Year parades and talked to the boys about the celebration planned downtown that upcoming weekend. Parent Michele Lo led a brief Q&A and then passed out lucky tangerines and red envelopes.
Kiva Lending Reaches $10,000 and Growing
Interested in joining Town School for Boys lenders by making a loan with your family? Join the Town School for Boys Friends and Family lending team here.
3rd Graders Discuss Bird Migration with Pen Pals
Town third graders in conjunction with their penpals in Sayula, Mexico, study sixteen species of birds that share the same Pacific flyway. This global project, run by Amigos Alados, incorporates collaboration and critical thinking in bird conservation through math, art, and technology. Amigos Alados is a non-profit organization based in Marin that matches teachers in the Western USA and Mexico. See their website for more information.
School -Wide Service Day in Honor of Cesar Chavez Makes Students think Glocally
Town School Teachers Prepare for Exciting Global Professional Growth Opportunities
We are extremely excited that three of our faculty members will embark this summer on adventures combining travel and professional growth that will without a doubt leave lasting impressions. Chris Ceci-MacGillis will travel with World Leadership School and will spend 14 days in Belize and Guatemala. She will immerse herself in the communities, participate in a home stay experience, visit with key community members and learn about the culture, environment, schools and much more.
New Teacher Institute Director Jennifer Liu will travel to South Africa as a member of Teach with Africa's Faculty in Residence Program. Having Town faculty members work with Leap Math and Science Schools in South Africa is an amazing opportunity that further promotes our global partnership. Jennifer will have opportunities to share her leadership and expertise through The Global Teachers Institute. "The GTI aims to strengthen teacher capacity in South Africa and across the world by transforming the way we train teachers." Jennifer will be able to offer more guidance to the visiting leaders in the future.
Kim Stuart will be joining the EarthWatch Institute this summer, which "brings individuals from all walks of life together with world-class scientists to work for the good of the planet." She will measure evidence of global warming near Churchill, Manitoba in a small town on the Hudson Bay in Canada that is on the front line of climate change. Her team will focus on the diverse wetland environments that make up 40% of the land cover in this region and will don waist-high waders to take water samples and assess the abundance of the fish and frogs that make these northern wetlands their home. For more information on the EarthWatch Adventure click here. We look forward to hearing about Kim's travels in the fall.
Resources for the Global Educator and Parent
An easy to use tool to compare living conditions from one country to another.
Alongside World Leadership School, Kristen travels to Austin to present, "More than Drive-By Professional Development: Deeper Approaches for Deeper Relationships." Check out her slide show as it highlights many Town projects and relationships.