Noah's last year

This was the last year of the Grand Match Gala for Noah.  He played extremely well in his age group, securing first place.  Overall his school also did well, securing the top two.  Noah along with one other students chosen to play for first place on the big board.  They played speed chess and tried their best, but they lost.  What they learned though, was every set back has a come back, so hopefully they will try again next year (but without Noah).  Will Noah appreciate all the things that he learned through Chess Tutors???

New clusters

Noah is off to Palms Middle School and now its only Micah left.  We just found out that Micah will be in Blue Cluster and his BFF will be in Yellow Cluster. What will it be like for them not to be together this coming school year???

Walking

Jawsh and I took a stroll, on a Monday night, through our neighborhood.  Because we live by so many restaurants and stores, we were able to sit at a fire pit, put our feet up, and listen to live jazz.  This is such a gem of a neighborhood...  we are so blessed to live here...  what will we do next???

Westchester All Stars

BFFs on the Westchester All Star Team.  Micah is very excited to depart of the team but it will take a lot of commitment!  He has practice 5 times a week and many hours of practice!  Will he be tired of baseball by the time this is done???

Tennis camp

This summer the boys spent a lot of time at tennis camp.  Noah has a real knack for the game... he has good instincts, form, and he likes to play!  Will he end up playing more tennis in the next few months???

Art walk

The boys are so lucky to have such strong friendships and in turn Jawsh and I feel so blessed to have friendships with their best friends parents!  This summer, H, offered to teach the boys about abstract art!  They met for a few days and painted, explored, and went to Bergamont Station to see art in action.  It was such an amazing experience.  I hope they will look back at their summer and feel thankful for these experiences.  What will inspire them next???

Culmination Party

Noah's 5th grade culmination party was a hit!  He hosted some friends (including girls) to the private screening room in our complex to watch Jumanji.  They had a great time eating candy, eating pizza, and playing Pie Face.  It was quite interesting to see the boys and girls sitting separately and avoiding each other at all costs.  This is that age.  Will Noah remember this time when he gets older???

Culmination

Congratulations Noah!  He is finally moving on from the protective gates of elementary school to middle school!  Noah has been so blessed to start here at Open School.  He really hit the lottery when he was chosen out of 800 or so applicants for the 48 spots available at the school.  He has been part of a true learning community where he learned through meaningful experiences.  His classes were thematic and project-based and with the teachers' constructivist approach to teaching he really experienced a wonderful education.  How his middle school experience will compare???

Superstars

Noah and Paxton are showing off the culmination shirts that Jawsh designed for the 5th grade class.  These two boys will be heading off to middle school together next year.  Will they have the same classes???

Micah in the city

Today was Micah's final presentation of the year.  He created several buildings that revolved his favorite places.  We were really proud of him and his public speaking skills.  He did an amazing job and had such a wonderful experience this year.  Will he have an even better year next year???

Noah's first phone

We were unsure if this was the appropriate time for Noah to have a cell phone.  In fact, we were against it.  But then Noah wrote a persuasive essay about why he needed a phone, the benefits, and the pitfalls that having a phone would entail.  Needless to say we were impressed with his thoughtful and reflective essay.  He read the pages to us and it was a convincing 5 minute speech.  So, Noah got a phone.  It wasn't a new phone.  But hey, he got a phone.  How will this phone change his life???