Clara Barton Open School

Let There Be Light

Christina's, Dawn's, and Kristen's 1-2 classes held a Light Fair last week.  They studied, painted, and built all kinds of light and light-related subjects - suns, starts, northern lights, light pollution, pinhole cameras, sunsets,  equinoxes and soltices, and periscopes, to name a few. 

They invited parents and older kids to come in to the classrooms to see their amazing work.  Here are a few more pictures. 

Additional pictures from the Light Fair can be found at parent Kevin Kinneavy's Web site for Kristin's class.

Winter Portfolio Sharing and Goal Setting Conferences

Portfolio sharing has begun in many classrooms.  Others will be completed this Friday, January 27, which is a release day for conferences. 

In preparing their portfolios, students choose their best work and identify their own reasons for selecting it.  During goal setting conferences, students are asked to take an active part in identifying learning goals that are important to them academically and personally.  Parent suggestions are critical in the process.  Portfolio sharing and goal setting are examples of the non-competitive, student-centered evaluation in the open school program.

5th and 6th graders in Mary Austin's classroom combined portfolio sharing with a special family lunch and poetry performance last Friday.