2006-2007 Fall/Winter Directions - Friends' Central School

CAMPUS LOG – LOWER SCHOOL
The Enchanted Friendship Tree
they took turns serving various tropical fruits. They learned a
song to help them remember the layers in a rainforest, and they
filled their room with vines and hanging monkeys. Next door,
the pre-kindergarten children in Kristi Kallam’s and READ
DeSabato’s class studed Winnie the Pooh. They built Pooh’s tree
house, had a tea party to celebrate Pooh’s 100th birthday, and
made balloon sand bees to toss around with their project
buddies in third grade.
Second graders went to Pennsylvania Hospital to learn about
medicinal herbs; other classes visited the Morris Arboretum and
the Arboretum on the Upper School campus; there were plays
and performances; and all of the classrooms sent each other
“leaf notes”—messages written on leaf-shaped paper and secretly
delivered baskets outside each classroom. These notes are just
one example of how the Fall Project encourages the children to
connect with each other across grades and classrooms.
The Fall Projects began in the mid-1970s when the faculty
set out to enliven the months they spent reviewing material.
They also wanted to find a way to unify the School and generate
opportunities for shared activities. In 1977 the program
caught fire when the faculty designed TERRA, an imaginary
planet, and each classroom became a different nation, with its
own language, literature, and culture. Since then the themes
have included such diverse topics as Flight, Islands, Latin
America, and Literary Places.
Assistant Principal Lou DelSoldo explains that for children
this young, “the thematic course of study is particularly valuable
because the limited focus it provides helps them build the cognitive
structure and skills they need to retain a wider range of
information.” It also teaches them to look for connections
across disciplines and helps develop their sense of belonging to
a larger community of learning. Teachers enjoy collaborating on
20 DIRECTIONS Fall 2006 / Winter 2007
lesson plans and all-school assemblies, while students consciously
follow what is happening across the hall or upstairs.
At the end of each fall, the entire Lower School gathers for a
culminating event that features everyone’s special focus. This year
they created a giant, “enchanted friendship tree.” Each classroom
made something to represent their studies and fill the branches—
butterflies, bees, hobbits, acorn dolls, red ants, characters from
Robin Hood. The tree covers one whole wall in the meeting
room and will stand all year as a colorful, vibrant testament to
the enduring power of the Fall Projects. More than anything else,
the children at Friends’ Central’s Lower School are learning that
school can stimulate their imaginations, test their creativity, and
form the basis for a community of friends.
Lower School faculty play