Our Very First "Atrium from Afar!" Challenge: Giraffe-Drawing!

Hello Families, Faculty and Staff!

It was wonderful to see so many of you today at school!  Thanks for making the day such a smooth one.  At the close of this message is a fun challenge for everyone in the community to participate in.  But first, a few business items.  

• Be sure to read teachers' emails arriving early this week.  These will orient you to your children's new routines for learning.

• This message comes to you via conventional email; check your spam filters to ensure you allow the regular Mailchimp messages we are sending. These same messages will be archived at the Atrium News website.  Please stay current on our communications to you.

• The buildings and grounds of Atrium School are now closed to families until school re-opens, April 7th at the soonest. Should you need anything from the building, contact Sydney Mason-Barrett for arrangements.

Now for the fun part.  From time to time, I'll issue a new "Atrium From Afar" challenge that everyone can participate in. This first one goes like this:

1)  Gather your family, with blank sheets of paper and writing utensils...

2)  Set a timer for two minutes.  When everyone is ready, start the timer...

3)  Within those two madcap minutes, each person draws a giraffe!

Once you have finished the "Atrium From Afar" challenge and your laughter has subsided, snap pictures of your results and send them to mcarter@atrium.org by Thursday at 10 a.m.  By week's end, we'll share the results (no names attached...) and you can marvel at the humorous herd of giraffes we create together.  Can we make 199 giraffes or more?

Warmly,

Marshall

Atrium in the World

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Curricular Alignment & Growth Inside Atrium

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Welcome Back Inside Atrium

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Eleven Students Graduate from Eighth Grade

On June 11, 11 students from Atrium School graduated from eighth grade, including the school’s first students to attend Atrium from PreK through eighth grade.

In Atrium tradition, this year’s graduation speaker was an alumna, Celia Reddick ’96, a Ph.D. candidate in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education studying the intersection of education and migration. Ms. Reddick told graduates, “When I look at my daughter Keza, I want for her so many of the things that I heard you all describe about your experiences at Atrium and that I hope you continue to pursue and find in your next steps. I wish for her to develop a sense of curiosity, of empathy, of awareness, and of action. And I wish, most of all, that she too will declare one day how much she cares for her classmates and they for her, and to describe, as many of you did, the foundation that those vital relationships have provided so that she too can explore the world.”

Photo by Joe Murphy

Students from the Class of 2019 will be attending a variety of public and independent schools in the area: Boston Latin School, Cambridge School of Weston, Chapel Hill Chauncy Hall, Concord Academy, Gann Academy, and McCallie School, as well as Arlington High School, Belmont High School, Minuteman High School, and Newton South High School.

“In reading some of the last poems you've written at Atrium, the subjects and emotions are wide-ranging and the styles are varied,” said Head of School Marshall Carter in his graduation address. “Uncertainty comes up numerous times, as do strength and confidence. But there is a shared voice, a unified vision, and sense of cohesion in them. I hope that Atrium has given you, among many other things, these two things: one is the power of your own voice on its own, and the other is an understanding of the power of your voice in concert with others.”

Atrium Hosts Four Summer Professional Development Institutes

This summer, Atrium will host four professional development institutes in partnership with peer organizations. These initiatives advance our school’s values and mission, and bring scores of like-minded educators to our campus. Becoming a leader in teacher education is a important expression of our powerful belief in lifelong learning.

Diversity, Inclusion & Social Justice Inside Atrium

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Atrium Hosts Alumni Reunion Reception

This weekend, Atrium hosted a reunion reception for alumni from the classes of 1999–2009. Graduates came together to reconnect and reminisce about their time at Atrium, singing songs and telling stories. It was a deeply moving and emotional evening, full of fond memories and reunions between old friends. To stay abreast of other upcoming alumni events and to be added to our alumni mailing list, please click here.

Winter 2019 Compluvium

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What does freedom mean to you?

For our annual Freedom & Justice Assembly, our faculty Anti-Bias & Equity (ABE) Committee produced a video asking students "What does freedom mean to you?" Students had an array of thoughtful answers; what does freedom mean to YOU?

Academic Challenge Inside Atrium

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Fourth and Fifth Grade Engineering Projects

Fourth and fifth graders have recently completed an engineering project in which students had to identify and research problems inside the school, before designing and testing a solution. After finishing their projects, students did a “Shark Tank”-style pitch for members of the administration, who will then decide which projects will be built and installed at school this spring.

Innovation Inside Atrium

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Eighth Grade Clusters Presentation

This week, Middle Schoolers had their demonstrations of learning for their Clusters block. Middle School students rotate through three two-week Cluster learning blocks throughout the year, cycling through Performing Arts, STEM, and Digital Storytelling. For the fall rotation, eighth graders were in Performing Arts, focusing on social justice issues like immigration, racism, and ableism.

Third Grade Rocketeers

How do you build a rocket? Our third graders can tell you! This fall, the Rocketeers learned how to build rockets, teaching them about the scientific and engineering elements of designing rockets while simultaneously helping them to practice the patience and consideration required to learn from their mistakes and improve their designs. Also, rockets are pretty awesome and fun.