Early childhood through grade 12

Hawthorne Valley Association
Thank you to all of the families, parents, teachers, alumni, and community members that came to support the May Day Festival on Saturday, May 6th. After many dark and rainy, chilly days, it was wonderful to have the sun come out and to warm up for what proved to be a lovely day. The dancing was impressive, as was the music that accompanied it. The children were so pleased to share their hard work with families, particularly the Grandparents that were in town for the Grandparent’s and Special Friends Day the day before. The 8th grade class recently had their Project Presentations. During those presentations, many of the 8th graders thanked their parents, mentors, and their mothers for the support that they gave during the work on the Service Projects, as well as a general note of gratitude. One of the 8th graders, Noah Salinger, did his service project on bees. Noah shared with the audience about how he worked with one of our High School teachers, Yuuki Metreaud, to build a hive. Yuuki is a beekeeper and is well-versed in things bee-related. Noah spent several months working with Mr. Metreaud and came out of the experience with a heightened interest in bees and how they operate. Along with the service aspect of the 8th grade projects, the students were asked to write a research paper about something that had piqued their interest while they worked in the service aspect of the project. After working on building a hive, Noah decided to research the “Structure of a Hive and the Ethics of Beekeeping.” Noah’s service work and research taught him, as he shared with the audience, that understanding the structure of a hive is fundamental to understanding bees - and that a beehive is a complete matriarchy. The bees are definitely out now that spring has warmed and flowers are blooming. Looking around the campus, there are a few trees that are flowering and are buzzing with bee activity. The apple trees along the walkway between the Hall and the Kindergarten yard are dazzling, bold with fluffy white flowers that are particularly striking against the blue sky. Another is an amazing cherry tree that is over near the Practical Arts building - a magnificent fuchsia/magenta, alive with the sounds of bees humming. Written by Meaghan McKenna, Grade 3 Class Teacher & Lower School Chair