Thanksgiving Letter from Leslie Hites, Founder, The Renaissance School

Happy Thanksgiving. I would like to share with you how our school celebrates this holiday.

Preparations for the Thanksgiving Feast begin on Monday, November 21, 2011 when our students start to prepare the food for the Thanksgiving Feast that is held on Wednesday at noon.

 The Thanksgiving Feast is a very special celebration at The Renaissance School. For me, it is the most beautiful event we celebrate all year. All the students and the staff gather to share a meal that has been collaboratively prepared by all the students. It is a time when we also share all the things we are grateful for as individuals and as a community. The Primary and Elementary students and the staff share tables so that they can become better acquainted and enjoy each other’s company. The Pre-primary children sit together with their teachers so as to not disturb their sense of order.  Traditionally the elementary students have hosted this event and thus are in charge of setting up the tables and chairs, decorating the environment and also, of setting the tables and placing the name cards. When the Pre-primary and Primary students arrive, the Elementary students welcome them and escort them to their places.

All the children in the school share the responsibility of preparing the turkeys, the gravy, the stuffing, the mashed potatoes, the yams, the salad, the cranberry sauce, the pumpkin pies and even the centerpieces for the tables. The Pre-primary students prepare the corn bread and help wash and tear the lettuce for the salad. Most everything is prepared from scratch and it is delicious. It is an incredible experience to see all the platters set on the buffet tables before the meal is served. How proud every student feels recognizing the dishes they prepared! By Wednesday, November 23, each one of our students will have contributed their part in preparing a meal for about 150 people! Of course none of this will happen without the children’s cooking partners, their teachers and their infinite patience and perseverance.

 The community participation in this event also includes the parents who shop for us and who iron the tablecloths we use at the feast. It is not surprising that it is always at this time of the year that some of our elementary students start realizing and commenting on the support they receive from the parents and teachers of the community!

 We plan to take pictures of the Thanksgiving Feast to share with you as well as some of the wonderful comments we hear from the children on such an occasion.

 Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

A recent article in The New York Times, "Delay Kindergarten at Your Child's Peril," presents reasons why children should start school at an earlier rather than later age. I agree with many of the premises of this article, but have my doubts on some of the details. 

I agree with the fact that children should start school at an earlier age. That is consistent with what we do in Montessori and what we do here at The Renaissance School (TRS). Many of the statements in the article attributing an early school start to becoming a successful student are examples of what we do in our school.

• I agree that it is a great disadvantage to children to delay having them in a learning environment. The article mentions that children learn to read more easily when they are younger. Again, I agree wholeheartedly. The reason is that children are in the sensitive period for language (in Montessori terms) well before kindergarten. That is why students here at TRS learn to read so easily, assuming they don't encounter a learning  challenge. Children who are not exposed to a learning environment early on, often have a difficult time engaging and finding motivation. More on teaching children to read at TRS.
  

• The article attributes the superior progress of early entry students to the increased challenges of a demanding environment. Again, it supports what we here at TRS very strongly believe, which is to challenge each child to his or her potential.

• The article also mentions that children between the ages of three and five who have older siblings, mature faster, because they are exposed to older children. Again, I agree that placing children in multiage environments allows them to develop socially and emotionally in a way that single-age classrooms cannot. The older children inspire, guide and teach the younger ones naturally.

• *What the article fails to recognize is that every human being is different and therefore the idea of starting a child in kindergarten early may not be the best for that particular child, even when it is the best for many others. The individual needs to be considered.

• The article also fails to recognize that emotional maturity is  greatly developed by giving children the opportunity to develop leadership skills at the end of each developmental period. An example would be after they  have had two to three years of learning from older children and then have a chance to apply what they learned. Avoiding having children in situations that  allow them to grow, such as delaying learning because they are immature, really backfires, because if we look at learning in traditional terms,   their peers are an enitre year ahead of them.

• * The idea of holding children back so that they have an edge on others, is unfortunately a practice that reflects a lack of understanding of child development and that ultimately just delays the development of the child. Not any better is when children are being held back a whole year, because their birthday is maybe two minutes after the cut-off for the year. Honestly, the idea of "holding" a child back is nonsensical. Traditional education has yet to find a way to respect the child's social and emotional development while addressing the intellectual development.

An article came out recently in Science magazine which might interest you. The article basically says that traditional education does not develop what are considered the most important skills needed in the 21st century, which are classified under "executive functions". These skills include cognitive flexibility, inhibition (self-control, self-regulation), working memory, problem solving, reasoning and planning. They mention that these skills need to be developed in early childhood to improve school readiness and academic success. This of course is looking at education through the traditional lens where education starts in kindergarten. Of interest to us is that the article states that Montessori is one of two curricula that addresses these skills. The other approach is a highly structured play-based program for early childhood education only.

Find out more about our school's philosophy and curriculum.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet you and show you our school. Visit our Tour Calendar page for upcoming tours. Private tours are also available by appointment.

Leslie Hites

Head of School

The Renaissance School (TRS) (in Oakland's Dimond District) November Information Nights are open to the public. Parents of prospective students can find out about the school, our Montessori program with a strong emphasis on language immersion, music and art, and hear from teachers and current parents.

All of the following Information Nights will begin at 7 p.m. at 3668 Dimond Avenue:

• Thursday, November 10, 2011-Kindergarten
• Tuesday,  November 29, 2011-Elementary (4th-8th Grade)

Each night will include a general presentation and time for questions and answers. In order for us to be able to answer all questions, we ask that you submit your questions in advance. Please email them to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

To find out more about our school and curriculum, visit: http://www.therenaissanceschool.org/index.php/curriculum.

We look forward to meeting you.

Meet the cuisinons in our Lower Elementary level. Cuisinons is the word for "chefs" in French. The Renaissance School has a very strong language immersion program. Our students learn English, French and Spanish. These cuisinons are ages six to nine years old. They were involved in our first cooking project of this school year. They made  champignons farcis et crème de gorgonzola (stuffed mushrooms and gorgonzola cream) and at the same time improved their French, analytical and social skills. This is an example of how our curriculum is one of integrated studies.

In the span of two weeks these young Renaissance School chefs learned the names of the ingredients and kitchen tools they will be using en français and multiplied the recipe so that it was large enough to share with the entire class.  They also determined which ingredients were available in the classroom and which ones needed to be purchased. Before they went to the grocery store, they planned who would be responsible for the shopping list, who would be responsible for the cash and who would be responsible for the reusable bags.  Then it was off to the grocery store!

GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE 

They worked almost totally independently. An adult was with them, following them only to ensure their safety. After collecting and purchasing all of their ingredients, the students returned to the school, ready for their cooking day!

The students served the champignons farcis et crème de gorgonzola as a side dish with a pizza lunch. The cuisinons received top reviews.

As a general rule, we encourage all students to have a taste of what was prepared so they can expand their taste buds. We also do our best to accommodate all dietary needs.