June 3, 2011

Students Learn About the Navajo Long Walk

If you visited Gill St. Bernard’s School during the past two weeks, you were likely to see one group of students creating sports broadcasts with the help of  NBC News while another boarded a bus for a multi-day trip to explore the environment of the Great Swamp, or left for an emersion trip in Canadian history and culture in Montreal. – among other activities.

These two weeks are a unique feature of Gill St. Bernard’s School’s curriculum and are  called the Spring Unit. During this time, students study one topic in depth. (The school day is lengthened throughout the year to accommodate this two week period.) The experiences open the school classrooms to the world as field trips and field studies are integral parts of the courses.
One such Unit this spring was the Navajo Long Walk. Students from GSB traveled to the Southwest where they met with Navajo elders, leaders, artists and artisans, and had private tours of museums and landmarks. The purpose was to examine the interactions between the U.S. government and the Navajos that led to the Long Walk, and to explore the Navajo culture.

What follows are some entries from the students’ online diaries.

“Today we went to the New Mexico History Museum where we learned about the history of the Long Walk and the U.S. involvement in the Indian tribes of the nation. It’s so frustrating to think about how the people of the nation I am a part of could treat those people so horribly. Not-so-fun Fun Fact: Thousands of Indians died on the Long Walk and even more died at Bosque Redondo (the reservation where they were incarcerated).

Laura

“I really enjoyed learning about the great importance the Navajo people had during World War II. During the war, the United States government used the Navajo for their language which the Japanese could not decipher. Sadly, this contribution to the War gets lost in many history textbooks about American history, and I believe it should have a greater standing in history classes around the country.”

Natalie

“As I walked through the main exhibit (in the museum), I found myself reading every Navajo poem. These poems resonated with me to a great extent. One has remained in my head for the last six hours: I am here, I am here now, I have been here always.”

Jake

“I strolled over to a museum in back of the Palace of Governors along with the rest of our group. We were given a guided tour of an exhibit that focused on the Navajo Long Walk and the Indian schools all around the country. One of the most heart wrenching things about the exhibit was a photograph of young Native American boy before he was sent away to an Indian boarding school in Pennsylvania, paired with a photograph of the same boy after he left the boarding school. His long hair: cut. His traditional clothing: gone. His face: tired and saddened.”

Hayley D.

“What a spectacular day! After the scenic journey to the Taos Pueblo, the powerful imagery of both the civilizations past and present led even the quietest of us to express a vocal compassion for the native peoples, and drew out in me a great sense of guilt for the deeds committed by my ancestors. Having recently discovered that my great-great-grandfather fought in the Indian wars, the tales of American and Spanish conquest seared deeply into my heart, as I witnessed first-hand the damage done by the U.S. cavalry and the Spanish conquistadors.

Christian

“Today we had the amazing chance to speak one-on-one with one of the most

renowned Navajo weavers. As an outsider, it was a treat to have some of these processes revealed to me, and to learn about a craft that is so integral to the roots of Navajo culture. To be a successful weaver, one must have an everlasting reservoir of patience, an understanding of balance, and knowledge of all of the plants on the reservation.”

Sophie

“Staying in a Hogan was completely humbling. After sleeping on a dirt floor for two nights, every bed, whether it be stiff or too soft, feels like a heavenly mattress. Getting past the actual sleeping arrangements, her home and Navajo ways (the students stayed on the farm of a  Navajo woman) were so natural. The way in which she was attached to the Mother Earth and Father Sky touched each and everyone of our souls.”

Jake

Thoughts on College Admission and the “Race to Nowhere”

by Sid Rowell

Headmaster

Recently the documentary film “Race to Nowhere” has been screened in several local venues and is generating a good bit of discussion.  This movie chronicles the lives of several students who mainly attend affluent public schools on the West Coast. The film’s producer, Vicki Abeles, was compelled to produce the film as she witnessed all three of her children evincing stress-related symptoms in the face of overwhelming demands in the pursuit of “college resume building”. Some of the concerns highlighted in the film include too much homework, early specialization in one sport, too many scheduled activities, over emphasis on AP curriculum and the problems inherent in standardized testing.

Secondary schools are largely influenced by the colleges with respect to meeting admission requirements. Given the exploding number of students applying to college, the bar keeps rising for high school graduates. Duke and Princeton received 30,000+ applications this year for freshmen classes of less than 1700. These days, colleges look for students who have demonstrated success in a challenging academic program and students with high test scores. They then examine an applicant’s involvement in sports, music, clubs, community service, etc., to demonstrate a student’s high level of talent, competence and leadership. The latter clearly promotes “specialization” and the former directly endorses AP and SAT test preparation.

Schools, especially independent schools such as Gill St. Bernard’s, are also heavily influenced by parents who wittingly or unwittingly contribute to the anxiety driven ‘Race to Nowhere,” whether their child is an 11^th grader or a kindergartener. Expectations are high (and not always realistic) and schools’ college lists are constantly dissected by current and prospective parents. Although I do not find myself interacting with a lot of “Tiger Moms,” everyone wants the best for their children, and for their children to be exceptional. While we as educators understand this desire, it presents a number of challenges for schools.

Gill St. Bernard's School has resisted many of the excesses highlighted in the Abeles’ documentary. With parental support, we will continue to try to be reasonable in our expectations, to educate the whole student, to advise wisely in the college selection process, and to contribute to the overall well-being of our young people.  We strive to promote balance in the lives’ of our students, to support them in exploring their many interests, and to encourage them to take educational risks. However, more is required. Our students also need to breathe the fresh air as they walk outside between classes, to laugh and even to gaze at the clouds from time to time. These things, too, are an important part of a meaningful and reflective life and are ultimately, one of the things that makes GSB such a special and unique school community.

As parents and educators, we need to think deeply about what we truly value. This is the starting point of any thoughtful and honest dialogue about student stress levels. All of us need help with learning to manage our own anxiety if we are going to help our children with theirs. Perhaps clarifying our own values is a first step. For now, schools are caught between the two powerful forces of parent and college expectations.

GSB Athletes Focus on More Than Sports

by David Pasquale

Director of Athletics

The Athletic Program at Gill St. Bernard’s has been receiving quite a bit of attention lately. Over the last three years, we’ve won sixteen conference championships, five sectional crowns, two state titles, and five of our teams have been ranked in the “top-20” in the state. In 2009 we became the smallest school in the history of Somerset County to win a county championship in a team sport and two of our coaches were recently named New Jersey Coach-of-the-Year in their sport. 65 GSB student-athletes earned post-season recognition last year and roughly 20 of our recent graduates are currently competing at the college level.

These same student-athletes have also achieved at an incredibly high level in the classroom.  Several were identified as National Merit Scholars. In fact, recently graduated Gill athletes are currently enrolled at Princeton, Georgetown, Cornell, Williams, and several other top-flight colleges and universities.

While we’re all very proud of these fantastic athletic and academic accomplishments, perhaps it is “off the field” where our stars shine most brightly. Our girls soccer team dedicated an October game to Breast Cancer Awareness, raising nearly $1400 for this worthy cause, while the boys hold an annual clinic at the Midland School for children with developmental disabilities. As part of a “Team up 4 Kids” project, our boys basketball players welcomed a new teammate last season from the Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown and our cross country teams took part in “Miles for Matheny” as well as the Steeplechase Distance Run to benefit the Steeplechase Cancer Center at the Somerset Medical Center. The “Knight Club,” a service organization of GSB student-athletes, collected and donated over 1300 pairs of shoes as part of the nationally acclaimed “Soles 4 Souls” campaign.

Our teams are doing well and our student-athletes are very talented. However, it’s important to recognize that there’s much more to being a Gill St. Bernard’s student-athlete than championships and school records.

GSB Responds to Community Needs

by Peter Schmidt

Director of Studies

Community Service Coordinator

Walking around Gill St. Bernard's School these past several weeks I’m never quite sure what may appear when I turn any corner.   Though learning through service to the community is woven into the fabric of a GSB education from Primary to 12^th grade, opportunities to make a difference for others proliferate at this time of year. 

In the hallways outside the first grade classrooms, stacks of canned goods are piled alongside graphs and charts which integrate the canned good drive on behalf of SHIP (Samaritan Homeless Interim Program in Somerville) into the students’ math studies. Students count, categorize and graph the types of foods collected. Around the corner, a group of fourth grade students, who remembered taking part in the program just a few years earlier, sat down with their teachers to determine how they could help the first graders reach a goal of 1,000 cans by December 17^th.

This food drive is just one of dozens of projects at GSB at this time of year.  Middle school students are engaged in their own food drive in support of the Interfaith Food Pantry of Morris County, while also supporting their ongoing work on behalf of the Senior Citizens Center of Plainfield.  A recently completed food drive in the Upper School sent more than 1,500 items to the Interfaith Food Pantry, as well as twenty-seven food baskets to families served by the Association of Retarded Citizens of Essex County, where some students will be serving food at a holiday party in mid-December. 

In addition to the projects which focus on helping the hungry in our neighborhoods, the school recently donated more than 200 winter coats to FISH, a Dunellen-based agency that serves more than 1,500 families in Middlesex, Union, and Somerset counties.  A group of students in the Upper School’s HOPE organization raised more than $1,000 for the Valerie Fund, an organization at Morristown Memorial Hospital which provides support for children with cancer and childhood blood disorders. 

Speaking of those hallways and what you might discover there, a large bin in the Upper School locker area is full of pet food, dog toys, and other items which will soon be donated to Eleventh Hour Rescue in Rockaway.  Several other hallways have the familiar Toys for Tots containers, where students, parents, and teachers, have been collecting toys.  In addition, the school’s Spanish Honorary Society is also collecting toys for its annual party at the Dover Head Start program.

As important as the outreach, students learn about the value of service and their ability to make a difference for others.  In responding to the needs of others, the school community comes closer together as everyone does his or her part to make the world a little bit better place.

Swedish Teachers Learn from GSB Program

by Peter Schmidt, Director of Studies

“The World is Our Classroom” has been the motto of Gill St. Bernard's School since the merger of the Gill and St. Bernard’s Schools nearly 40 years ago.  Unlike many institutional mottos, the GSB maxim is put into practice in many ways at every grade level of the school.  From kindergarten students who visit pumpkin patches to seniors who experience the world through the study of comparative religion and the global economy, GSB practices what it preaches.

A recent visit of five teachers and librarians from Sweden brought this point home these past two weeks.  Traveling under the auspices of a European Union grant which permits teachers from EU schools to visit notable school programs outside of Europe, these educators were at Gill St. Bernard's School to see its award-winning research program in action.  As guests of Randi Schmidt, Head Librarian, and Ginny Kowalski, Associate Librarian, the Swedish visitors spent several days interviewing GSB teachers and students in preparation for extending inquiry-based learning into their schools in Uppsala, Sweden.  “Our heads are spinning with new ideas,” was the effusive reaction of Goren Brolund, the organizer of the visit, following an evening of music, dinner, and several student reflections on the Scientific Literature Review, which highlighted the visit.  “To listen to these students discuss some of the highest levels of current scientific research is inspiring, but a bit intimidating.”

The Swedish teachers are now back home but plans are in the offing for a visit to Sweden by a group of GSB teachers and students in the 2011-2012 academic year.  After all, at Gill St. Bernard's School, “The World is Our Classroom.”

Get a Grip: Ideas to Improve Small Motor Control in Children

by Peggy Campbell-Rush, Lower School Director

Did you know that good handwriting starts in the shoulders?  The ability for a young child to be able to cut, color and use a pencil starts with a full range of muscles from the shoulder down through the finger tips.  It is important for children to climb, hold on and swings on swings, move their arms above their shoulders to promote muscle strength in the full arm for example.

There are many things that parents and teachers can do to help with this.  Anytime a child can raise his/her arms higher than the shoulder area and keep them up for a few minutes it helps the upper arm.  Often fingerplays and actions can be done with the hands held high.  Rotating the wrists to warm them up is helpful before a fine motor task.  Squeezing stress balls, twisting a sponge to release water and holding tight to grip something helps the palmer arch in the middle of the palm. Cleaning something with very small pieces of sponge or taking the plastic upper part out of a paintbrush and painting just with the nib help the tri-pod grip develop.  

Lower and Middle Schools kick off their year of community service activities

Stone Soup Day on October 6  kicked off the community service efforts of Gill St. Bernard’s Lower and Middle School students to provide lunch to the Senior Citizens Center of Plainfield once a month. During Stone Soup Day, each Lower School child brings one ingredient to add to the soup pot, showing that if each person shares a little, everyone can have enough. The youngest child, in the school traditionally throws the stone into the pot, assisted by eighth graders who have been at GSB since pre-school.  The soup cooks all day and is symbolically shared by the children for lunch the following day.)  The event is based on the fable of stone soup. 

Throughout the school year, the younger students make soup and sandwiches each month, which seventh and eighth graders then take to the new Plainfield Senior Citizen Center headquarters.  The children hold special "parties," "song fests" and other celebrations to mark various events at the Senior Center during the year.  In the spring, the senior citizens are brought from Plainfield to Gladstone to attend a special performance of the Middle School play and to have lunch on campus.

The "Stone Soup" program, which won the Grand Prize in Scholastic Magazine's Kid's Care contest several years ago, is an ongoing tradition at GSB and involves everyone at the Lower and Middle Schools.