Planted Roots
Dear Families,
We ended last week, a week with a lot of big feelings, and found ourselves reflecting on our current state of being. One piece of the BNS story is that people come and stay. This is true of its teachers, staff and students - no one really leaves. People plant roots and make this their home away from home. There were people here with us for the shelter-in on April 12 who were in this building on September 11th, 2001 - and that wisdom and experience helps us all hold each other close for these intensely hard moments.
We are in a very unique time here at BNS when we can say that we have a very intergenerational staff community. Not only do we have our elders here, those who have given their service and have accepted a well-earned retirement, to support and guide us, we also have our graduates who have returned working in a variety of capacities, and our “middle age” folks who are the glue in between, learning and growing every day.
Before break, Shirley, our math coach, led a family math workshop, facilitated by Steve, Antoinette, and Anna - all BNS retirees who spend many days in our building. They are our art experts, our biking teacher, our math support - and our consultants. We seek them out to hear the stories from before our time, the stories of days of building furniture for rooms without any, the days of camping in Floyd Bennett Field, the stories of building the program we all continue to cultivate each day.
Steve, Shirley, Anna
At this workshop, families solved problems together. They shared their math thinking, and dug deeper to find words and drawings (we call these “models”) to help us see into their minds during problem solving. They listened carefully to each other, learning, understanding, trying something new. They walked in their children’s shoes for a morning, experiencing collaborative math the way our kids do each day, and they got to know each other a little bit better.
On Monday afternoon, our staff meets throughout the school year. Pandemic protocols have put us on zoom for the winter, following some shaky attempts at outdoor whole staff meetings in the Big Yard in the fall. For the last few weeks, we’ve been meeting in smaller groups to work on some common goals, and to prepare for the last months of the school year. We have enjoyed being able to come together, scaffolding us towards being 100+ people together in a room, brainstorming as one.
Cora, retired BNS 4th and 5th grade teacher, is supporting us with restorative practice work and using circle protocols in our classrooms this year. She’s just led mediation training for our 4th graders, who will have the choice to step into mediator roles once they grow into 5th graders, helping their younger peers negotiate conflicts. Cora led a staff session to make sure our adults had the same common vocabulary about this work - and in that room were Musa and Kana, who you may have met in their roles as BNS sub teachers, teaching farming, yoga, supporting green recess & the fourth grade musical, and subbing when teachers are out. These young teachers, our BNS graduates of years ago, remember being 5th grade mediators. They remembered wearing the bright teal mediator T-shirts, and laughing, Cora reflected on the shirts with the current 5th grade team. After the pandemic, moving rooms, and welcoming many new team members, it turns out there’s still a box of those shirts in Nancy and Rachael’s room, ready for the next generation!
We have many of our graduates in our midst, working with us now, bringing forward the future. In Andrew and Greta’s room, educational assistant Joaquín guides students through second grade work, always calm, steady and reassuring. Joaquín is a BNS graduate, a staff kid himself. On Wednesday, a bit shaky but ready for the world, they took their class on the first field trip of their year - to Governor’s Island. CJ, current second grade staff kid, and Joaquín, enjoyed lunch together in the open air.
CJ and Joaquín
The next day, Zane, another graduate and staff kid working as an educational assistant, subbed in the very room that was his second grade classroom years ago - now on the other side of the conversations and discussions.
There are many more examples of these powerful layers of our community, the generations we are so fortunate to have, the experiences and ideas always at the ready.
Our elders and our young people are here. We are in this together.
We hope your break was restful, restorative, healthy and calming.
Diane & Malika
Check the Konstella calendar for zoom links and the website calendar for updates:
