Blog

From my teaching days, there is a particular moment I remember with special sadness: It’s the moment in the semester when everything kind of closes up, and it happened without fail just a few weeks into the school year, coinciding directly with the… Read more ›
As is well known, our rules require students to attend school at least five hours a day throughout the school year. In order to see to it that this rule is being observed, we have to keep an accurate log of each student’s attendance. This presented… Read more ›
The school year has started with a bang! Students and staff are excited for activities and work to begin. The amount of fundraisers we recently had is a good indication of it! Now that it is the beginning of October, all of the corporations for the… Read more ›
Musicals and plays happen at all schools. It is always a big deal to produce them, what with numerous rehearsals to arrange, costumes and props to procure, and finding the talent in the student body to perform all the roles, big and small. What was… Read more ›
Imagine my delight when I was contracted by the Physical Plant Committee’s representatives to help in the massive restoration project this summer at SVS! In the words of a founder, “It’s the biggest renovation we’ve ever done . . . even bigger than… Read more ›
Pulling off a one-person art exhibit, from creating to matting to hanging, takes a lot of different skills. Obviously, one has to have produced a body of work which they feel is good enough to show in public. Hannah had done just that. During her… Read more ›
The following two scenes were unfolding recently on the different ends of one of the low red tables in the playroom, around lunchtime. On the one end, close to me, Josie sat down with her tablet and a snack, joined in quick succession by Nell on one… Read more ›
It isn’t often that young children talk about their struggles with ethical or psychological issues, but there is no doubt that as they grow and live in a community they grapple with such issues. Since they usually don’t have abstract conversations… Read more ›
I love chocolate and eat a piece after lunch and dinner. Pretty much religiously. In the beginning of the year, I used to pack a few pieces to last me the week. Well, Dillon, Elise and Sophie quickly realized I did. They are so charming and cute I… Read more ›
“You know that moment when you are playing bass and it's like surfing?” Sadly, I don’t, but I sure wish I did, because judging from the glowing expression of the student I overheard saying this, it must be great. The recent music show helped me… Read more ›
It was warm outside. It was raining a lot and of course lots of kids were thrilled. Oh what fun it is to stand outside and let the pouring rain drench you! The mother in me wants to tell them to go inside and put on dry clothes, but the child in me… Read more ›
There are so many ways that SVS challenges the way we think about school and education. Some are deep and profound others are just strange. Recently my daughter asked if she could sleep over at a friend’s house. It was mid-week and my first thought… Read more ›
Posted by permission of Philly Free School. First published on their blog, May 22, 2015. www.phillyfreeschool.org/blog By Michelle Loucas, PFS Staff "We must raise both the ceiling and the floor." -Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In: Women, Work, and the… Read more ›
Today I was engrossed in contemplating how difficult it is to tell the “bad guys” from the “good guys”. I have had that trouble since I was a little girl watching cowboy movies. It wasn’t that I didn’t have some clue that Roy Rogers, or the Lone… Read more ›
During February break, I took the opportunity to visit the Fairhaven School in Maryland, one of our sister schools. I am so glad I did! It brought key aspects of our work at Sudbury into sharp focus for me, and I returned to our school energized and… Read more ›