Building Improvements Occur Over the Summer

By Evan Spann  

Have you seen the new look on the front door at Project Learn School (PLS) - or the Community Room? All of this  work was done over the summer and early fall of 2013.

    Roni Anton, Project Learn School Community Coordinator, organized getting the work done in the building over the summer and early fall. Some of the work was done by parents and some was hired out. For instance, Judd Friedman, a landscaper, was hired to clean the backyard and  take out the weeds and brush. Lauren and Tony Halloway, new parents to PLS, also helped him.

    Other people came to the school to work on other projects. Joan Fox, Lisa Pack and Roni Anton plus the parents John Holbrook, Lisa Kelly, Chris and Kate Garrity, and John and Susannah Grubb all helped prep and paint the Community Room. David Wootton refinished the front the door all by himself. Donna Allender, one of the founding teacher/parents, was thrilled when she saw the door. She said, “It is so beautiful and such a fine way to welcome people to our school." 

 There were two work days to help get PLS ready: one on September 7 and the other on September 15. Lots of families came to help get school ready before the first day of school. Thank you to everyone who helped make PLS ready for staff and students.

PLS front door refinished by David Wootton, a new parent in Jane's Group.

PLS Hires 3 New Staff

By Sophie Gala

  Did you know that Project Learn School (PLS) hired three new staff members for the 2013-2014 school year? They're names are Sean Leber, Rebecca Zeldin and Dorian Dean. All were hired over the summer, which is a challenging time to hire teachers.

    The process for hiring  a teacher at PLS has many steps, each of the three new staff members at PLS had to go through them. First, the PLS Personnel Committee met and wrote an ad for the position and then put the ad for the position in many different places, one of which was the Chestnut Hill Local. As the resumes came in, they were looked at by the committee and some were eliminated. After a second look through, phone interviews were conducted with some of the candidates. Of those who were interviewed on the phone, a few were chosen to come to school to teach a sample class, which was followed by an interview with the whole committee. The Personnel Committee had to come to consensus on who would be the best fit. The job was offered to that applicant.

Jordan Shapiro, PLS Lead Parent, said the hardest part of doing this was finding someone who would fit in with the culture of PLS. The other challenge was coming to consensus on the decision. Jordan went on to say, "There were several reasons PLS needed three new teachers this year. Liz Ben-Yaacov retired over the summer, and it was important to replace her with a new math teacher. Also, Liam Galagher taught English to the Jr. High last year, and the staff felt it was important for him to have time to teach science to the younger groups. Plus, the staff wanted to get a teacher who would teach English and Spanish to the Jr. High. Jane's Group this year was so large, it was important for her to have an assistant."

    

Sean Leber on the third floor.

Sean Leber, the new math teacher, was born in Boston, Massachusetts and went to the University of Massachusetts, at Amherst. He did not  graduate from college to be a teacher. However, after he joined 'Teach for America,’ a program committed to helping kids from all backgrounds, he discovered how much he loved to teach. He taught at Olney Charter School for two years. A couple years ago he did sample classes with Liz's math class and really enjoyed his experience.Then  he traveled across the world and taught African refugees in Israel for  two more years. He came back to the USA and began his search for a job. Sean’s hobbies are music and technology. He collects head phones, and has one cat named Jeffery. He thinks the hardest and best part of teaching at PLS is enjoying the chaos.

   

Dorian Dean with some of her students.

Dorian Dean was born in Baltimore, Maryland and went to college at Tyler School of Arts at Temple University. Dorian has always been interested in teaching and  taught ceramics at multiple schools prior to this year, plus she ran an after school program. She was wondering what it would be like to teach full time when Debbie Pollack who used to teach art at PLS told her about  the assistant teaching position. Dorian's hobbies are cooking and art. She collects stones and has one cat named, Fifty. She thinks the hardest thing about teaching at Project Learn School is teaching kids to “make choices through freedom. “ The thing she likes the most is the sense of community and the passion of the other teachers.  

Rebecca Zeldin outside her room.

Rebecca Zelden was born in Washington D.C and went to Haverford College. She has always been interested in novels, and she has wanted to teach since she was ten years old. Rebecca knew she wanted to work in a cooperative environment  and Project Learn School is certainly that. Rebecca said she likes the people at PLS. She thinks the most difficult thing about PLS is how well other people think she does her job. Her hobby is hiking and she has one cat. Rebecca doesn’t collect anything, but she used to collect snow globes; she said she used to have over two hundred of them. All three teachers are fitting nicely into the school culture. Make sure to say hi when you see them.

    

New Face in After School

By Zack Waxler  

Donna Waxler, After School Coordinator

After-School at Project Learn School (PLS) has a new face! Donna Waxler has recently been hired as the new After-School coordinator for PLS. She is excited to be working at PLS and looks forward to each day.

    Donna says she applied for the job because she likes working with kids, and she has many ideas. She prepared a lot for the job over the summer as she collected a bunch of stuff for the After-School room. She even went to yard sales to find new toys and games in order to save money for the school.

    Donna has many exciting plans for each day. She plans to do themed days in After-School, such as Harry Potter day, or spy school day, etc. Donna is cooking each week with the kids, making a variety of good food choices for them. They have made baked potatoes, hot chocolate, pasta and lots of other delicious snacky foods. “The worst part of After-School is having to unstop the toilet,” she said recently. Her favorite part of being After-School coordinator is getting to know the kids and helping them negotiate their relationships. One of her other responsibilities in this job is to make sure the Community Room, kitchen and bathroom are cleaned up everyday before she leaves. She has also gotten good feedback for doing this.

 Lisa Pack, one of the members of the hiring committee, says that the reason Donna stood out from the other applicants was because she really impressed the hiring committee with all of the creative ideas she had. Lisa also said, “Donna has a clear understanding of what Project Learn School is all about.” Lisa added that Donna is doing a great job at having a variety of entertaining activities for the kids.

Eighth Grade: A Year of Celebrating at Project Learn School!

By Jamie Polson

     8th grade…  What an exciting year!  So much to look forward to.

     Liam Gallagher, the Junior High science teacher, said, “The 8th grade year is a good celebration for all that the students who have been at Project Learn School.  They work on systems thinking, collaboration, and setting big goals. Collaboration is a very important skill to have anywhere you go; systems thinking is when you have a project with multiple steps or things that need to get done and people need to be assigned to certain tasks; and setting big goals is trying to see the big picture first, then trying to get there. In order for the 8th graders to practice these skills they have a lot of projects throughout the year to work on such as the Haunted House, weekly food sales, and the Costa Rica trip.”

     Earlier in the fall, the 8th grade went on a trip to Silver Lake in the Poconos. They were invited by Surya Bromley's family to their house. Liam's favorite part of the trip was "watching the kids go crazy over the rope swing as I watched from the kayak." The goal of this trip was to come up with fundraising ideas for the trip to Costa Rica and for ideas for the Haunted House. David Bromley, Surya's dad, Liam Gallagher, and Linda Pollack-Johnson, the mom of this reporter, were the leaders of this trip. 

     The Haunted House is a project that the graduating class does during the Halloween season. They make up costumes, plot lines and characters for the Haunted House, which they construct in some of the Jr. High rooms. On Halloween the rest of the school goes through the Haunted House. Sean Leber, a PLS Jr. High teacher said, " I was looking forward to seeing what the 8th grade put together. Although I didn't know much about it, I was looking forward to seeing their creativity." The Haunted House is kept a confidential activity so that it's not spoiled before the other groups go in. Joan Fox, the PLS art teacher, remarked, "I like going to it and being a little scared."

     In the Spring, the 8th grade goes to Costa Rica on a service learning trip. In order to raise money for their trip, they do weekly food sales, which are put together by the 8th grade students, Liam and Joan. Some of the items sold at these sales are spagheti and garlic bread, tomato soup and grilled cheese, tacos, and mashed potatoes with toppings. A drink is included with each meal. The cost of the lunch for the rest ofthe school is $5.00. Zack Waxler, an 8th grader, said, "Spaghetti is my favorite food sale idea." The Costa Rica trip is what the 8th grade looks forward to all year. Joan said,  “The staff at PLS has always been looking for ways to culminate the 8th graders’ time at PLS.  Five  years ago we decided to have that be in another country and through research, we decided that Costa Rica was the place we wanted to go to.”  

     During the whole school year, the 8th grade tries to raise enough money to go to Costa Rica, where they stay with local families and do service projects for the community.   Zack said that “ I am looking forward to being away from school for a week.”  They will be going with Liam and Joan, who have brought the 8th graders to Costa Rica for the past few years.  There are nine 8th graders this year. If you want more information or have questions about the 8th grade contact Jake Grubb, Elya Kaplin, Surya Bromley, Jamie Polson, Zack Waxler, Tania Crowell, Kyle Adams, Jhakur Hall, or Nasya Howard.  Look for them around the building; they are easy to spot.

 

8th grade students at Silver Lake in the Poconos.

Restaurant Review: Honeygrow

By Cece Mulchay

Honeygrow is a restaurant with two locations in the Philadelphia area that serves dishes made with locally grown ingredients. Their motto is “ honest eating + growing local.” The owner, Justin Rosenberg came up with the idea of his restaurant when he started a strictly plant-based diet. He wanted people to experience wholesome and simple foods.

The main dishes at Honeygrow are stir-fry dishes featuring different types of noodles made with egg whites, rice , and other grains. There are also salads and smoothies available. My favorite part of this restaurant is the Honeybar, where you can create your own fruit parfaits. To place your order, you walk up to the counter and use one of the many touchscreen kiosks. The counter people are very friendly.             

Lunch time seems to be a popular time at Honeygrow. If you want fresh food fast, it makes a great lunch, and Honeygrow is a perfect restaurant for kids. Kids can order what they want and it's fun to place an order on the touchscreen kiosks.I went for dinner one night, and it was not so crowded.

Since orders are made through a kiosk, the food comes fairly fast. At my last visit to Honeygrow, I ordered a create-your-own stir-fry with edamame, shrimp, cashews, and noodles made with egg whites, in a sour cherry barbecue sauce. It was very flavorful. The sauce was sweet and tangy, which went well with the shrimp. There sure is a lot of food for the cost; two people can easily share a meal! The average cost of a meal starts at $7.95, and you can also create your own stir-fry with shrimp, vegetables, chicken, and other tasty ingredients for an additional price.

Another advantage for customers is that there are stations to recharge smartphones. When I have been there, all of the smartphone chargers have been in use. They seem to be used often.

Honeygrow has two locations; one in Bala Cynwyd, in the Bala Shopping Center on City Avenue, and the other is in Center City, on S. 16th Street, between Walnut and Chestnut Streets. It is open daily from 11 am to 10 pm. Honeygrow is a wonderful restaurant, where it is fun to place an order and where you get a lot for your money. I would rate it 4 1/2 stars out of 5 stars.

KidsCare Blooms at Project Learn School

By Fae Lobron

Painting the flowers for KidsCare.

Imagine walking into a museum and seeing artwork  made by children alongside artwork made by professional artists. This is what happens every fall for the KidsCare exhibit at Woodmere Art Museum.   

    KidsCare is a collaboration between Woodmere Art Museum, WXPN’s Kids Corner, St. Christopher’s Hospital For Children, and about 20 Philadelphia area schools. Project Learn School (PLS)  has been participating in KidsCare since it began, and PLS has only missed one year in twenty years. Public and private schools in the Philadelphia area participate in KidsCare, other schools have one or two art classes to make the art. PLS is different because PLS is the only school where everybody in the school participates in making art. PLS has mixed up ages working together so younger students can spend time with the older students.

     Every year there is a theme that the art projects are designed around.This years theme is based on an artist named, Peter Paone.The thing that Joan Fox, PLS art teacher, found most interesting about his art was his flowers. So flowers are now the theme for PLS. Each student made two ceramic flowers; one to keep for themselves and the other to give away. The flowers are then painted and glued to wire to create flower gardens.

    The art projects that were made are given to St Christopher’s Hospital For Children. The gifts are given to the sick kids during the winter holidays. The hope is to give them something exciting and cheerful for their room and to make sure they know someone is thinking about them.

Mixed-up Group partners working together making the presents for the kids at St. Christopher's.

   Joan says, “Art can be healing and a powerful way to make people’s lives brighter.”, Joan also thinks it is good for the PLS students to make art and give it away, and to be generous to others. PLS originally found out about KidsCare because a former PLS parent, Meri Adleman, happened to be part of the program and she asked if PLS would participate. A PLS student, Nadja says that she,  “can only imagine the smile on the children’s faces as they get their art presents.”

Please look at the December 5 edition of the Chestnut Hill Local where Fae's article was published.

Project Learn Lawns Signs Get New Design

By Dylan Allender

Dylan Allender and Elie Lubin show the Project Learn lawn sign.

Colorful and bright Project Learn School (PLS) lawn signs are on the lawns all over the Philadelphia area. Project Learn has been using this type of advertisement for many years. This year the signs are very different. The colors, blue, yellow, orange and white, were chosen to look like the new PLS brochure. They were made by Eric Moore, a PLS parent. He was chosen to design the signs because he is good with computer images. Eric said it was not hard to make the sign; he used a program called Adobe In-Design so it did not take long. He started on Sept 10th with the design and was finished on Sept 14th. Eric’s favorite part about making the signs was, “all the lovely colors.”  He worked with Aisha Anderson-Oberman, the admissions director of the school, and PLS parents, Janet Gala and Donna Waxler.

The lawn signs are used to let people know when PLS is having an open house. The signs have the school’s phone number on it  so people can contact Aisha.  This helps Aisha plan for the open houses.

    You may not see many signs in Mt.Airy because most of them were stolen from people’s lawns. The school does not know who took the signs, but Donna Allender who put them out, is sure it was not a Henry School student. “I placed a sign on Sedgwick Street on the lawn of a friend at 12:30 and went to the Co-op around the corner. I stopped for coffee and at 2:00, I drove past the house. The sign was gone. School was still in session so it had to be an adult who took the sign,” said Donna. People used to think that missing signs were taken by children, but now it’s clear that it’s not always them. All the signs in West Mt.Airy were stolen, but none in East Mt.Airy and Chestnut Hill were taken.The school hopes whoever is taking the signs will stop.

Look for PLS’ beautiful signs whenever you are in East Mt.Airy and Chestnut Hill.