We apologize for the glitch today with the sign-ups. We are working to retest all the links and our plan is to resend the links on Monday at 11 AM. Sorry for the inconvenience!

We are excited for our first speaker series presenter, Katie Hurley, LCSW. Katie is a child and adolescent psychotherapist, parenting educator, public speaker, and writer. She is the founder of “Girls Can!” empowerment groups for girls between ages 5-11. Hurley is the author of the award-winning No More Mean Girls: The Secret to Raising Strong, Confident, and Compassionate Girls, The Depression Workbook for Teens: Tools to Improve Your Mood, Build Self-Esteem, and Stay Motivated, and The Happy Kid Handbook: How to Raise Joyful Children in a Stressful World. Katie covers mental health, child and adolescent development, and parenting for The Washington Post, PBS Parents, Psychology Today, Everyday Health, PsyCom, and US News and World Report, among other places.

Every week’s family-friendly activity will incorporate at least two out of the three key COVID mitigation practices (masking, distance, and/or outdoors), and will include time for learning, time for doing, and time for celebrating and connecting. We are deeply grateful to Beth Baluarte, Lucy Bassett-Taurel, Lauren Baum, Julie Bird, Emily Harpster, and Emmie Wright for their efforts to help make these activities a possibility for our school community. If you have any questions or would like to get involved in the planning, please email Eric Anderson, our Community Connections Coordinator, at [email protected].  

Those of us still twitching from maybe less-than-scintillating experiences in high school science, deadened by memorizing arcane information, might not fully appreciate that science at its essence is actually about the thrilling opportunity to make new discoveries rather than regurgitating esoterica.  Inquiry-oriented process and discovery have long been a hallmark of Peabody’s approach to science pedagogy, and this year is no different. In just the past week alone, Peabody students have had opportunities to apply their developing understanding of concepts in physics to build functioning bridges, to explore and create habitats that are more hospitable for imperiled pollinators, to explore and dig into real-life applications of the scientific method with UVA neuroscientist Dr. Tracy Larson (Thank you, Dr. Larson!), and to discover some of the underappreciated charms of nematode worms with UVA cell biologist Dr. Eyleen O’Rourke (Thank you, Dr. O’Rourke!).  Even our youngest scientists in PreKindergarten are getting in on the action, by exploring how trees, plants, and animal friends respond to seasonal weather changes. Delighted to discover their yards and school grounds looking just like Kenard Pak’s Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn, our little explorers have been using all five of their senses to identify and gather signs of fall, like squirrels gathering acorns, leaves beginning to change colors, and hopefully soon, brisk autumnal mornings. With their Science Centers now filled with apples, hickory nuts, dried helicopter seeds, polychromatic leaves, Osage oranges, mini pumpkins, cattail stalks, and big tubs of water as inspiration for sink-or-float investigations, our youngest scientists are pondering possibilities, articulating ideas, making connections between disciplines, entering the zone of creative focus, and always, always looking for ways to take care of nature.

Mark your calendars! We are excited to announce a special day coming up next month. On Wednesday, October 20th, we will be celebrating UNITY DAY as a part of National Bullying Prevention Month. Unity Day is a day devoted to kindness, inclusion, and acceptance of all people, and is an opportunity for schools across the country to visibly show their commitment to being communities of upstanders and allies. At Peabody, all community members will be encouraged to make their pledge of unity by WEARING ORANGE on October 20th. 

Susan looks forward to seeing you this weekend for the Sibling Portrait event at Peabody! If you have not signed up for a spot, but would like to get a sibling photo, please contact [email protected].