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Dear Baker families,
What is an Institute Day? Did you get this question from your kids? Do you have this question? I know I’ve gotten it many times from my children. “Institute” is not really an appropriate word for what has been happening here today. I can think of many more descriptive words that would be more appropriate than Institute: Exploration Day, Creative Day, Recharge Day, or Connection Day. I’m going to share some of my reflections of the day, but first I wanted to pass the mic to the leader and architect of the day, which is our super amazing Principal, Theresa Collins. So Principal Collins, “What do teachers do on an institute day?”
So glad you asked! Though Institute Days are days away from classes for students, for teachers, Institute Days provide an opportunity for teachers to engage in their own development as learners in a professional community! In other words, teachers spend most Institute Days doing some kind of learning, and for our first Institute Day at Baker, faculty are doing just that. We are picking up work that started last spring: creating a portrait of a Baker Learner.
How are we doing it? By crafting our own word and image “portraits” of a Baker Learner using collage art; additionally, Baker faculty members will lead a “Demonstration of Learning” for their colleagues, engaging each other in mini lessons modeled on the work they do with their students. We will be creating, listening, writing and thinking, and maybe even finding the perfect “sit spot…”! Because we are Progressive Educators, we know there is no better way to learn than by experiencing the thing we are trying to understand, and reflecting on that experience: BEING Baker Learners, all together.
Principal Collins framed the day’s work with a beautiful and powerful quote about teaching from Paolo Friere, Teachers as Cultural Workers, Letters to Those Who Dare Teach.
“My intention here is to demonstrate that the task of the teacher, who is also a learner, is both joyful and rigorous. It demands seriousness and scientific physical, emotional, and affective preparation. It is a task that requires that those who commit themselves to teaching develop a certain love not only of others but also of the very process implied in teaching. It is impossible to teach without the courage to love, without the courage to try a thousand times before giving up. In short, it is impossible to teach without a forged, invented, and well-thought-out capacity to love.”
"It is impossible to teach with the courage to love," is one of many lines that resonate true to me with our faculty. Once the day’s work was framed, Principal Collins then passed the mic to Shane Courville, our incredible music teacher, who told all the faculty, “You need to find the beat.” This is one of the first lessons that Doc C teaches all of his students, along with, “Don’t clap on the 1 & the 3!” To start our day off right, we needed to find the beat, and so Doc C led us through a lesson that he usually teaches to his 2nd and 3rd graders early on. We were each assigned an instrument, along with a beat pattern to follow, and a musical score telling us when and what to play. Of course the song we played was from Lizzo, “Good as hell.” If you hear a hand drum that is slightly off beat, then that might be me.
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Once Doc C helped us find the beat, then it was time to create, and who better to orchestrate a create moment than our masterfully creative art teacher, Julie Toole. As Principal Collins explained earlier, we were continuing work started last year by the faculty to describe Baker’s portrait of a learner. Ms. Toole had us doing collage art, and told us that when doing art, you don’t necessarily have to know the outcome or plan in mind when you begin to make art. Oftentimes the making of the art will help you find your ideas or thoughts. The art becomes a souvenir of this process. I’m going to just share some photos and videos and you will get a sense of what an incredible collection of portraits emerged. I can’t do it justice with words in this short letter, but as this work continues, we will organize and share out more.
That only took us to 10:00 am, and there was a lot more, but I had to get this letter out to you all!
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Baker Happenings - 6th grade trip to the Indiana Dunes
by Michelle Rogers, 6th and 7th grade science teacher
The sixth graders spent the last three days and two nights nestled in the middle of the Indiana Dunes National Park. While exploring ecosystems such as the wetlands, foredunes, and oak savanna, our Baker ecologists measured wind speeds and soil temperatures, performed percolation tests, and examined local flora and fauna (snakes and leaf bugs included). The students met with National Park Ranger Steve Rodriguez to understand current problems challenging the region and created dilemma skits on topics such as erosion, the invasive emerald ash borer, and managing local waste. They studied the lives of the Potawatomi and considered how different populations used the local resources over the past few hundred years. Most of our budding astronomers volunteered to wake at 5 am to see the tremendous blood moon lunar eclipse! A truly sensational sight to view hidden in the forest.
Best of all, our 6th graders strengthened old friendships and bonded with students new to the Baker experience. They laughed and smiled through silly games and worked together to earn the 1st place Karner Blue Butterfly award for zero food waste.
A huge thank you to the amazing chaperones that joined me on the trip; Sarah Mohr, Becky Crawford, Charles Jones, and Ed Alvarado. Without this dedicated crew, this two-night overnight experience would not have been possible.
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Have a great day and weekend.
Mason Rocca
Interim Head of School
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We met the full $10,000 match! As you can see this has made me jump for joy as I photo bomb the 4th graders on Halloween. We are getting closer, but still need other families to contribute. Here is the update:
Goal: $300,000
Total to date: $229,097
Board participation rate: 100%
Staff/Faculty participation rate: 83%
Family participation rate: 48%
Family participation rate goal: 80%
The chart below shows each class's participation rate up as of today. We have decided to offer a school-wide challenge of getting our Family Participation Rate to 80% by Wednesday, November 30th. If we reach that goal, we will all celebrate with a Gym n' Swim party on Friday, December 2nd. Remember any donation amount qualifies for the participation goal. A special kudos to the 5th grade class that is currently leading the way with over 77% participation numbers!
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Ways to Give
1. Give through PayPal . You may set up a monthly gift if you would like.
2. Donate via Venmo to @BakerDemSchool
3. Give with a credit card through GiveSmart.
4. Give by sending a direct payment by check or Donor Advised Fund to Baker Demonstration School (Attn: Advancement Office, 201 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, IL 60091)
Baker Demonstration School is a 501c3 organization. All contributions are tax deductible.
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November 10
Institute Day- No School
November 11
Veterans Day- No School
Thank you to all our Veterans for your service and honor!
November 14-18
Solidarity Week
November 17
Admissions Potential Parents Open House
9:30 a.m.- Open House for Parents of Rising PK-3rd Graders
1:30 p.m. - Open House for Parents of Rising 4th-8th Graders
Tour the school, visit classrooms and learning spaces & learn more about Baker!
November 18
Middle School Fall Fest
November 23-25
Thanksgiving Break
December 6 & 7
Baker Book Fair
You can view Baker's public calendar at bakerdemschool.org/calendar
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Hard frost is approaching. Pick all tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, squash, and other produce left on the vine before Saturday. You can also cut one last harvest from your herbs, like oregano, marjoram, hyssop, thyme, etc.
As we put the gardens to bed for the 2022 season we are already thinking ahead to 2023. One of our projects involves preparing now to plant flowering bulbs for enjoyment come spring. We are in conversation with the Faculty Green Team about ways to involve students in this project both as a science lesson covering biology and physiology and as an outdoor hands-on experiential activity. In the meantime, we are calling on parents to come out this weekend to help get the garden prepped and ready!
Last weekend’s Green Team workday was postponed due to rain but we’ve rescheduled for this weekend Saturday 11/12 & Sunday 11/13. In addition to prepping the Early Childhood garden for a bulb planting day with students, we will also be cutting back, clearing out, and cleaning up in anticipation of the coming hard frost. How far we get Saturday will determine if and how long we work on Sunday*.
What to bring:
Shovels, spades, trowels, pruners, gloves, rakes, and lawn bags.
When:
Saturday, Nov 12th at 12pm-2pm
Sunday, Nov 13th* at 9am-11am
Be sure to dress warm and bring a warm cocoa mug or two for you and your kiddos.
*If need be: Would you like to receive real time notification of schedule changes? If you’d like to be notified of changes to the workday schedule, click this link to RSVP (yes or maybe) and receive notification of event updates.
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El Día de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead exhibit | |
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Join the Baker Parent Equity Action Team and Baker’s very own Art Teacher, Julie Toole for our Fall family outing as we explore the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago on Friday, November 11 at 11:30am to visit the National Museum of Mexican Art and explore their annual El Día de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead exhibit. We will meet at the museum at 11:30am. After the exhibit, families can “choose their own adventure” as they explore the history, art, tastes and culture of this neighborhood. Options include visiting local panaderias, sampling tacos and tamales, sipping Mexican hot chocolate, or heading out on a walking tour of the murals in the neighborhood which celebrate Mexican culture and history. All are welcome and this is for all ages! Admission to the museum is free, all exhibits are in Spanish and English and the museum is fully accessible. Please RSVP to Theresa.Volpe.Content@gmail.com to be included in emails about more specifics.
Hope to see you there!
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Dear Baker Families,
This year we are proud to be participating in Solidarity Week (formally known as Ally Week), an annual school-centered National GLSEN program about the meaning of solidarity. This program encourages schools to show solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community. It is also an opportunity for all students to reflect on their identities and to practice listening to groups of people who are facing discrimination in our country and taking actions to better support them. This program supports our students’ ability to empathize, connect, and collaborate with a diverse group of peers, skills that are of increasing importance in our multicultural, global society. We are thrilled to join students across the country who want to start the school year with positive, affirming messages and actions for LGBTQ+ people in schools.
This year, Solidarity Week will be November 14-18. During Solidarity Week, the Middle School GSA (Gender Sexuality Alliance) Club will organize activities and curate resources for teachers that focus on encouraging and enhancing solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community.
If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to any of the GSA Advisors.
In Solidarity,
Becky Crawford, Shane Courville, Julie Toole and the Middle School GSA
Here are the themes for each day
Monday-Solidarity Day
Tuesday-Tuesday-LGBT2SQ+ Native American and Indigenous focus day
Wednesday- Pronouns Day
Thursday- LGBTQ+ Disability Justice/Show your Pride (school wide “Wear a Rainbow Day”)
Friday- Transgender Rights and Day of Action
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Baker's Book Fair is approaching for book lovers of all ages! The fair is scheduled to run from 8:00 am-7:00pm on Tuesday, Dec. 6th and 8:00am - 5:00pm on Wednesday, Dec. 7th. Volunteers are needed to help with publicity (can mostly be done from home), running the sale on Dec. 6th and 7th, clean up, and some bookkeeping. Come get involved in this event which celebrates our community of readers and gives back to our school! (We will also have an online book purchasing option for those unable to shop in person). | |
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Picture retake time! Students, faculty, and staff are able to do picture day retakes on Wednesday, November 16th. For more information, contact Becky Crawford.
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November 17
FAN Event, Healing Developmental Trauma
7:00 p.m. - Zoom
Register Here
BONUS AFTER-HOURS EVENT: Attendees who purchase a copy of The Practical Guide for Healing Developmental Trauma from FAN’s partner bookseller The Book Stall are invited to attend an AFTER-HOURS event hosted by Heller, Kammer, and Klein that will start immediately after the webinar. Details on the webinar registration page.
In their ground-breaking and best-selling new book, The Practical Guide to Healing Developmental Trauma, Laurence Heller Ph.D. and Brad Kammer, LMFT present a practical guide to the NeuroAffective Relational Model (NARM), one of the first comprehensive therapeutic models for addressing adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and complex trauma (C-PTSD). In this book, they share therapeutic applications, concrete skills, and exercises for personal growth. This new book was written to support the healing of attachment, relational, developmental, cultural, and intergenerational trauma, and it serves as a therapeutic guide for helping professionals working with complex trauma or anyone wanting to lead a more fulfilling life.
With over 70 years of clinical experience and many thousands of students and supervisees between them, Heller and Kammer are offering a depth-oriented, somatic-based, relationally-focused healing modality that stands at the forefront of the trauma-informed movement. For this event, they will discuss the healing of complex trauma, focusing on topics such as differentiating PTSD (shock trauma) and C-PTSD (complex trauma), how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) lead to shame and various symptoms and disorders, the ways NARM therapeutic skills can be applied for resolving the impact of complex trauma, and what practical tips they can share for those in attendance to take away for their clients and themselves. Heller and Kammer will explain why they created this model and what makes it different from other trauma treatment modalities.
As Gabor Maté, MD (FAN ’22) writes about their work: “This book, from two experienced and insightful practitioners, offers a thorough and clear guide to a modality of therapy far deeper than the prevailing cognitive and behavioral treatments. It is highly promising because it goes beyond the surface manifestations to the root causes and dynamics of human distress.”
Heller and Kammer will be in conversation with Stefanie Klein, LCSW, assistant training director and faculty member for the NARM Training Institute.
This event suitable for youth 12+. It will be recorded and available on our website and YouTube channel.
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