Foothills Blog

Annie has officially wrapped, although “It’s a Hard Knock Life!” may still be replaying in your head for a while! I am so incredibly proud of our students for the production they created. From student-created choreography to singing and acting to moving set pieces, our Junior High has so much to celebrate. I hope that students can see how far they’ve come over the past year in terms of their comfort with performing, willingness to try new roles and support of one another.

For those who got to see one or both of the shows on Tuesday and Wednesday, you probably also witnessed how much fun our students were having, and it was wonderful to have our 3-4 and 5-6 students involved in the production as well.

Foothills students get regular practice being in front of an audience, develop their acting skills over time, and learn to believe in their abilities and those of their classmates. You also learn new things about students when you see a show, like that someone is an amazing singer, someone can anticipate set and costume change needs or someone is falling in love with acting as a 3rd grader, imagining where their acting path may take them when they enter Jr. High.

We have put on some great shows in the Jr. High over the past couple of years, like Matilda, A Princess Bride, and the murder mystery And Then There Was None. One of the most remarkable things I see in our students coming together to elevate each performance is their willingness to approach performing arts as a team, where every person and part is important in making it a show worthy of collective pride.

As in the case of Annie, I hope this experience reminds students of how powerful they are as a group at creating incredible art, while also finding the fun and ease that comes when you’ve worked hard and feel confident in knowing you’re going to shine. I hope each student who helped bring Annie to life at Foothills will carry this belief with them for many years to come.

Spring trips are officially coming to a close, and from all the pictures, happy faces, and chatter, it looks like another successful year is on the books! As a parent, sometimes we don’t fully understand the experience of our children as they engage in the meticulously planned spring trips at Foothills. On a good day, we may get an “it was cool,” or “I had fun,” and even the jaws of life couldn’t help out more. It’s one of those “you had to be there,” kind of moments.

I was fortunate enough to be able to join the 5-6s trip to the Teton Science School in Kelly, Wyoming this year, and I can report wholeheartedly that these kiddos experienced a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for hands-on learning and personal skill building. Experiential learning has always been a cornerstone of Foothills School, but to see it in action is something I will not soon forget.

The seven-hour bus ride demonstrated the ease of how students and teachers interacted and how well teachers knew every one of their students, giving just the right amount and flavor of attention. The nicknames, the jokes, the stories… it was a delight to witness. The rest of the week was a whirlwind of hands-on activities designed by Teton Science School, which had a very similar structure to Foothills in that the flexibility of the curriculum allowed for changes to accommodate the student groups’ interests. By the end, the three camp instructors were just as beloved as our own teachers, with special handshakes, team songs, and a bevy of inside jokes. Beyond the learning, relationships were forged, igniting new or deeper friendships with each other, and so much joy was expressed about each other’s accomplishments.

Witnessing the spark of understanding as we hiked through various terrains (ask a 5-6 student what ASCAR stands for, they’ll know!) was incredible, and the information was retained because they actually saw it, touched it, and deeply understood it. Using their guidebooks to identify trees, scat, and tracks and having confirmation of those finds built confidence in their abilities. After three days of learning and hiking, the culminating project really demonstrated their understanding of the scientific circle, showed their creativity, and fostered their teamwork. I have to say that my favorite part was during the questions, curiosities, and acknowledgments where each student found something they liked or learned about from each presentation, and each group was celebrated, because that’s what learning is at Foothills, a celebration.

Teacher Sustainability Project Updates

In late March, we shared that we are engaged in a teacher sustainability project to better support teachers so that they can better support students and create the distinctive learning experiences that are the hallmark of this school. Our goals are to:

--Provide teachers with collaborative professional time and sustainable responsibilities
--Sustain meaningful student experiences throughout the day
--Provide teachers with what they need to sustainably support all students in the classroom
--Provide families with effective evidence of their children’s progress via methods that are sustainable for teachers

Through our schedule redesign process, we have looked at ways to create more meaningful blocks of planning time when students are with specialists, combine lunches to allow for more cross-grade interactions, as well as create flex time during the week to build experiences and project learning time as students and teachers explore various interdisciplinary units throughout the school year. In addition, the creation of a K-6 PE position will not only create additional collaborative planning time for many teachers but will also provide the opportunity for the development of a thoughtful, research-based K-9 PE and Health curriculum. Teachers have been a part of the schedule redesign process from the start and are excited about how it is progressing.

Last week, faculty began the process of rethinking how we can more effectively communicate evidence of each child’s progress in ways that are more sustainable for teachers. We are exploring how students can demonstrate their learning and progress over time, how we can make student learning and progress more transparent, and how we can create more opportunities for families to experience the learning.

Ultimately, our goal is to better support teachers through sustainable practices that provide more space and time to create the type of experiences that make a Foothills education so impactful on our students' learning - where the arts and sciences are woven into meaningful experiences to inspire curious, confident, lifelong learners.