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LabLifethe magazine for alumni, parents, and friends of the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools Spring 2018 SPRING 2018 in this issue InIn thethe HallsHalls FEATURES DEPARTMENTS 22 An Epic 03 In the Halls Collaboration 04 The Bookshelf WOTRxxx WOLL 26 Outdoor Classroom 10 Sports Highlights Connects Experience 17 Behind the Scenes LabLife and Education 18 Alumni Weekend 34 Exploration of 2017 Independence 40 Throwback 36 Immersive Learning 41 Alumni Notes Nursery School students get their hands wet 50 Alumni in Action with early engineering exercises FROM DIRECTOR “We want Lab children to see all the CHARLIE ABELMANN ways they can make a difference in Global their local communities. We want citizenship them to better understand national issues and place those issues into a global context.” Dear Friends, We want Lab children China, a seminal period for our thinking that promotes critical to see all the ways they can founder and his work. thinking and problem solving, There are many ways we can make a difference in their We want Lab students and how we build coherence help shape an education that local communities. We want to understand global issues, and community across our prepares our students for them to better understand to have knowledge of— school. We are in a wonderful global citizenship, recognizing national issues and place those and respect for—cultural position—with unmatched that as children grow and issues into a global context. differences, and to build facilities, amazing and engaged develop so, too, can their We want them to have the meaningful connections with students, and outstanding spheres of influence. Lab confidence to engage in both youth from other locales and educators—to reflect and make creative and inquisitive. Being is particularly fortunate to “Watch, watch, watch, Miles. Each NK classroom in Earl local and global issues. That who have other perspectives. what is so wonderful about Lab It’s actually really magical!” Shapiro Hall was built with a part of the catalyst to help have so many families and is one of the reasons it has Pluralistic perspectives, an even better. “Where’s the water go?” direct outdoor access, and them realize their potential is educators who value—and who been so exciting to welcome awareness of other cultures, and I look forward to sharing “Let’s make some mud! I’m the water wall can be found incredible.” themselves bring—a global students to Lab from China an understanding of the social, more as we begin that work. the mud maker!” just beyond the back door of And young Labbies never perspective to educating our and France (and, at other times political, and environmental “Let’s get the water up, up, room 113. Each side of a large, fail to dazzle their teachers. youth. I am thrilled to share in the year, from Germany and issues facing the world—this up the hose!” square pillar has been fitted Because the students wanted in this magazine stories of Argentina). By hosting these knowledge is what will allow Warm regards, These are just a few of with wooden garden trellises, to play with the water wall alumni who have extended young people in our homes our young people to collaborate the gleeful exclamations and and it is to these trellises that and be on the playground at their learning and service and in our classrooms, we allow and solve problems as they inquiries that can be heard the students attach funnels, the same time, they began to plastic tubing, and recycled wonder how they could get the through the Peace Corps. While our students real-time, real-life move forward. Charlie as assistant teacher Wendy Minor’s Nursery-4 students bottles to experiment with water across the intermediate we might not all serve in the opportunities to see that theirs This summer Lab will explore their latest interactive different methods of moving sidewalk. From there, learning Peace Corps, we can embrace is not the only image of embark upon a strategic creation: the water wall. water. took a tangent into the concept a desire to promote peace and the world. We are also excited planning process to help us lay “It all stemmed from the “This project has really and practices of irrigation. friendship. We can share a to plan study tours that will out the desires and goals that students’ natural interests,” encouraged the children “I want to make it clear desire that our graduates leave send Lab students and teachers will take our school forward. Ms. Minor explains. “When to communicate and work that these children are not just Lab prepared for all of life’s to China. These will be part of That process will offer our [teacher] Maureen Movrich, together as a team,” Ms. Minor playing with water,” Ms. Minor journeys and have the ability a larger effort to honor the community a chance to reflect [assistant teacher] Luciana says. “One student has an idea, Ms. Minor, herself an artist says. “They are designing. to build a better life for the 100th anniversary of John on issues that will shape our Taschini, and I met over the and then others voice possible and former adjunct faculty They are engineering. They communities in which they live Dewey’s two-year visit to future, including how we summer to build the curriculum strategies to make it happen. If member at the Art Institute, are problem-solving and that strategy doesn’t work, they decided to reroute her career learning collaboratively. I am and serve. for the upcoming school year, caption caption caption caption caption caption caption support the interdisciplinary we compared notes about what brainstorm about what to try into early childhood education so grateful to the parents caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption had captured our students’ next. And they initiated these after volunteering in her son’s and Lab’s other resources for caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption LabLife, published twice Director Heather Preston Photography Publisher Volume 11, Number 2 imaginations the previous year. processes on their own. It’s like preschool classroom. “I just making this project and others a year, is written for the Charles H. Abelmann Paul Schellinger Anna Johnson University of Chicago © 2018 by the University of caption caption caption caption caption caption caption caption Lindsey Simon Laboratory Schools We unanimously agreed that all they are teaching themselves knew instantly that this was like it possible. The difference University of Chicago Editor Kathryn Smidstra Chicago Laboratory Schools caption caption caption caption caption Laboratory Schools’ 1362 E. 59th Street Catherine Braendel, ’81 Design Lab Notes Correspondents of the children were fascinated through experimentation and where I belonged,” she recalls. they make in the classroom is community of alumni, Chicago, IL 60637 Janice Clark Dozens of diligent alumni Reproduction in whole or by water. From there, the water teamwork.” caption“I felt thatcaption this captionwas the caption age immeasurable.” parents, faculty, and staff. Contributors www.ucls.uchicago.edu agents part, without permission of Megan E. Doherty, AM’05, Please send comments or the publisher, is prohibited. wall was born.” captionwhere captionI could makecaption the caption biggest PhD’10 updated contact information captionimpact. caption Children caption are naturally caption Ingrid Gonçalves, AB’08 to [email protected], or call 773-702-0578. 02 LabLife Spring 2018 LabLife Spring 2018 03 THE BOOKSHELF In the Halls Recommended Class pet Mindfulness reading NK and Primary Principal Carla Young recommends classification matters The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative by Florence Williams artha spending time outdoors. It is physical activity in school- “Go outside, Baggetto, their theory that nature helps age children (4–18) increases one of our to “rest our top-down, direct performance in a trove of often, sometimes school attention faculties. With that brain matter: perceptual skills, nurses, restoration, we become more IQ, verbal ability, mathematic in wild places. recently gave me The Nature relaxed and then can perform ability, academic readiness. Bring friends or Fix: Why Nature Makes thinking tasks better.” The effect was strongest in Us Happier, Healthier, and When it comes to younger children.” not. Breathe.” More Creative by Florence children, Williams writes, It seems that being outside Williams. A journalist who “Nature play enhances at and in nature does all kinds architecture that allow writes frequently about the least two activities known to of good things for the mind for daylight, fresh air and environment, Williams develop children’s cognitive and body. Williams concludes patches of blue sky and traveled the world from and emotional development: the book with a reference to naturalistic landscaping. Korea to Japan, Finland, and exercise and exploratory play. Tim Beatley who runs the These are our daily vegetables. Germany and looked at the A large meta- Biophilic Cities Project at the Moving up the pyramid are science behind the positive analysis of University of Virginia. He has weekly outings to parks and effects of spending time in dozens of developed a concept called the waterways, places where the nature. She has come to what studies nature pyramid. “Inspired by sounds and hassles of the city she calls a kind of ultrasimple concluded the ubiquitous food pyramid, recede, places we should aim coda: “Go outside, often, that Beatley places at the base the to imbibe at least an hour or sometimes in wild places. daily interactions with nearby so a week. Moving up higher Bring friends or not. Breathe.” nature that help us de-stress, still are the places that take She cites Stephen find focus, and lighten our more effort to get to: the and Rachel Kaplan at the mental fatigue.

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