The New School News

Happy New Year! We hope you have all had a restful and restorative vacation. Teachers and staff spent today planning for our Winter InterSession, and we are excited to welcome students back to the building on Wednesday, January 5.

That snow day back on December 23 delayed our Holiday celebrations, but did not cancel them. Here's the schedule for the rest of the week:

• Tuesday (tomorrow) No school for students--teacher planning day
• Wednesday 1/5 School is in session from 8:30-3:30--no early release this week. We will take down our LEAP displays, create (or add to) our Informed Thinker Portfolios, meet with our 3-Week Intensives groups, and end the day with our YANKEE SWAP. No potluck lunch--just the swap!
• Thursday & Friday 1/6-1/7 Career Exploration Intensive 8:30-3:30 @TNS

A reminder, in the interest of keeping our community healthy and safe, please do not send your student to school if they are ill. Specifically, do not send anyone to school who has had fever, vomiting, or diarrhea within the past 24-36 hours. Call or email Susan in the office if your student will be out. Thank You!

• January 10: All School Meeting 6:00 @ TNS with "speed dating" job fair
• January 5-14: Career Exploration Intensive
• January 17: No School MLK Jr. Day
• January 18-28: Health and Wellness Intensive
• January 31-February 18: 3-Week Intensives
• February 21-28: No School February Vacation
• February 28: Teacher Day
• March 1: Second Session Classes Begin

We still have space for a few more pieces in our upcoming Art Show at the Kennebunk Library in February. Students are invited to submit artwork for display in the Speers Gallery. Two-dimensional work will be matted and framed for display during the weekend of January 15-17. Students who have an interest in learning how to mat and frame art are welcome to help Marylyn and Amy Wentworth. All media forms considered: drawing, painting, digital art, photography, mixed media, pottery, sculpture etc. Submission deadline is January 14. Talk to Christine if you have questions.

Events Team | The Events Team will be meeting in person at The New School on Thursday, January 6 at 5:00. There will be pizza. This is a strategic planning meeting to map out the events calendar for the remainder of the year.

Admissions Team | The Admissions Team met Monday night at 6:00 via Zoom to schedule and coordinate our next several recruitment events. Please spread the word about our January 12 VIRTUAL Open House. Look for more information later this week.

We wanted to thank all of our community members--parents, volunteers, and friends of the school for making our first in-person LEAP Night in two years a lovely and successful event. Your participation, support, and engagement made it a memorable evening for students, teachers, and staff.

We especially appreciate those of you who took time to interview a student as part of a Feedback Team. The school looked great, the student displays were well thought out, and the positivity in the air carried us out of 2021 on a wave of good feelings.

Last call for participants in our 8-week mindfulness class beginning January 4. Join us Tuesday nights from 6:30-7:30 for an amazing opportunity. The workshop is open to the public. Workshop cost is $75--less than $8 a session!

The New School Mindfulness Workshop

Need to manage stress, bring some peace to your life, or are curious about mindfulness?

The workshop will run for 8 weeks for one hour each week, including weekly emails with practice reminders, journal prompts, and any additional information to complement that week’s lesson.

The course includes:

• - definition of mindfulness
• - getting started with a practice
• - science of mindfulness
• - multiple practice opportunities including movement, breath work, eating, journaling, visualization, compassion, and deep relaxation.
• - how to fit mindfulness in to a person’s busy day
• - Q&A

At the end of the course, you will:

• - gain a deeper understanding of your own patterns of stress and options for wellbeing
• - develop a mindfulness practice that you can confidently maintain on your own
• - know multiple mindfulness practices that resonate with you
• - understand how to integrate these skills into your life

Interested? Go here to register!

The New School is an independent, democratically run private high school in Kennebunk, Maine. We learn by doing, and encourage not just academic achievement, but development of the mind, body, and spirit. Our goal is to give TNS students the tools they need to be active, informed citizens of a democracy.

Email: thenewschool@tnsk.org
Website: thenewschoolmaine.org
Location: 38 York Street, Kennebunk, ME
Phone: (207) 985-3745
Facebook: facebook.com/TheNewSchoolMaine