The New School News

The monthly meeting of the Board is Monday, November 15 at 6:00 at The New School.

Wednesday, November 17 is a teacher workday. Students will not be in school. Students should use the day to work on assignments and make sure they are caught up in their classes.

Thursday, November 18 at 4:30 Ian Kruger will hold his first Senior Round Table with his Graduation Committee.

Our first short Intensive during our Winter Intersession will be focused on career exploration. During Career Week we will investigate job skills and potential career tracks. We would love to tap into our community network and take advantage of the diversity of work experiences that folks have. Please fill out this survey, if you are willing to share your connections. Thank you!

SENIOR ROUND TABLES: Seniors need to plan, coordinate, and facilitate a minimum of three round tables in support of their senior projects. Students in Phase Three select between 8-10 people to serve on their Graduation Committees. At their First Round Tables, students pitch their ideas for a Senior Project and receive feedback, resources, and ideas from their committees. Ian Kruger's Round Table is scheduled for November 18. Good luck, Ian!

AUGUSTA TRIP: The Public Policy class will be traveling to Augusta on December 8 to tour the State House and meet some of the members of our state government -- the President of the Maine Senate, the Assistant Majority Leader in the House, and others. We will not have an early release on the day of the trip. More details to follow soon! Just wanted to give parents and students a heads up.

LEAP FEEDBACK TEAMS: LEAP Night is our end of semester celebration of learning. Join us on Tuesday, December 21 for an evening of Learning Exhibits and Performances. Students will share what they have been learning with the community on LEAP Night. We are currently recruiting people to interview students and serve on LEAP Feedback Teams. Interviewers team up with another community member and talk to students about their semester. Being on a LEAP Feedback Team is a terrific way to support students and to find out more about the exciting things we are engaged with here at The New School. If you would like to be on an Interview Team, contact Susan Blaisdell ASAP.

Alex Pizey will be starting at The New School this week. We are so excited to have this intelligent and engaged student join our school community! Alex's sibling is an alum of The New School, and his mom Mimi has joined the Admissions Committee.

Thank you to everyone who has already brought in non-food items for our donation drive to assist Community Outreach Services (COS). COS extends a helping hand to individuals and families in the towns of Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Arundel by assisting with food, fuel or specific needs. We hope that students will reach out beyond their immediate family to solicit much needed items for families in need. Below is a list of items we are trying to collect. Items may be dropped off at The New School or at Outta the Box. Questions may be directed to Susan in the office.

• Pet Food Supplies

• Toilet paper

• Paper towels

• Tissues

• Napkins

• Dish Soap

• Laundry Detergent

• Multi-purpose cleaners

• Hand soap

• Shampoo

• Conditioner

• Deodorant

• Toothpaste

Congratulations Hunter for your performance with the Portland Youth Wind Ensemble last week! PYWE is a division of the Portland Youth Philharmonic Orchestra which seeks to maintain the finest possible orchestras in order to educate young musicians and cultivate in them a path to excellence while providing inspiring musical performances to the greater Portland community.

BRAVO!

A huge and heartfelt "Thank You!" to everyone who helped us to reach our fundraising goal for replenishing our Tuition Assistance fund. The Board pledged to match up to $16,200, and we successfully raised that amount over the course of our fundraising drive. Thank you so much for supporting our ability to offer families financial aid.

December's All School Meeting will be held in person on Monday, December 6 at 6:00 at The New School. One major agenda item for December's meeting is the 3-week Intensive currently scheduled for February.

Reminder: anyone in the community can submit items for our agenda prior to the All School Meeting meetings. When submitting an agenda item, please include a brief description of the topic and an estimate of the amount of time you would like to devote to it. Agenda items should be submitted on Fridays before an ASM.

Upcoming Dates for Your Calendar

• Monday, November 15: 6:00 Board Meeting
• Wednesday, November 17: No Classes--Teacher Day
• Thursday, November 18: 4:40 Ian Kruger Senior Round Table
• Wednesday--Friday November 24-26 Thanksgiving Break, No School
• Monday, December 6: 6:00 All School Meeting
• Wednesday, December 8: Trip to Augusta. No early release.
• Tuesday, December 21: LEAP Night
• December 23-January 4: No School, Vacation

We have a problem at The New School, and we could use some help from a volunteer.

Random cars (usually out of staters) have been using our driveway as a turnaround. This is a safety concern, so we have purchased 2 signs that let folks know that it is not a public space. We would like to put these signs up at the entrance and exit to our parking lot.

Can you help? We need to install them before the ground freezes, so please let Scott know if this is something you can help with.

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.

“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.

Education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living.”

― John Dewey

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