A Day in the Life – Nachman

Edublogs Challenge 3

I attend Poughkeepsie Day School. I’m lucky that I can wake up pretty late (7:30 a.m.) because my school is only about a mile away from my house, and starts at 8.15 a.m.. It’s a struggle for me to wake up in the morning because I find it hard to fall asleep at night. In fact , sometimes I feel like  by the time I’m actually asleep it’s already morning. Have you ever felt like that? In a daze, I have breakfast from 7:45 to 8:00 A.M., and then leave for school, either by bike or bus. Usually my breakfast of either a pancake or eggs helps to wake me up a little. I really enjoy the fruit and tea (made in a tiny teapot that I found in an antique market in a temple complex in Kyoto this summer) as well.

Photo on 9-30-13 at 4.39 PM

 

Before I tell you about my school day, let me tell you little bit about PDS itself. PDS is a progressive school, meaning that understanding concepts and creativity is emphasized over rote work.  We don’t have any tests or grades, but instead have a written report. In fact, we make a presentation to our parents on our progress every half year! PDS incorporates technology a lot:  we all use laptops to write, research, and even practice math! We use Google docs, so that we can share what we are working on instantly and  there is even  an art with technology class! Do you use computers in school? Do you like using computers?

We don’t have uniforms (which means that I can dress up to the nines!) and our classroom spaces are very flexible. In the middle school, we have a large open space with tables, comfortable chairs, and a “donut” one can sit in and pick books to read from.

 

Off this large space,  there are several smaller classrooms with tables, chairs, whiteboards, and projectors.  We don’t really use textbooks and don’t have individual desks. Instead we store our stuff in our lockers.

School starts at 8:15 with advisory. In advisory, I meet up with all of the other 6th graders (there are only 17 of us). Attendance is taken, and sometimes announcements are made. The school day is broken into 8-9 periods, and sometimes we have double periods in some subjects. Today, I had  math and science class, followed by a 30 minute break where we can usually do anything. However, today the people running for student council (an executive student body) had to give their campaign speeches. I am running for 6th grade representative, and also had to speak which was a little nerve wracking.  After that I had humanities class (where we study many things including reading, writing, history, english, etc.), and then lunch and recess. Since it was a Friday, we had pizza for lunch. After that I had common time and arts. In common time we can either read or study unless there is a special event or a special class. Today I learned about John Burroughs for the first period of common time, and I read for the 2nd period. In arts I had a class called Fabrications Lab. I also have an outdoor drawing art class, and a “mini movies” art class where we use technology to create art. Today we connected circuits on arduinos (mini computers). Then we used a pre written program to see how much light a receptor got when we aimed a low power laser at it.

After school I ride the bus home. I have a quick snack, practice piano, and do my homework. Today, I had soccer practice from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Then I came home and relaxed – because it was the WEEKEND!

 

 

– Nachman

One thought on “A Day in the Life – Nachman

  1. I want to go to your school! Really, I wish I had gotten to go to a school
    like that. It sounds like a lot of fun..

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