The Valley School Home

On Friday, September 24, Valley students and teachers from all grades marched to the small park near the intersection of Madison Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Waving signs about climate change – The seas are rising, and so are we. Save our earth, save the women. Plants, not profit – our students gave voice to their concerns about the impact of the environmental crisis on people and our planet.

The Valley School celebrated 100 days of school on February 15th. Over the past 100 days, our students and staff alike have grown, have learned, and have played. We have made mistakes, made new friends, and made entirely new games. It’s not as straightforward to quantify experiences or progress as it is time, but counting the passage of time invites reflection. What have we learned? What games were our favorites? How have we grown?

Recent research about how kids learn has repeatedly shown that academic learning and social-emotional learning are deeply interconnected, and that, in fact, when the two are deliberately intertwined, as they are in playful learning, kids not only experience academic and social growth, they learn how to learn. Learning how to learn not only helps prepare students for 21st century opportunities, it prepares them to be lifelong learners.