Our end of unit Celebrations of Learning give us a chance to observe a trimester’s worth of shared study in panorama: noting threads, perspectives, connections, and evolving understandings around a common topic. Through this Integrated Study Unit centered on Native American history and culture and the people of the neighboring Shinnecock Nation, specifically, students and facilitators worked together to:

What a pleasure it is to write to you from a place of joyful anticipation and hope as the winter months wind down and the longer, warmer days of spring approach. It is with sincere gratitude for the support, cooperation and inspiration …

As we close the door to 2021 and prepare to usher in 2022 (the second half of our 10th school year at PCS!) we, like many of you, are not quite sure what to expect. But, what we do know with certainty is that this community of children, families, friends and supporters continues to inspire us and bolster our spirits.

Thanks to all of the Grads/Alums 12 and up who helped us celebrate PCS’s 10th Anniversary school year with a very special Grad/Alum Night! We loved seeing you all together again!

Greetings from Year Ten! We write to you today hardly able to believe we are 10 years in! Yet here we are, amidst two vibrant campuses, humming with the projects, inquiries and explorations of nearly 115 students and over 25 faculty and staff …

It seems only fitting that our Integrated Unit on Humans and Technology culminate in this digital Celebration of Learning. Explore below to see how the learning around Humans and Technology unfolded this trimester!

We’re thrilled to present the very first edition of VDN: Very Decent News, a monthly hyper-local news feature, written, performed, filmed and produced by PCS sixth and seventh grade students …

For those who’ve been wondering — our remote learning program is, by necessity, quite different than the in-school PCS learning experience that we’ve worked so hard to build over the past 8 years, and yet in many ways it’s very much the same.

Thank you, Upper Primary, for organizing and leading such a beautiful, heartwarming and community-building All-School Meeting via Zoom. We are so grateful that you seized this opportunity to bring us together again and remind us just how very much we need and love each other.

Over the past two and a half weeks, as we’ve coped with the rapidly-changing realities of life during the COVID-19 crisis, we have witnessed tremendous resilience, determination, flexibility and compassion in our PCS community. And, the spirit of care and connection fostered by our collective efforts to carry on in the face of profound challenge and uncertainty is helping us realize just how much community matters to learning at PCS.

What happens when you combine learner-centered, project-based learning with a trimester-long Integrated Unit on the human body? Learning comes to life, of course!

Upper Primary student, Lea Rodger, organized and led a “Fight for the Climate” rally in downtown Riverhead this past weekend to make a stand for our planet. More than fifty people joined her with signs and songs to raise they’re voices for our one planet.

When students at PCS reach Upper Primary they are ready to take the lead in their learning, pave their own way, and make their ideas come to life. For a teacher, letting go and letting students lead can be uncomfortable, but Shannon Timoney, PCS’s Upper Primary facilitator, believes this is when the best learning happens: when we’re uncomfortable, when we let go, dive in, ask hard questions and let the answers surprise us.

Our end of unit Celebrations of Learning give us a chance to observe a trimester’s worth of shared study in panorama: noting threads, perspectives, connections, and evolving understandings around a common topic. This Integrated Study Unit — Civics: Communities and Citizens in Action — challenged students to discover how citizens organize and act to achieve community goals.

During the Celebration of Learning culminating the “Civics: Communities and Citizens in Action” Unit, Upper Primary students documented their research about structural racism, the civic activism it has inspired, and the persistence of injustice in our democracy.

During this trimester’s Integrated Unit “Civics: Communities and Citizens in Action,” Kindergarten used storytelling to figure through the concepts of fairness and equity and to think about how communities and citizens work together to understand and achieve fairness for all.

Kindergarten is a magical and monumental time at PCS. Children are growing into their backpacks and the longer days and the school routines and their independence. It’s exciting to celebrate their bravery and accomplishments, but it’s also an honor to hold space for their sweet littleness. There’s an ebb and flow of venturing out and seeking shelter that is at the heart of this time of tremendous social, emotional and cognitive development, and we can think of no one more uniquely suited to working alongside Kindergarten students than Paola Flórez.

Val Gatz is a people person. Big people, little people, lots of people, one person – Mrs. Gatz loves being with people: talking with them, drawing them in, listening to their stories, making them feel at ease, and enjoying their company. A community-maker a heart, Mrs. Gatz brings people together in a way that honors their individuality and unites them in their commonality. At PCS, she creates a family culture in the Early Childhood classroom that she co-facilitates.

It’s hard to believe, but Upper Primary’s afternoon at The Watermill Center with dancer Alice Heyward was even more magical than it looks. Alice lead students through a movement workshop ….