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Meet Jenna Chalmers, our new registrar. Jenna began working at the school last month. Her role involves helping current and prospective elementary school families navigate the application and enrollment process, managing the student data system, preparing reports, and supporting other administrators in their work. Prior to joining our staff, Jenna worked as a video game designer ( The Sims , SimCity , Spore ) and developed apps for the STEM toy company GoldieBlox. She says th

Lara photographs a student’s “tree house,” which she’ll upload to the Artsonia site. Artsonia sent her this light box to help her take quality photos. Our students take home a lot of art they’ve made at school, and it’s always hard for parents to decide what to keep and what not to. Lara Cannon had the same problem when her two children were here—and she’s the art teacher! She’s since found a solution, a website called Artsonia that creates an online digital archive of studen

At a storytelling conference, my friend told the tale of trying to write a thank-you note as a child for an unexciting holiday gift: socks. It’s hard to feel gratitude when it’s obligatory. It can be more fun to ignite thankfulness by spontaneously thinking of people in our lives who help us in ways we might not usually honor. For example, the school gives little gifts to our delivery people every year. At this time of year, I’d like to share my gratitude for people who do th

When we’re trying to teach children to relate to others in empathic and considerate ways, it’s exciting to think about a neurological concept called social-emotional matching. Matching is a way that our brains synchronize with others’, and it happens all the time. When a friend or colleague shares an upset, we show empathy through eye contact and sympathetic facial expressions. Our ability to align with their emotions is part of being fully present and connecting. When people

Our staff has been tootling a lot this year. Is that something to be concerned about? No, it’s a good thing! “Tootling” is the opposite of tattling. Tattling is telling a parent or teacher or other adult about something “wrong” another child has done. Tootling is noting a simple, small moment or recognizing a general quality you appreciate about someone. Staff members write “tootles” anonymously on Post-Its and put them in a box in our break room. Receptionists Katie O’Callag

It’s interesting that when asked to share photos of their children helping, most parents selected pictures of home cooking projects. I was happy to see that many of the children exhibiting cooking skills were quite young. When it comes to encouraging children as helpers in the kitchen or any other environment, starting at an early age is important. A three-year-old is excited to learn how to slice a banana or a stalk of celery. An eight-year-old who hasn’t been taught how to

The term "my new best friend" popped into our culture as the title of a British comedy series. (Didn’t we always use this phrase?) The popularity of the phrase, offers an insightful, positive perspective on relationships in this 21 st century. At the time this idiom emerged, a New York Times article explored the idea that, with the modern tendency of children to spend most of the day in groups, finding an enduring best friend for your child may be an antiquated concept. The

Meet Sidney the Snake and her human friend Jess, Meher School parent and alumna! Jess, a naturalist from East Bay Regional Parks District, visited some elementary classes this week to teach students about native animals and their habitats. In addition to getting to pet Sidney, students compared teeth of carnivores and herbivores, felt coyote fur, observed a taxidermy acorn woodpecker, and deepened their understandings of the natural world we live in.