Are Students Learning in December?

Disclosure :: Metairie Park Country Day School sponsored this post. 

Are Students Learning in December?

With the annual rush from Thanksgiving to the Holidays Break, encompassing Christmas, Hanukkah and the start of Kwanzaa, you may be right to wonder, “Is there any real learning going on in December?” Families are busy, days are short, and excitement overflows each school day.
MPCDSRehearsals for performances abound, the many holiday concerts are “oh so delightful,” field trips excite, late nights tire … but learning never takes a day off.

As I walk about Country Day this holiday season, I am ever aware of the richness of learning possible because of these holiday activities, not in spite of them. The holidays present a wonderful opportunity to witness the fruits of learning, as children become fully engaged in practical experiences of time management, organization, problem solving, courage and risk-taking, and creative mindsets as they sing, play instruments and perform for parents and peers. While there is “class as usual,” here at Country Day, we know that fine arts experiences that actively prompt and engage the brain to wonder and create are integral to academic learning.

Seasonal art projects posted in halls and our Dining Room invite passersby to appreciate the unique effort and talent in each child as they also become aware of how intimately all of our youthful artists have experienced perspective, texture, spatial awareness, and tonality through their creations.

The bustling Lower School breezeway is filled much of the day with the sounds of traditional music, as students Pre-K through grade 12 invest in a few more hours of practice to strengthen their talent. What we know is that these final rehearsals and practices also strengthen their understanding of music as math and the breathtaking power of music to touch emotions.

And throughout our 14-acre campus, older children are motivated daily to help younger ones experience new skills, reinforcing their own problem-solving neural paths as they so willingly teach and care for others in this incredible community of joyful learners.

We will close 2014 with our cherished Lower School concert. With a superb background of faculty instruments, it is a visible learning experience, too, for students to see their own teachers “walk the talk” and put effort, in-the-moment thinking, and courage into performing.

Such a complete and holistic experience of learning during this holiday season is one to be savored and not to be missed! Yes, it is a busy time, but trust they are indeed learning with each moment. May your family truly have a joyful holiday – Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Joyous Kwanzaa to you all!

Kindergarten through Grade 5 Admission Open House

Visit Country Day’s Kindergarten through Grade 5 Admission Open House on January 15, 2015 to learn more about the importance of hands-on education, and the multiage approach to learning that Country Day adopted in Lower School over 35 years ago. We invite you to see the success of our program first-hand by observing our classrooms in action during the school day!111212 037

See teachers and students working together in our dynamic and challenging multiage classrooms, be wowed by our exciting new science curriculum, and experience our stimulating grade specific fifth grade rooms. We hope you will enjoy this opportunity to learn about our school’s history and philosophy, and take time for one-on-one conversations with members of our lower school faculty and administration.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Reservations requested due to space limitations. Register online or RSVP via email to [email protected]. Call (504) 849-3110 for more information.

Please note this is a parent-only event.

Country Day accepts qualified students without regard to race, color, disability, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national or ethnic origin.

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