Getting out of the classroom and heading into our city or beyond is a hallmark of our Speyer curriculum, and lately, it seems our students are everywhere! We gathered details on just a few of the latest field trips Speyer students have embarked upon — read on to find out about all of the fun!
Read MoreThe Scholastic Art and Writing Awards just came out and Speyer had 11 individuals win 25 awards. Yes, 25 awards! We have never had so many awards or so many winners! We are so proud of our eighth graders — read on for all of the details on this historic happening.
Read MoreCheck out just a few highlights of what’s been happening at Speyer!
Read MoreFrom welcoming award-winning authors to exploring Pascal’s Triangle, from kicking off our all-school art project to celebrating National Chess Day, our gifted learners have been busy since the first day of school. Read on to find out what’s been happening at Speyer!
Read MoreThe Scholastic Award Winners were announced recently and once again, our Speyer eighth graders brought home awards. This year, we had three Speyer students win multiple awards! Not only are these are wonderful awards, there is something else to consider: our students compete in the 13-18 age group, going up against thousands of high schoolers from around the region. It is extremely impressive that Speyer eighth graders do so well in this esteemed competition!
Read MoreOur students are exploring the history of the original people of New York with a specific focus on the ingenuity of the Lenape people as it relates to invention. With a behind-the-scenes peek into the American Museum of Natural History by an anthropologist and a very special visit from two individuals based out of Ketchikan, Alaska who are working to revitalize Native cultures, our students were able to see how what they are learning comes alive beyond the classroom.
Read MoreA few days before Winter Break, our eighth graders were joined on Zoom by their parents, teachers, and Speyer administration as they presented the final project for their World War I unit. During this immersion into the study of World War I, they considered how different assignments, all of which tasked them to delve deep into analysis, tells the story of war best and which tells the truth of war best...and what the difference between those two questions truly means.
Read MoreFrom writing newsletters to discovering the history of NYC, all of our students have been hard at work! Check out a few of the highlights happening at here in our Speyer News Round-Up!
Read MoreOver the summer, Speyer students had to contend with a global pandemic, leading to the cancellation of nearly all plans (no camp, limited travel, not able to see relatives). We challenged the oldest students, our eighth graders, to think about how they might respond to this sudden gift of time. Read on to see how the Class of 2021 tackled their summer assignment, taking the oft-asked essay question "What did you do on your summer vacation?" to a whole new level.
Read MoreWords are powerful tools, but right now, they’ve been more difficult to utilize. Sometimes we just don’t have the words to convey what we are feeling, how we are doing, or just the world at this moment. However, something pretty amazing happened (virtually) at Speyer on Friday that gave us a restored hope in finding words to help us cope with what was happening. Speyer’s eighth graders held (perhaps the first-ever) 8th Grade Zoom Poetry Recitals During COVID-19 Social Distancing. They were the culmination of their Distance Learning poetry unit, during which they tackled three key questions: Is it a poem? Why did she write it? and, Is it any good?.
Read MoreSlide aside the salad bar, it is time for “The Scottish Play”! Yes, for the third year, Speyer’s Dining Hall became the stage for our eighth graders to present their own unique take on the Bard's famous tragedy. The third annual performance was a direct result of their exploration of the themes in the play as they immersed in the study of Mac**** aka “The Scottish Play”. (There is, as you may know, a theatrical tradition of bad luck associated with saying the name out loud and… well, read on to see if it’s true.)
Read MoreThe end of December was event-full – full of culminating events! Both our second and third graders presented their work to family and friends, with each event encompassing months of cross-curricular work and interdisciplinary units of study. We have a full round-up of the second grade’s Literary Lalapalooza and the third grade’s “From Colonies to Country” events!
Read MoreThey are about to graduate, but that didn’t deter them from one final culminating event. In a project that truly pulled together all they had learned in the nine years they were here at Speyer, our eighth graders studied Advocacy as their last Humanities unit. Humanities teacher and Deputy Head of School Mr. Deards challenged them to start an analysis of another person’s plight, first by asking, “Do I understand what it is to live his or her life?” He has more on this amazing final culminating event!
Read MoreWith mere days left in the school year, it’s been only what can be called a Culminating Event-a-palooza, with concerts, presentations, and more as many of our students welcomed their families, our faculty, and other guests as they shared months and months of work, learning, and creating! We’ve got the full round-up for you!
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