An inside look at the Waynflete experience
On February 11, Head of School Geoff Wagg gave a virtual State of the School address to the Waynflete community from the Klingenstein Library in the Lower School. Geoff reviewed the past year, outlined the elements that will help shape the future, and discussed the issues we must grapple with in preparation for the next academic year.
In celebration of the art of storytelling and Black History Month, we were happy to have Antonio Rocha join us for a Lower School Assembly. This event was made possible by the Class of 1970 Guest Speaker and Visiting Artist Fund.
When the EC Loons returned from winter break, they dove into a study of Vincent van Gogh’s artwork. After looking closely at a number of his paintings, the children showed heavy interest in “Starry Night.” They looked at other artists whose work was inspired by Starry Night, then decided to make their own Starry Night Environment in a corner of their classroom.
The children worked on painting the swirly sky, the moonlit town, stars, moon, and the tall tree on large pieces of cardboard. They assembled all the pieces, then added a night sky light. The product is a beautiful rendition of Starry Night that the children can now use as a quiet corner in the classroom for reading or meditation.
Early Childhood–Grade 5 artwork is currently on view in the Klingenstein Library.
The Loon Pod in EC have been looking closely at the artwork by Vincent Van Gogh. While studying “Starry Night,” the students were interested in the swirls in the night sky. After watching videos of other artists making their own “Starry Night”-inspired art, they did their own! Students used shaving cream and water colors to create swirls of color and pressed paper down on top to make a print.
As a Lower School, we are committed to making Waynflete a place of belonging for all students, families, and staff. In our continuing work on anti-bias and anti-racist teaching, we know it takes intentional work to reach this goal. It requires us to uncover and challenge our own biases, and to include diverse voices in our curriculum.