Inside yesterday's Administration Retreat

Although the administration works throughout the summer, for many years we have gathered together for a full-day off site retreat the week before teachers return, to greet new faces and orient ourselves to the year ahead.

This year, like last year, we met in a small studio above Magnini's Market at the intersection of Hopkins and California, and began by looking together at 40 Maps, which is a collection of interesting maps documenting a wide range of ideas and concepts. This was a launching point for two ideas of data collection: both what is chosen to be looked at, and also how the data is presented.

Countries that don't use the metric system - from Wikipedia Commons

This led into an activity in which we broke into pairs and walked around the neighborhood, selecting a concept to document and present.

After a delicious lunch from SLOW, Mitch led us in a conversation about some of the important values and practices that underlie the three major strands of our philosophy and pedagogy.

We ended the day by doing the "Grow Your Garden" activity (which first came to TBS several years ago through a Positive Discipline training), which we do with all 4th and 5th grade students each fall. This is a reflective activity that asks participants to express ideas about themselves through a visual metaphor -- you can see my finished product at the end! Someone commented that my visual layout looked like a rock concert poster, which I thought was pretty cool, since I collect concert posters and have several hanging on my walls at home.