Aaaaahhhhh, Spring is sprouting all around us. Days are longer and warmer, and we begin to be a part of this world again.  I took this picture when returning home from a 5 mile walk with my husband and daughter on Saturday — totally in love with this moment when Spring dips its toe into the end of hibernating Winter.  So great. This week, try to stop and literally smell the Spring erupting around you. Enjoy! Have a great week! –Dr. Shyla. ************************************* Noteworthy Upcoming Dates: Date(s) Notes Saturday, April 2, 10:00-1:00 Enjoy breakfast with your sweethearts from 10:00-11:00 with live [...]

Message about Principal Candidates We are now at the phase of bringing Principal Candidates to our school campus to meet our community… and to have our community tell us what you think.  Please read the message below from Mike. And please join us on Zoom from 12:00-12:30 to ask each candidate questions and get to know them a little bit! March 14, 2022 Dear City Neighbors Hamilton community, We are writing to update you again on the Principal Search process.    The CNH Principal Hiring Committee has been hard at work, dedicating nearly 20 hours in just the last two weeks [...]

  Family Arts Night was so much fun!  It was so great to see the A-Team learning in action and hear students describe what they learned. Thank you, all, for joining Family Arts Night and celebrating with our students.  I am eternally grateful for the amazing Arts & Athletic instruction at CNH and for our dedicated staff who made this possible. This event is a tremendous labor of love for Ms. Cohen, Ms. Breai, and Mr. Bush – Please let them know how much you enjoyed Family Arts Night!  We look forward to more events for celebrating our students and community [...]

The 10-Day forecast for this week into next is indicative of March in the Mid-Atlantic – wet and not really warm but not really cold, moderate in the daytime and freezing in the nighttime.  I often wonder which coat I should wear?  Should I bring my gloves? You might be wondering the same thing with your kids. Here’s a word of advice – Dress your child in layers that they can easily remove.  The heat is on in our building until it is turned off until next winter.  That means that rooms are often hot, but might be cool if your [...]

 The snowdrop flowers are the first to bloom, even while snow is still on the ground, and herald Spring with innocence and hope. What I love about the snowdrop flower is that it doesn’t multiply through seeds externally – it grows new bulbs off of the mother bulb and can be separated and replanted to spread across the ground. It grows and develops where we can’t see it, provides us with delicate beauty in the cold days of February, and proliferates year after year.  It reminds me of education – the bounties are often unseen by the teacher, blooming at another [...]

In the center of it all is love. I wrote, at the beginning of this year, that we will surround your child in a protective shell against COVID and keep love in the center, so that learning can happen in the space in-between.  This year has been like no other. Our students came back differently than before the pandemic, and we have spent the first half of this year figuring out how to support them, love them, and find the best ways to engage them with learning.  We have found a rhythm each day and each week. We are excited to [...]

In these cold, grey days of February, it’s so important to find good forms of celebration throughout the month! This entire month, we are celebrating the accomplishments of Black Americans in all of our classes for Black History Month. This week, we will celebrate the 100th day of school on Wednesday. Next week on Monday, we will celebrate Rolling with Your Sweetheart.  The following week, we will celebrate 2/22/22. The last week in February, we will celebrate school spirit with a CNH Gear Day where students can make their own CNH gear! And then at the start of  March, we will [...]

We are growing microgreens in my home using an aquaponics system with a betta fish (hiding somewhere in the picture above behind the plants..). The system amazes me – Water from the fish bowl is carried up to the top, filled with ceramic balls and seeds. The seeds grow roots around the ceramic balls.  Water flows over the roots and back into the tank. The two parts nourish and clean each other.  This aquaponics system makes me think about the relationship between our school and our families. In the next six months, as I help the school transition to new leadership, [...]

Can you believe that we are officially halfway through the school year?!? I just want to share a note of appreciation for your partnership, patience, and perseverance this year – a year like no other.  Here we are looking forward to Progress Report Conferences, an upcoming Family Arts Night (official announcement next week!). We may not be having events in-person, but committees are planning some amazing events for families once the weather breaks into Spring.   Most important is that we all find joy in each day, appreciate each other for what we bring to the table, and keep our attention focused [...]

Last Thursday I participated in the following panel “Creative Activity as a Human Right: A Panel Conversation with National Leaders in Art + Design Education Focused on Equity” at Syracuse University.  It was so wonderful to be able to represent CNH and tell some of our stories.  We do a lot of amazing work at CNH that leaders around the country find inspiring! We pay attention.  We listen closely.  We construct with and not for our students.  We partner with parents and guardians. We engage learners in sustained project studies that are actually interesting and meaningful. We are responsive and pivot [...]