Abby Brody joined Avenues in 2012 as the head of grades three and four, the position she has held for the last two years. As of July 2014, she is now the head of the Lower School, replacing Libby Hixson, who has moved to Middle School. In her two years as head of grade for grades three and four, Abby has proven herself to be a warm, organized and capable administrator, winning plaudits from the faculty with whom she worked.
Abby Brody joined Avenues in 2012 as the head of grades three and four, the position she has held for the last two years. As of July 2014, she is now the head of the Lower School, replacing Libby Hixson, who has moved to Middle School. In her two years as head of grade for grades three and four, Abby has proven herself to be a warm, organized and capable administrator, winning plaudits from the faculty with whom she worked.
It has been an exciting, fun and busy third session of summer camp with lots of learning and laughs. During the past few weeks, Avenues’ Spanish immersion campers, ranging in age from 3—14 years old, have explored different topics thorough a unit called “transit around the city.”
In 2012, Eric Ogden joined Avenues as a head teacher for fourth grade. In September, he will become head of grade for grades three and four.
Lauren Munick will join Avenues this fall as a physical education teacher in the Lower School. Many students will know her, since for the past two years, she has managed the physical education curriculum for Avenues on behalf of Chelsea Piers (New York, NY) and already knows many Avenues students from second through 11th grade.
Jacob (Jake) Goren joins Avenues this fall as a science teacher in the Lower School. He comes to Avenues from VOICE Charter School of NY (New York, NY), where he worked as a third grade special education lead teacher.
Allison (Ali) Lesch will join Avenues this fall as the occupational therapist in the Lower School and Early Learning Center. She comes to Avenues from the New York City Department of Education, where she has worked for the last nine years as a senior pediatric occupational therapist.
Kendra Wilson joins Avenues this fall as a physical education teacher in the Lower School. She will already be familiar to many students and parents in Middle and Upper Schools, as she has spent the last two years as a coach at Avenues for the Middle School girls’ volleyball and the JV girls’ basketball teams, and an assistant coach of both the Middle School and varsity co-ed track and field teams.
As a culminating World Course unit, the nursery classes explored the notion of growth and change. Having spent the first semester exploring important features about themselves and their peers, this was an ideal opportunity for children to think about how they have grown and changed over the course of the school year.
Dr. Lana Parker joins Avenues this fall as the Lower School psychologist. She is a New York State licensed psychologist and has more than 20 years of experience working with children. She comes to Avenues from Pediatric Assessment, Learning and Support (PALS) in New York City, where she performed neuropsychological assessments and individual therapy with children and adolescents.
The inquiry-based approach to teaching and learning is central to an Avenues classroom. As teachers, we seek to help children construct their own knowledge and understanding by presenting our students with open-ended questions. We set up an environment in which students learn by exploring possible answers to such questions, as well as their own questions that arise as they dig more deeply into an inquiry.
In Lower School art, we seek to give our students exposure to major media in the visual arts—drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, construction, fibers and media such as collage and ceramics. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that digital and design technologies should be part of these major categories.
Students in the Early Learning Center and Lower School performed splendidly in the annual Festival de la Primavera on April 28. In three dynamic assemblies, students sang and danced for each other. All the students came together to celebrate the spirit, culture, songs and dances representing Spanish-speaking countries around the world.
Jeanne Bouvier will join Avenues in fall 2015 as the math specialist for kindergarten through grade four. She will oversee the Lower School math curriculum to ensure continuity within grades and will work closely with the Middle School and Upper School math curriculum specialist to facilitate a smooth transition of the math program to the upper grades.
In Lower School art, we seek to give our students exposure to major media in the visual arts—drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, construction, fibers and media such as collage and ceramics. In recent years, it has become increasingly clear that digital and design technologies should be part of these major categories.
Students in the Early Learning Center and Lower School performed splendidly in the annual Festival de la Primavera on April 28. In three dynamic assemblies, students sang and danced for each other. All the students came together to celebrate the spirit, culture, songs and dances representing Spanish-speaking countries around the world.
Jeanne Bouvier will join Avenues in fall 2015 as the math specialist for kindergarten through grade four. She will oversee the Lower School math curriculum to ensure continuity within grades and will work closely with the Middle School and Upper School math curriculum specialist to facilitate a smooth transition of the math program to the upper grades.
Anna Stevens joins Avenues in fall 2015 as a Lower School science teacher. Anna comes to Avenues from the Churchill School and Center, where she taught a number of different classes in the Middle School.
Lila Pollack joins Avenues in fall 2015 as a part-time strings teacher in the Lower and Middle Schools. She is an accomplished violinist who made her solo debut at eight years old.