Distance Learning
Our distance learning plans are available in myLab in the Resources section. As this is an evolving situation, we will continue to refine the plans.
Letter to the Community (May 4, 2020)
Year End Planning updates from Katherine Schantz (April 21, 2020)
Lab Parent Support Gatherings Announcement (April 15, 2020)
Letter from Katherine to the Lab Community (April 1, 2020)
An Update from PALS (April 1, 2020)
Letter from Katherine on March 26 (March 26, 2020)
Letter from Katherine – Lab Closing Update (March 13, 2020)
Letter from Katherine – Lab School Closing (March 12, 2020)
Letter from Katherine (March 11, 2020)
Letter from Katherine (March 10, 2020)
Letter from Katherine (March 8, 2020)
Letter from Katherine (February 28, 2020)
A message from Katherine Schantz, Head of School
April 21, 2020
Sara Hawkins
Intermediate Museum Club Teacher, Head of Visual Arts, Grades 1-8
Who knew a virtual museum exhibit could be so engaging?
Bang and Pop!
Date
Summary
Elementary's Gods and Goddesses Academic Club wrapped up its year with a BANG and a POP!
Intermediate Student Wins Grand Prize Dyslexia Advantage Engineering Award
Date
Summary
When not working on his studies, one innovative Lab student developed a design for a prosthetic finger -- and won a prize for it.
Walking Through History
Date
Summary
Students "time traveled" during this year's Academic Club Fair.
Celebrating Identity, Arts, Music & Unity (I AM U) 2021
Date
Summary
Our friend and former colleague, the late Aaron Boose, left a huge imprint on our hearts and minds.
Thar She Blows
Date
Summary
Who knew that Mount Vesuvius was far more than just a beautiful mountain ...
Honoring Those Whom Many Forgot
Date
Summary
Students in Intermediate's Changemakers Academic Club honor victims of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire of 1911.
King George Time Travels to Lab from 1766
Date
Summary
Junior High Democracy students were stunned by the surprise take over!
Building Bridges
Date
Summary
Members of Intermediate's Industrialists Club are learning the aesthetics, math, and engineering of bridge building.
Making Mud Cloths of West Africa's Mali Empire
Date
Summary
Through a recent art project, students in Intermediate's Renaissance Club have been learning about the history and culture of West Africa.
Omelettes, Anyone?
Date
Summary
The 20th Annual LSW Egg Drop Competition - Pandemic Edition CRUSHED it!
Making Communities Shine
Date
Summary
Members of the High School were certainly busy this past weekend!
Talking Key Events in American History -- from 1750 to 2021
Date
Summary
What goes in to creating an historic timeline?
All Things High School
Date
Summary
It might feel like the winter doldrums are at their peak, but in the High School there is a lot of learning and light.
Heart Beat Fractions, Sensabots, Bust the Walls Cup Challenge
Date
Summary
Ms. Brinza never seems to run low on creative ways to teach her Junior High Math, Engineering, and Robotics students.
What Was the Arrival Period in American History?
Date
Summary
Empathy, creativity, and a great deal of thought ...
“They Take Away Your Shoelaces …”
Date
Summary
“Sometimes I feel like I have walked into the middle of a movie. Maybe I can make my own movie. The film will be the story of my life. No, not my life, but of this experience. I'll call it what the lady who is the prosecutor called me. MONSTER.” So says Steve, the protagonist in the young adult novel, Monster, by Walter Dean Myers.
Junior High Scientists Share Knowledge Among Themselves and with the World’s Scientific Community
Date
Summary
Students in Junior High Science Teacher Chris Coogan’s classes have certainly been busy — inside and outside.
All Hands on Deck
Date
Summary
Picking up trash, making cards for shut-ins, cooking soup for a shelter, transcribing documents for the National Archives ...
Music to Our Ears
Date
Summary
Where did the idea for a vocal mash-up of the nursery rhyme "Three Blind Mice" using heavy metal/grunge vocalists come from?
Bringing Books to Life
Date
Summary
From Harry Potter to Dragonwatch, what do we see in our mind's eye when we read?
Creativity Abounds in Intermediate “Pandemic Films”
Date
Summary
Sit back and enjoy these films You're in for a treat ...
Creative, Toe-Tapping Fun
Date
Summary
It's hard not to sing along with these joyful music videos created by High School Theater students ...
Mummies, Sarcophagi, Hieroglyphics … Oh, My!
Date
Summary
Elementary Academic Club members in Gods and Goddesses Club were very busy during their last days of hybrid learning on campus making pyramids and learning about Egyptian burial rites.
Industrial Club Makes Handmade Bricks
Date
Summary
Intermediate's Industrial Academic Club used the recent hybrid-on-campus days to create handmade bricks from the soil of The Lab School campus.
Animal Farm Pundits
Date
Summary
Students in Tim Wetsell’s High School English class have taken discussions around George Orwell’s timeless and timely allegorical novel Animal Farm to a new level.
JH Brings Great Verve to Campus on Virtual Plus Day
Date
Summary
The Reservoir campus was full of life!
Intermediate's Renaissance Club Reconnects During Virtual-Plus
Date
Summary
Summer weather returned for Intermediate’s first day of Virtual-Plus on campus.
Exploring the Big Whys
Date
Summary
In Intermediate Science classes, students focus on scientific inquiry.
Journeying on the Silk Road
Date
Summary
Academic Clubbers in Elementary's Silk Road Club enthusiastically arrived on campus to start digging into the Middle Ages.
Building Ziggurats for Museum Club
Date
Summary
As part of their study of Mesopotamia, students are building ziggurats.
Foxhall Pegasus Ready to Welcome Back Students
Date
Summary
Foxhall Pegasus is eager and excited to see small groups of Elementary students for outdoor Virtual-Plus activities starting the week of September 21, 2020.
Creativity in Math
Date
Summary
Math students in Elementary Homeroom Teacher Evan Gropper's class have been busy with several projects using manipulatives
Experimenting around the Scientific Method
Date
Summary
Intermediate students in Science Teacher Liz Bilbao's class learned about the scientific method using chicken.
Parabolas Are Everywhere!
Date
Summary
Anything to make math a little more fun and less intimidating!
Seventh Graders Rock Science Fair
Date
Summary
Not a dull moment in the homes of these young scientists!
The Creating Never Stops!
Date
Summary
Students in Ms. Sara Hawkins’ Intermediate Art class and Museum Club have been upping the ante in the creativity department!
Celebrating Milestones
Date
Summary
Acknowledging achievements and marking milestones is always meaningful.
Betsy Ross Would Have Been Gobsmacked!
Date
Summary
Students in American Revolution Club continue to outdo themselves ...
The Mysteries of Easter Island
Date
Summary
Elementary scientists in Ms. Gudhus' class are learning about the mysteries of Easter Island.
Perspectives from the Homefront: My Lens as a Parent and a Special Educator
Date
Summary
The Lab School's Director of Speech, Language, and Literacy Services talks about the ups and downs of working from home while mothering three boys.
Intermediate Teaching Artist - Writing Amy Young Wins Bechtel Prize
Date
Summary
Huge congratulations to Intermediate Teaching Artist - Writing Amy Young!
Video Gallery
What Lab looks like at home
Recreating Famous Works of Art
Recreating Famous Works of Art
Recreating Famous Works of Art
High School Chemistry
Stained Glass | Intermediate Museum Club
Virtual Lab Lecture Series on April 22, 2020 with Elizabeth DuPont Spencer, LCSW-C
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Distance education will take many forms depending on grade level and subject area. These experiences will look and feel very different than a student’s typical in-class experience—learning experiences will vary in ways that are developmentally appropriate and instructionally feasible. For example, as teachers plan to modify their content to fit a distance-learning framework, students may work on independent projects, meet via video conference, watch online videos, write blogs, and so forth. We will also work with families so that they know how best to support their children in their learning.
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Unlike typical school days when students meet together at a particular time of day, students often experience distance learning differently. In some cases students will learn asynchronously or on their own time; in other cases, classes will meet virtually in real time in order to continue the in-class, group-learning experience.
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Our goal is not to recreate the typical 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. school-day experience. This will mean that students will participate in more independent learning and may have reduced direct instructional time with their teachers. Taking into account the disruption of a prolonged school closure, the school will do its best to balance quality and quantity. We will prioritize delivering high-quality and meaningful experiences for our students.
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Functions like grading, assessment, attendance and homework will be different than the typical in-class framework. Divisions will share expectations around these topics with their students and families for each class or grade level.
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Lab School recognizes that families have different resources available at home... Our teachers will work with students and families individually to ensure that all learning opportunities are equitably available for all students in class. If you have specific concerns about your family’s resources (computers, internet access, etc.), please reach out to response@labschool.org with those concerns and we will do our best to respond.
Distance Learning: Parent Resources (The Lab School’s Educational Technology Department)
As a school committed to equity and inclusion, we remind our community that bullying, harassment, or exclusion of any kind is not tolerated under any circumstances.
The following resource can be helpful:
Speaking Up Against Racism Around the New Coronavirus (Teaching Tolerance)
Recommended by Our Staff
- Parents and Teens: Navigating a Summer Like No Other Together (Lab's Reservoir Psychology Group)
- The Rising Tide: Teens Struggling with Mood in a Pandemic (Lab's Reservoir Psychology Group)
- Why Study Art? (Tateshots, Video)
- Supporting Students with Learning Differences During a Pandemic (Lab's Reservoir Psychology Group)
- Support for Parents of ADHD kids (Lab's Reservoir Psychology Group)
On May 13, Lab’s Reservoir Psychology Group hosted a support session for Lab parents of students with ADHD. More than 60 Lab parents attended and many have written to say how helpful it was. Lab's mental health team shared strategies to help support these students during this difficult time, and parents benefited from sharing their stories with one another.
- Surprising Lessons Learned in a Quarantine: When ADHD Brains Pause and Reflect (ADDitude Magazine)
- Anxiety is high because of coronavirus. Here’s how you can feel better. (The Washington Post)
- Single Parenting During the Coronavirus Crisis (Child Mind Institute)
- When Siblings Won’t Stop Fighting (Child Mind Institute)
- Supporting vs Enabling (Child Mind Institute)
- Rube Goldberg Contests (Rube Goldberg)
- Are You Crisis Schooling? Daily Schedule Advice for ADHD Families (ADDitude)
- That Discomfort You’re Feeling is Grief (Harvard Business Review)
- Pandemic Care Resources (Tara Brach)
- Pandemic poem (Lynn Ungar)
- BrainPOP COVID-19
- Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus (NPR)
- Coronavirus: Resources for Students (Newsela)
- Talking to Children About COVID-19 (Coronavirus): A Parent Resource (National Association of School Psychologists)
- How we can help kids increase their sense of control as the coronavirus approaches (Washington Post)
- Talking to Kids About the Coronavirus: Kids worry more when they're kept in the dark (Child Mind Institute)
- How to Talk to Kids About Coronavirus: Keeping your own anxiety in check is key (New York Times)
- Talking to Teens and Tweens About Coronavirus (New York Times)
- This is How I Responded To My Daughter’s Fears About Coronavirus (Hand in Hand Parenting)
- How to have a panic-free conversation with your kids about the coronavirus (The Week)
Graduation Caravan Delivers Caps, Gowns, and Diplomas to Each Senior
Lawn Signs Give Shout Out to Seniors
Distance Learning
Within days, Lab embraced the challenge of designing and creating distance learning for our nearly 400 students grades 1-12.
