Dear Harbor Families, 

This past Tuesday, as the adults in our community took part in local elections, the Harbor students had an election experience of their own! In a process organized and led by the third graders, students had their voices heard about the topic for our Spiral curriculum this year! To celebrate our 50th Anniversary, the  three topics that were being considered were The Number 50, Nautical Explorations, and the Moon (which was the very first Spiral theme over 30 years ago). Complete with campaign posters, ballot boxes, and “I Voted” stickers, our third grade leaders introduced the election at our all school morning meeting, distributed materials to each classroom, and counted the votes! 

So, drum roll please… the third graders shared today that the Spiral topic for 2023-24 will be... Nautical Explorations! We look forward to seeing how students will explore this theme in January and February, when all grades will embark on an exploration of their own, into nautical topics of interest. The Spiral experience is a distinctive feature of our interdisciplinary, inquiry-based curriculum at Harbor, and one that creates meaningful learning.

The Spiral election is just one way that our third graders are taking on leadership roles at Harbor. You may have noticed that we have a third grade helper in the morning car line, opening car doors, greeting students, and escorting them to their classes. Third graders are also taking turns planning and leading the all school morning meetings each month, and small groups of grade three students are leading other self-initiated projects to improve our school! These experiences are intentional aspects of our program in its capstone year, and serve to provide our third graders with experiences in leadership which build confidence, self-awareness, and agency in their communities.

Speaking of community, it is certainly a busy season for Harbor! We have a number of engaging community events coming up in the next two weeks. Scroll down to learn more about the Book Fair, which will be held in person this year (thank you to our HSPA and Melanie Pellegrini for making this happen!), the Pajama Party next Thursday evening, a food drive, Spirit Week, and Generations Day. We look forward to seeing you (and you extended family) at these events!

Warm regards,

Leah Musico
Head of School