Dear Harbor Families,

By now, you have likely heard the big news coming out of Election Day at Harbor… our Spiral theme this year will be Art in Three Dimensions! 

This important decision was made as a community, via a thorough process that began about a month ago, when teachers began talking with their students about possible topics for our Spiral theme in classrooms. With long lists of ideas spanning from music to pirates to the beach, from languages to monster trucks to Pokemon - the teachers narrowed ideas down to three themes that were broad and conceptual and would provide opportunities for students at all developmental levels to inquire and explore in depth. From there, our third grade leaders began planning for election day - complete with posters and presentations for the three topics (The Human Body and Natural Wonders of the World were the other two), ballots and ballot boxes, and even “I Voted” stickers. On Tuesday afternoon, after a school-wide drum roll (of course), our third graders announced the 2025-2026 theme!

If you are new to Harbor this year, you are in for a treat with Spiral! As a capstone aspect of our interdisciplinary program, our yearly Spiral curriculum is based on research about best practices for learning - learning is inquiry-based and purposeful, builds on student interests, and promotes dispositions of collaboration, creativity, and perseverance. Students at all developmental levels have agency over their individual learning, while at the same time building community as a classroom and school as they collaborate with others to demonstrate new understandings and discoveries. Recent Spiral themes include Take Flight, The  Animal Kingdom, Long, Long Ago, Nautical Explorations, and The World Underground. I know we all can’t wait to see what the students and teachers explore with our chosen topic of Art in Three Dimensions!

Be sure to mark your calendars for the evening of Thursday, February 26th, when the entire school community will come together for Spiral Night! As happens each year, our classrooms will be transformed into a living museum demonstrating students’ learning in vibrant and creative ways. With the focus on expression through art, it is sure to be an incredible night!

We also invite you to join us to kick off the Spiral unit at a special Open Classrooms event on Friday, January 16th. (I know, it’s a long time to wait - but it will be here before we know it!) As always, we encourage families (or family friends)  to share expertise or insights with students. Spiral is also an exciting time to explore local destinations in pursuit of learning. In anticipation of this upcoming unit, please feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher, or directly to me, if you have thoughts on how we can further enrich the Spiral experience with local resources.

Enough about January and February… turning to this evening, we hope you will join us for our annual PJ Party and Book Fair! As a reminder, we will have fire pits set up and s’mores to enjoy, the book fair will be open to peruse and shop, and we are excited to host a visiting author. We are starting the event slightly earlier than last year at 5:30, based on feedback from families. We encourage you to bring a picnic dinner along with camp chairs or blankets, park in the front, and follow the signs. The weather looks like it will be perfect for a fall gathering, and we can’t wait to see you there!

Warmly,

Leah Musico
Head of School