The New Classical Academy will hold an open house on January 28th from 5 to 7 p.m. The open house is open to everyone, so whether you have an interest in sending a child to the school or you'd just like to see inside the big orange building, please feel free to come and bring your family. Teachers will be available in their classrooms to answer questions and share the students' work, and the directors will give a presentation about our educational philosophy and how it works in action.

How is The New Classical Academy different from other schools? In the K-2 class the students are encouraged to move around the room and make choices. Rather than being told what to do and when to do it, our 5 through 7 year olds are choosing their work and their play and even their time to snack. In the 3rd-5th grade class our students are being taught grammar and Latin and they are memorizing their times tables, but they are not given copious amounts of homework. In middle and high school our students are not talking about dating and their social lives. Instead they are discussing their work and looking forward to their next "Teen Club" outing where boys and girls, 6th through 9th grade, will all go skiing or out to dinner or to a play together. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines culture as "the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization." When you come to visit we think you'll see, the culture of our school is truly different. It is a culture that values self-sufficiency, family time, and inclusion, and these values are evident in the classroom every day.

The year ended with a lot of applause as the students performed "Theseus and the Minotaur" at the holiday potluck. Also in December the K-2 class visited the gingerbread houses at the Grove Park Inn, we all celebrated Chanukah with latkes and matzo ball soup, and the teen club had a great time going to the movies to see "The Golden Compass." January started off with two days off for a snowstorm. Everyone was happy to come back to school and get busy for the most focused academic time of the year. From now until spring break the students will do the hardest work and make the biggest academic gains of the year. We're still having fun of course, and the hit afternoon project is "Pioneer Town." The K-2 class has been transformed and features a bank, a gold mine, a little red school house, a general store and a hotel.