Middle School Archives - Page 6 of 14

Year-End Wishes

June 18, 2019 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

Research shows that gratitude fosters resilience during transitions. When I look back at the year and reflect upon the many successes, I feel deep gratitude for everyone in our Turning Point community. I am honored to be among your children, who inspire me to be the best version of myself. I am grateful for all the support of our wonderful parents, who entrust us with your children each day. And I am grateful to work with a talented, dedicated, intelligent, faculty and staff committed to honing their craft and knowing our students deeply—resulting in a transformational educational experience for all.

Perfectionism and Resilience

May 28, 2019 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

Mindfulness and meditation can help us stay present by letting go of the way we think things should be and rather experiencing them as they are. One thing I love about meditation is the directive to “begin again.” Each moment meditating gives us the chance to learn how to begin anew when we get distracted and return to observing what is going on in our mind.

Summer Community Read

May 20, 2019 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

This year's Summer Community Read is Second Nature: How Parents Can Use Neuroscience to Help Kids Develop Empathy, Creativity, and Self-Control. At Turning Point, we use research-based methodologies to shape our pedagogy and programming, so we are always eager to learn more about how neuroscience can translate into better teaching and parenting, and in this case, “to raise a successful child who can make a positive difference in the world.”

Maintaining Dignity, Integrity, and Community in the Discipline Process

May 6, 2019 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

Discipline rooted in "learning" can help children find a positive sense of independence and identity. At Turning Point, we connect our Primary Montessori roots through the Elementary and Middle School years in order to honor each child’s individual path and nurture her/his sense of self-respect and responsibility. This holistic approach requires continual modeling, explicit teaching, and tireless encouragement of a growth mindset as children grow and develop within a community they hold dear.

Innovative Learning Through Visual Arts

April 23, 2019 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

Arts bring so much to the learning process. Beyond the appreciation of beauty and opportunities for personal expression, the arts also demonstrate more than one solution to a problem, as well as the value of asking questions and seeing multiple perspectives.

The Frankenstein Effect: Keeping our Kids Whole in an Age of Excess

April 15, 2019 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

As a parent, there is not much more I want for my kids than for them to have these opportunities to “try on” or practice their more grown selves while still being honored as children. However, I also know as a parent how, in our zeal and commitment to providing our children with authentic opportunities to grow and mature, it can be easy to cross the line from "authentic" to "manufactured."

Vulnerability, Courage, and Value

March 18, 2019 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

We are all social beings who depend on each other for connection, cooperation, and competition. Status anxiety, predicated on the position we feel we occupy on the ladder of success, functions because our self-identity depends on the approval of others. I look at our school and feel so grateful for the thoughtful guidance, purposeful direction, and positive encouragement our students receive. If status anxiety is about feeling alone, unloved, and unworthy, the education Turning Point provides and the community we build provides antidotes to these deep worries.

Congratulations, Class of 2019

March 11, 2019 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

It is our honor and privilege to share with our community this year’s high school acceptance list. Please join us in celebrating all our graduating students’ many accomplishments; not just their potential destination for next year. The truth is all of these schools are better when they include Turning Point graduates within their communities. As we like to say, “The schools our students attend are all great, but it is our graduates who bring the thunder.” This year’s graduates are no exception.

Living a Life Bigger than Oneself: Lessons from the NAIS Conference

March 4, 2019 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

We want our students to use their education and agency to create organizations with purpose, to see relationships as opportunities to contribute and collaborate, and to give away knowledge and expertise freely. We want them to view success not merely as an individual race to the finish line, but as an opportunity to be part of something greater than any one person can achieve alone. We want them to leave the world in better shape than they found it.

A Fine Balance: Building Community and Fostering Independence

February 25, 2019 | Dr. Laura Konigsberg

An important purpose of school is to help children become independent—and interdependent—adults, which involves creating distance between one’s self and one’s caregivers. At Turning Point we are careful to balance the supervision of students with opportunities for them to practice these skills. This means we must relinquish our own control to some degree and allow students to work things out for themselves before jumping in.