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“This is your Monday morning reminder that you are amazing and you can handle anything!” Thus began Dr. Jones’ Morning Meeting message to the students of the Middle School a few days ago. Each of the three divisions, and in the Lower School the teachers, host Morning Meetings with their students. They’re always joyful, thoughtful, and kind of beautiful. You can handle anything.

Speaking of Middle Schoolers who can do anything

Wow, those Grade 5 students (and their extraordinary teachers) are just crushing it! Here’s a photograph of some expressions of support from them to the doctors and nurses who are working so hard right now. It was brought into the hospital by old friend Dr. Charlene Conners P’18. The poster says “The Harley 5th Grade Honors Your Perseverance.” A lovely sentiment and a great piece of work. 

A new parent survey?!

I know, it’s true: we do ask a lot of you. But we’re really working hard to make our Harley at Home program into the best experience we can; we asked for your input a week after we started and made adjustments based on that feedback, and now we’re asking again after another month. So, thank you, truly, for taking time to complete the survey, which you’ll find right here

Bookmobile

Love this: Harley School Librarian Elaine Mendola P ’17, ’21, ’25 has been taking the library on the road, making deliveries of actual books (paper! ink!) to community members. Huge numbers of books are available as e-books or on audio, but not everything has been digitized—this is a great service. Thank you Elaine. 

#MakersGottaMake

Maker Educator Kima Enerson has been creating The Maker Space Challenge for students to try during Harley at Home. Check out the Let’s Make Together homepage to learn about the cool challenges Kima has set to our students (and some of their parents!). Here’s Max Muller’s entry in the Lego boat challenge. 

If it floats, it must be a witch. 

Much ado in the world of gardening at Harley

Garden I: Beyond Soup

Upper School’s Beyond Soup Club, led by Harrison Davis ’20, planted greens intended to be harvested for a shared meal at St. Joseph’s House of Hospitality. (Quick historical side trip: “Houses of Hospitality” are the legacy of Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker movement, as I understand it, a super interesting chapter in 20th century American history and service. Worth a read.) When circumstances changed, Commons Educator Lisa Barker harvested the greens on behalf of Harrison and his cohort and delivered them to the Davis-West family; in turn, they prepared the crop for bagged lunches delivered to St. Joe’s. 

 

The classic before-and-after: Beyond Soup Food & Farmers Anya, Reda, and Harrison, back when we could be within six feet of each other …..

 

… and the glorious results. 

 

Garden II: Without Sam Gilbert, they’d all be on the ground

Sam Gilbert ’21 has been doing a multi-pronged Independent Study in the Commons since the beginning of the year. In the fall he focused on setting up a screen-printing operation in the Makerspace, and in the winter he turned his focus to the greenhouse. He started by assessing some of its challenges and assets, and he reorganized things to make more space available. A major need identified was more vertical space for plants, so Sam—who already had a knack for, and interest in, woodworking—jumped in. He designed and built a three-tiered shelf based on a prototype we found online, and completed it just two days before Harley moved online. 

What excellent work. 

Garden III: a Happy Earth Day tour with Miss Lisa

Every few weeks, Food & Farm educator Lisa Barker has been taking us on virtual tours of the Harley Micro-Farm, and these are just delightful viewing. Check it out here

In a period of remote learning, what to do about a course like Hospice? 

In Harley’s extraordinary Hospice program, students provide bedside care to end-of-life patients in one of Rochester’s wonderful “comfort care” homes. It could not be more personal or hands-on, so how to respond to this moment of social distancing and isolation? A note from Hospice Teacher Sybil Prince ’00:

I have started a remote matching program between the 28 seniors in the Hospice program and 33 elders from the St. John’s Senior Community. Each senior has been matched with an elder (or two) with whom they will have at least weekly contact via phone calls, letter writing, or emails. 

Elders are especially vulnerable to the devastating effects of loneliness and depression. With the quarantine, that risk has increased significantly. Elders at St. John’s are no longer able to have their meals together in the dining hall, cannot engage in valuable social activities with each other, and are often living alone or with elderly spouses, many of whom have cognitive and physical issues that require care. There have been a number of articles recently about the problem. Here’s one in the New York Times. After a notice was sent out to the elders at St. John’s about the matching program with Harley seniors, their activity coordinator had 33 responses within several days. That’s a tremendous response that is reflective of their increased isolation and longing for connection. 

Meanwhile, Harley seniors are also struggling with a number of losses related to their senior year. In addition, they have lost out on the meaningful experience of continuing to volunteer in the comfort care homes (many of which have closed). My hope is that this program will be a mutually supportive one in which our seniors can bring some joy and connection to the elders while the elders can help to support our seniors and offer their own unique perspective and wisdom. 

The program will begin this week and run until graduation day. My hope is that the seniors and elders will have an opportunity to meet in-person this summer, but of course, we’ll have to see where things are at with the state of the world at that point. 

Town Hall Tuesday night

I am conducting a town Hall session for parents on Tuesday night, April 28, from 7:00 – 8:00pm. Counseling Coordinator Shelli Reetz and I will be discussing where we are now, Harley at Home, our wellness program in the stressful time, and what we’re thinking about for the future—all followed by a Q&A.

You MUST REGISTER at Eventbrite: https://hrly.sl/TownHallApril

Two hours before the meeting, we will email you the link and password through your Eventbrite registration. You will also be able to submit your questions ahead of time through Eventbrite when you make your reservation. See you there!

Heart of Harley Day: next Thursday, April 30

Thursday, April 30, will be the Heart of Harley Day of Giving, and it should be a lot of fun. We hope that everyone in the community will come together in support of the students and families most impacted by this extraordinary and trying time. We especially hope to ensure that Harley families don’t have to make difficult choices about the education of their children. 

Some upcoming events

Tuesday, 4/28 All Town Hall, 7-8pm https://hrly.sl/TownHallApril

Wednesday, 4/29 Any/All Live sing along with Jay Stetzer, 10:30 live

Wednesday, 4/29 All / alumni Live Kahoot family game, 7pm https://hrly.sl/Kahoot4-29

Thursday, April 30 All Heart of Harley Giving Day

Tuesday, May 5 LS Parent Council “Coffees” 7-8pm

Wednesday, May 6 MS Parent Council “Coffees” 7-8pm

Thursday, May 7 US Parent Council “Coffees” 7-8pm

File under: Winner—Cutest Department Meeting

Finally, this came in a little while ago:

Yeah, we have a winner. Clockwise from upper left, Civic Engagement educator Jocie Kopfman ’09, Maker Educator Kima Enerson and young Logan, Food & Farm teacher Lisa Barker, Hospice teacher Sybil Prince ’00 with Maeve, and Commons Director Seth O’Bryan, accompanied by nursery student Nora!

Happy Friday! I miss you and hope you’re staying safe and doing well. 

Best, 

Larry

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College Counseling

Harley’s Approach to College Counseling is highly individualized and student-centered. Students have direct access to college counselors throughout their Upper School experience, but really, each student is part of a team including faculty, administration, and staff. It’s our job to support each student and we want nothing more than to send students on to the next step of their journey at a right fit school for them. The student centered and driven process is wrapped in care, expertise, and professionalism.

We host college reps during times students are available (no need to miss a class) so they can make connections and learn more about potential schools. We also arrange campus visits for classes as field trips, host an alumni college day (where recent Upper School graduates return to share advice and answer questions), and help connect students with our international alumni network. In fact, representatives from schools all over the world actively seek opportunities to come to Harley and meet with our students!

Our college counselors are accredited and are part of national/global conversations on admission trends. They also attend and present at conferences across the country.

Beginning with our Grade 11 parent night, we offer informational sessions for parents, including one devoted just to financial aid. Our partnership with families is critical, as the college admissions world changes very quickly and having an expert to guide students and families through the process is essential.

View the downloadable College Counseling Guide

Clubs

“Club Rush” is an afternoon every fall in the Upper School when students have the chance to sign up for clubs for the year, and each year it is very different because new clubs are created based on student initiative and enthusiasm.

A few of this year’s choices: Sports Media, Social Action Club, Journalism Club, Feminism Club, Student of Color & Allies (SOCA), Gay-Straight Alliance, Tri M (music honor society), E-Sports Club, Euchre, Key Club (service), Animation Club, Dungeons & Dragons, Sustainability Club, Jewish Cultural Club, Astronomy Club, Biomimicry, and Beyond Soup (social justice/service).

Athletics

​Each and every year, students at The Harley School participate in HAC Athletics, and their success continues to be impressive, both as students and athletes. Our athletic program is an integral part of Harley, teaching student-athletes invaluable lessons about teamwork, time management, persistence, and competition.  Our program allows them to develop physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally as they represent their school on and off the field. They grow, mature, and work hard to be the best teammate they can, while creating lifelong memories with teammates who often remain friends for life. 

Helping our athletes to reach their potential are some of HAC’s best assets: our coaches. More often than not, they are drawn from the ranks of our faculty and  have a deep understanding of the personalities and abilities of the student-athletes on their teams.  

We strive to find the right balance of academics, exercise, and personal growth for everyone.  By offering a variety of sports at many different levels, all student-athletes find a sport they can be successful in. It is with great pride and pleasure that my team and I work to enrich the athletic lives of all our HAC student-athletes. Go Wolves! 

To learn more check out our athletics page.

Student Leadership

Our Upper School is filled with formal and informal opportunities for students to take on leadership roles. Whether following passions or learning new skills, student-driven opportunities take many shapes.

– Independent study: one trimester, full year, and multi-year projects have included automating our solar chimneys, coding handmade musical instruments, or developing a class on financial literacy for underserved high school students.

– Serving on student council

– STEM: Climate curriculum program, biomimicry program, NASA Hunch program

Clubs

“Club Rush” is an afternoon every fall in the Upper School when students have the chance to sign up for clubs for the year, and each year it is very different because new clubs are created based on student initiative and enthusiasm.

A few of this year’s choices: Sports Media, Social Action Club, Journalism Club, Feminism Club, Student of Color & Allies (SOCA), Gay-Straight Alliance, Tri M (music honor society), E-Sports Club, Euchre, Key Club (service), Animation Club, Dungeons & Dragons, Sustainability Club, Jewish Cultural Club, Astronomy Club, Biomimicry, and Beyond Soup (social justice/service).

Hospice

Unlike this class, death is not an elective. Although it is one of two universal human experiences, our culture often ignores, denies, or misconstrues the true nature of death and dying. What happens when we bear witness to this natural process in the cycle of life and develop our ability to be fully present with others when they need us more than ever? It has the potential to change us deeply and fundamentally while shining a brilliant light on the path of our own lives.

With the support of their classmates, teacher, and comfort care home communities, senior students are offered the chance to care for others who truly need their purposeful, non-judgmental attention. In the home-like setting of a comfort care home, opportunities for learning extend beyond a traditional classroom rubric and conventional methods of evaluation. In this course, students will certainly find tangible “learning outcomes” by studying the medical/physical processes associated with dying and the basic nursing assistant skills of comfort care. The ultimate goal, however, will always be rooted in true relationships and connection, which occurs only through empathy and compassion.

Learn more about the Hospice Program at Harley HERE.

Capstone/Independent Studies

This program utilizes environmentally-focused approaches to education and hands-on learning in order to foster the next generation of leaders through a lens of sustainability and problem-solving.

Food & Farm: These year-long and trimester-long classes are held outside as much as possible, allowing students to become leaders in our various growing spaces. They cover environmental justice issues as well as hands-on work such as planning and overseeing planting, harvesting, and preparation of the gardens.

Past year-long focus projects have included: Creating a native plant shade garden in the Wild Wood area, redesigning our hydroponic system, overhauling Harley’s high tunnel, and improving the irrigation system for the MicroFarm.

Culinary Arts: These classes have a two-fold purpose: to give students practical skills in cooking and the science behind different techniques in the kitchen, learning about food justice, food sourcing, labor topics, and sustainability.

Past topics have included: Examining a plant-based diet, looking at the carbon footprint of different meals and food preparation methods, proposing a low carbon footprint menu to the dining hall, links between food labeling and environmental issues of food production.

Beekeeping: This one trimester class provides hands-on training in beekeeping, how to be a beekeeper, and safety and other techniques for working with bees. Once trained students help with all aspects of Harley beekeeping such as hive inspections, honey collection and extraction, and teaching students in Lower School about our hives.

Students pick a research topic addressing honeybee health and the larger environmental picture.

Social Justice

At Harley, our students learn how to evaluate social systems in order to identify complex problems in society through a lens of social justice. They take a hands-on approach to working for a fair, equitable society by researching, exploring and evaluating different perspectives, and offering solutions—both theoretical and practical.

Our faculty integrate social justice into our broader curriculum to assist students in gaining a foundational knowledge about what makes a democracy function. By gaining skills in ideating supportive pathways they become more exposed and experienced to how communities can undergo healing and restorative actions.

 

Capstone/Independent Studies

Students may create independent studies with supervising teachers throughout their Upper School experience or, during Grade 12, they can design Capstone projects—intensive collaborations with Harley faculty and off-campus mentors—involving rigorous academic study and culminating in public presentations. They are empowered to create their own curriculum, set goals, and work on time management skills in order to accomplish their objectives.

Independent Studies run the gamut from The Psychology of Sports to Furniture Design to The Neuroimaging of Alzheimer’s Disease. Capstones, meanwhile, are as diverse as the students who pursue them: Fictional Rochester, Autobiographical Art, Biomimicry Education, Organic Fuel, and Rochester Refugees. 

Indicative of Upper School curiosity and creativity, pursuits such as these distinguish our graduates in college. Through deep dives of this sort, Harley students master more than speaking, writing, and computing: they learn to communicate, advocate, collaborate, organize, listen, and empathize. 

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