The day of our student-led conferences, the morning index card drawing prompt was this:

And most responses were variations on this:

Like last year, our conferences took the form of families taking part in the kinds of activities we engage in each day, so that they could have a visceral sense of what school life is like for their daughters and sons and brothers and sisters.  Unlike last year, when I led all of the activities, we decided to put the “student” into “student-led”: members of Div. 2 would now do the leading and explaining (with me occasionally dancing like a monkey to fill in the gaps).  I am happy to report that no one vomited (at least that I know of…).

Families and students alike took part in our morning focus ritual:

 

The evening prompt was from Bruce Lee and got at the heart of much of our work this year: “Observe what is with undivided attention.”

The results were, as usual, totally individualistic and absolutely fascinating:

 

In the days leading up to the conferences, our class voted on the essential activities we thought families needed to engage in, in order to get a clear picture of our class.  My undying curse of Full Cellphone-itis meant that I could only get shots of a few of the activities, but after families created their own Alter Ego names, they obligingly took part in an emotional check-in, Kindness Ninjas (thank you, Ms. Geddes!), breathing exercises, and a discussion of how to help create a respectful, inclusive, and positive work environment.  Then, using the Random Deck of Terror®, parents were given partners and worked together to tackle the daunting Skyscraper Challenge!

 

Much to the students’ glee, parents then reflected on their partner work. : )

After, there was time for students to share letters with their families explaining their learning process and then show them highlights from their work:

 

Along the way we added three new champions to the Abe Gaitens Memorial Mental Math Contest Hall of Fame:

And connections were made in the Interconnectivity Contest, in some cases with parents and siblings helping score points.

Thank you so much for being so game, Hard Coder, Chemistry, Sweet Marie, Bluestone, Pushdraw, Octain, Island Fairy, Wei, Lily Potter, Skywalker, Snakeness, Queen X, Seven, Raindrop, Einstein, Rose, Foucault, Mr. Z, Fudgie, Pippie, Milo Dog, Will Smith, Daisy, Titi, Amoura!, Narwhale Kitty, and Sunny I and Sunny II. There were so many moments of tenderness and joy: it was a privilege to sit on the sidelines and observe.  

And students, I was really proud of the way that you all explained and led activities with confidence and clarity – and I (and Mr. Kojima) were thankful to you all for resisting the impulse to spew chunks.

The next day, the morning index card prompt was this: