Poetry and Inspiration with 8th Grader Estella Zhou

April 23, 2018

Some of you may recall that around this time last year we highlighted the achievements of then 7th grader, Estella Zhou, after she won two medals in a national competition for her short story, China Bird, and her flash fiction piece, The Sunbirds. Both were selected by creative professionals as the most accomplished in the..

Introducing…Middle School Matters: Math!

February 8, 2018

When my eighth grader asks for help with his algebra homework, I smile inside. I love doing algebra! I love doing math, grappling with a problem and sticking with it. That wasn’t always the case.  Growing up, even though I was fairly good at math, it wasn’t fun. It was an individual experience, never collaborative...

Abby’s Corner – Winter Performance, Technology, and More

December 12, 2017

Building Community As 2017 comes to a close, teachers and students are heavily immersed in our preparation for our Winter Performance, Anansi the Spider. During the two weeks prior to our performance, instead of adhering to our typical class schedule, we employ a project based learning focus and have created 90 minute blocks for students..

Books, Books, Books! Elementary Edition

December 7, 2017

The weather is cooler and the days are shorter – what better time to cuddle up on the couch with books recommended by our amazing Tapscott teachers (and even our principal)! I recently spent some time in the faculty lounge basking in the brainpower of our K-4 teachers and asked them about their favorite kids’..

Sharing Stories, Building Community

October 19, 2017

We started the school year with such a burst of joy–from greeting new families and welcoming old friends, to celebrating our community at Panther Picnic. As always, being at Prospect Sierra gives me a tremendous amount of happiness and sense of purpose. This year I made it a goal to spend at least a few..

Abby’s Corner: How We Do Community

October 5, 2017

Building Community We are officially entering the second month of school! The first weeks of school for teachers are always about building the classroom community, as this is an essential building block for the learning students will engage in all year long. Recently I saw Vivian, our Kindergarten Assistant Teacher, looking at one of her..

A Design Challenge that Goes Deep

September 7, 2017

Collaborating in groups is daily work at Prospect Sierra. But before students dive in, they think about how they’d like to collaborate and together, define a shared set of expectations for this group work. At the start of the school year, new groups are formed and this week students conducted a design challenge as part..

Abby’s Corner: Are You Ready for the Eclipse?

August 15, 2017

Almost Welcome Back… It’s almost time to say, “Welcome to the new year!” When August 1 hits, I am always ready to see students. It’s just too quiet these days, and I cannot wait to welcome all of you back onto the Tapscott campus. We are hard at work getting our campus and classrooms ready..

Congratulations Estella, National Medalist!

June 7, 2017

We are thrilled to announce that our very own seventh grader, Estella Zhou, has earned national medals in the 2017 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards, presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. Estella’s short story, China Bird, received a gold medal, and her flash fiction piece, The Sunbirds, received a silver medal. Both..

Abby’s Corner – News from Tapscott!

May 12, 2017

A Peek into Program Each year our Tapscott Green Committee works to ensure that we celebrate and deepen our commitment to being a Green School all year long, and especially during our annual Earth Week in April. This year, a few fun traditions continued such as daily Earth Week Poetry read aloud by students over..