Sage Day 
Inside View Monthly Newsletter
March 8, 2016

SAGE COMIC RELIEF

Our March cartoon pokes fun at one of the most notorious mixed messages a school can give: "Be creative and independent...but do it my way every time!"  Every school today aspires to teach core 21st century skills such as creativity , communication , collaboration , critical thinking and problem solving . Unfortunately, as Sir Ken Robinson explains in his book, Creative Schools (2015, Viking), American education is built around a paradigm of industrialization that does not match the economic, intellectual or social demands of contemporary society.  Our current model of education was designed to prepare students to work in an industrial economy and thus promotes and reinforces two key components of industrial success: standardization and compliance .  As we know, today's global economy is based much more on service, collaboration, advanced technologies and strategic partnerships aimed at performing unprecedented tasks and solving unprecedented problems. Of course, high performance standards remain important and students still need to understand instructions and follow rules. However, as we prepare students to take their places in a world in which they will have jobs that do not yet exist and utilize technologies that have not yet been created, we must bear in mind that this new world will not reward simple rule following and mastery of lockstep procedures. This is why Sage Day has made the commitment to be a creative school . This edition of Sage  Inside View  reflects that commitment. Read on to see what Sage Day students have been up to.



SAGE DAY PRINCETON
My Classroom Economy is a program created by the Vanguard investment management company to fulfill its commitment to, "financial literacy for all ages."  It is helping Sage Day Princeton's teachers provide students with instruction in financial responsibility in an experiential and motivating manner. The teachers have setup an economic system within the school whereby the students need to lease their own desks and earn "money" to pay rent on them monthly. The students achieve this by applying for school-based "jobs" and work for a weekly salary that will provide them with a bit less then the monthly desk rental. Teachers are able to further personalize the program by offering opportunities for students to earn bonus money in "classroom cash" for positive behaviors such as, class participation, homework completion, assisting a classmate etc.  As students are earning salaries and bonuses they are also depositing and withdrawing funds from the school bank. They are using a checkbook, managing a savings account, monitoring account balances, paying rent, paying fines and saving money to be applied toward participation in special school events or other reward opportunities that cost a particular sum of money.

SAGE DAY ROCHELLE PARK


In Geometry class , Ms. Knip's students have been taking on the role of civil engineers and project managers. This class has been building bridges to explore the physical and mathematical relationships which apply to engineering. The objective is to construct a bridge that would span a 2-ft gap and allow a tiny remote controlled car to drive over it. The class was instructed to develop a preliminary budget, a timeline for the construction process and create a proposal as to the benefits of their bridge and whether or not they were over or under budget at completion. Students are being asked to explore mathematical concepts, such as the strongest shapes for their bridge, and bring in their creativity to the final product.  

SAGE DAY BOONTON 
The 8th and 9th graders in Boonton came together for two days, three straight periods each day, to work on a pig dissection as a wrap-up lesson to the anatomy section of the biology/life science classes. The students dissected pigs in groups of two and each group did an amazing job.
Our 10th and 11th grade English classes are currently immersed in America's first cultural philosophy, Transcendentalism. Students are reviewing the founding fathers of this cultural movement, Emerson and Thoreau, and some of their first influential works. The 12th grade Global Issues students have been learning about globalization.  As a conclusion to the unit, the class will split into two groups and debate whether the effects of globalization have been positive or negative on our world.
SAGE DAY MAHWAH
In science, 8th graders are currently learning about compounds and mixtures, including how to differentiate between ionic and covalent bonds and how chemical
formulas are formed by combining elements or using compounds. Meanwhile, 7th graders are studying heredity and genetics as they learn about how the environment affects inherited traits and how genetics is used to improve living things. In Earth Science, 6th graders are learning about rocks and their
origins, including the importance of Rock Cycle. Science students in all grade levels are given an opportunity to connect what they are 
learning to the real world by completing GIST assignments centered on science-based current event news articles on such topics as
genetic engineering, climate change, and battling the zika virus.

IMPORTANT DATES

Sage Day Princeton
(6-12) 
  • March 9 - Open House 1:30-3:00 PM 
  • March 18 - Taking Charge of School Refusal Workshop 1:00-3:00 PM. Reserve your spot here. 

Sage Day Boonton 
(grades 8-12)
  • March 11 - School closed for Sage Day Conference
  • March 25 - Good Friday- school closed
  • March 31- Field trip to the American Museum of Natural History in NY.
 
Sage Day Rochelle Park 
(grades 9-12)
  • March 8 - Parent/     Teacher Conferences 4-7:00 pm (by appointment only)
  • March 10 - Parent/     Teacher Conferences 4-7:00 pm (by appointment only)
  • March 11 - School closed for Students (In-Service For Sage Staff)
  • March 20 - Last day to order yearbook
  • March 23 - Trip to Broadway to see School of Rock
  • March 24 - Last day to sign up for trip to Grounds of Sculpture on April 8th
  • March 25 - School closed in observance of Good Friday 
  • March 29 - Open House, 9:00-11:00 AM  RSVP to Joyce Romano here.

 

Sage Day  Mahwah
(grades 4-12)
  • March 9 - 1:35 Dismissal
  • March 11 - School closed for staff development day 
  • March 16 - Dismissal is changed to 1 PM
  • March 15 - School closed for Good Friday

Therapeutic Education 
That Transforms

About Sage Day School: 
The Sage Day Schools are  private, accredited, therapeutic schools located throughout New Jersey for student's in grades 4 through 12 who need a small, personalized learning environment. Sage Day has four campuses: Sage Day Mahwah Lower & Middle School, Sage Day Rochelle Park High School, Sage Day Boonton High School and Sage Day Princeton Middle and High School. Academically, Sage Day has adopted the Common Core Standards initiative and meets the rigorous standards of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools (www.msa-cess.org/). We complement our strong academics with a comprehensive clinical program in which intensive individual; group and family therapy are fully integrated into the school curriculum. 

For more information, please visit  www.sageday.com.
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