Poly’s faculty are not only dedicated teachers, but also lifelong learners. While others may use the summer to relax 和 hit the beach, 我们的老师可能已经这样做了, 但也花时间提高他们的技能, 学习新的教学方法, 参加他们专业领域的课程, 或者去旅行，让自己沉浸在另一种文化中. Poly supports these experiences financially through 年度捐献 donations 和 our students benefit as their teachers share these experiences in the classroom.

Michal Hershkovitz P’16, ’18, Assistant Head of School, 学者 说, “教师 are dedicated learners, lifelong students. Our ability to support their love of learning during the summer months is critical to their well-being 和 redounds to the benefit of students 和 the school more generally. We are so fortunate to be able to award both curriculum development grants (which enable faculty to create new courses or update existing ones) 和 more general professional development grants, 因一系列活动而获奖, 会议, 和旅行, which exp和 teachers’ underst和ing of their disciplines, 我们的社会, 和自己. 综上所述, 这些奖项丰富了我们的师资队伍, the experiences of our students in their classrooms 和 beyond.”

约30名低年级学生, 中学, 和 上学校 faculty took part in professional or curriculum development this summer. The topics of their study ranged from classes in math, 写作, 日本, 和纺织艺术来学习美国各地的旅行.S. 阿根廷和乌拉圭.

劳拉·科波拉，95年，29年，35年 

The Charles ’52 和 Valerie Diker Chair of 视觉艺术 

“We tested our ideas 和 techniques on paper first 和 then explored further with cotton 和 silk fabrics.” 

“I took two textile arts classes so far this summer at the 纺织艺术中心 in Brooklyn in preparation for my new Textile 艺术 class, 哪些课程将提供给九年级和十年级学生,” 劳拉·科波拉 说. “第一节课是织物大理石花纹, where we learned how to create the liquid solution which allows paint to float on its surface 和 adhere to fabric (or paper) in beautiful 和 unexpected patterns.”

“I also took a class called Bundle Dying where we learned how to use materials like camomile, 玫瑰, 姜黄, 金盏草, 和其他花来染色和图案织物,她补充道。. “I’ll be taking a third class, where I’ll learn more about block printing on fabrics.”

“现在, I’m planning on teaching my students these techniques (plus fabric painting 和 image transfer) as well as embroidery 和 weaving, 这是我多年来一直喜欢做的事. I’d love to see students layer some of these techniques 和, 例如, choose a fabric printing technique they like best after sampling them all, 并在他们的印花织物上刺绣.”

苏茜Br和meyer

低年级班主任A

苏茜Br和meyer 拿走了虚拟的 综合奥顿·格林厄姆Plus 夏季五天的课程. 它包含了语音技能的教学, 语音/文字识别, 拼写, 写作, 流利, 词汇表, 和理解,布兰德梅尔说. “The course provided me with information I can take directly into the classroom 和 I will be able to access books, 教训, 以及整个学年的支持. First grade is such an important year in terms of reading comprehension, I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to access the most current research 和 effective methodology that I can incorporate immediately into my classroom.”

韩国仁荷杨

低年级二年级班主任

韩国仁荷杨 参加了一个虚拟课程， 与孩子谈论种族他来自银行街儿童学校. The course was taught by Chaylor Clark, who teaches at Bank Street. 杨说, “Race is a part of identity 和 I want my students to embrace their identity (not just race) from day 1. When students feel good about themselves, teaching 和 learning is much easier.她补充道, “My greatest takeaway is a quote that the teacher shared: ‘It is our job as educators to not just teach skills, 还要教学生懂得, 验证, 并庆祝他们是谁.’” — Dr. Gholdy穆罕默德, 培养天才.

艾米·理查兹

初中和高中世界语言

艾米·理查兹在布宜诺斯艾利斯待了两周, 阿根廷和蒙得维的亚, 乌拉圭, where she “studied the local use of ‘vos’ in the Spanish second-person singular, 还有伦法多, an interlanguage of the Italian dialects 和 Spanish spoken by immigrants to Buenos Aires 和 Montevideo.”

“I was delighted by the singularly Argentinian nature of this sign [see photo],” Richards 说. “In very few other places in the Spanish-speaking world would it have been relevant or understood. 的名词 马黛斯，塔科斯，yerba, piletas， 和 bachas 是阿根廷和乌拉圭特有的吗, 和 the sign’s entreaty refers to the practice of carrying 和 drinking mate (a loose leaf tea) wherever one goes. 转速计 和 bacha 严格来说是伦法多词吗.”

“The sign was a reminder that language should never be detached from culture 和 context,她解释道, “和 that language learning should not be centered in memorizing words nor should language teaching rely as heavily on 词汇表 lists as it has historically.” 

How will she share this experience with her 中学 students? “With our Unidad [中学 club] 中学ers, we examine the similarities 和 differences in cultural practices, 食物, 跳舞, 和 traditions that characterize the parts of Latin America with which our students identify,”她说。. “This year, I hope to include language diversity in our conversations 和 explorations of identity.”

“和我的高中西班牙语学生,理查兹继续说道, “I will continue to ground my classes in the cultural contexts that are both local to New York’s Spanish speakers 和 reach as far south as Patagonia’s. 我将结合两种英语之间的比较, 其他的浪漫, 土著语言, while giving students the opportunity to explore the histories of colonization 和 immigration that impact the Spanish language.”

肯特Leeklymenko

世界语言

另一位世界语言老师， 肯特Leeklymenko, prepared for teaching an Introduction to 日本 class at Poly through his summer professional development activity, 包括京都在内的为期两周的日本之旅, 奈良, 大阪, 飞驒山脉, 镰仓, 和东京.“ My biggest takeaway was significantly improving my 日本 language skills 和 learning a large amount of cultural 和 historical information,Leeklymenko说. “I will use this experience to enrich 和 inform my Introduction to 日本 class.”