PBS Blog

The 10th Annual MathCON 2018 Finals took place on Saturday, May 5, at the UIC Forum in Chicago, where more than 1,500 attendees gathered – including our future mathematicians, entrepreneurs, and leaders of tomorrow – to celebrate math and scholarship. Students, parents, and coaches spent the day hearing from guest speakers, battling in a race to solve a Rubik's cube, and honoring the accomplished students.

Below are the remarks that our 1st-grade teachers prepared for the rededication of the garden on the K–2 playground that memorializes Laine Mammen.

Each week, students in Kindergarten through 4th grade present classroom reports as part of our GATHER assembly. These glimpses into the life of each class are presented by a different student each week.

Oftentimes parents ask me what they can do to help improve their child’s Spanish, but the truth of the matter is impeccable grammar and studying words in isolation doesn’t translate into fluency. Above all else, having a good sense of humor and being comfortable with making mistakes, sometimes embarrassing ones, are helpful. Learning a language is a little like free play. You learn from everyone with whom you’re playing while having fun

For the 5th grade and technology CONNECT this year, the team decided that we wanted to teach an area that wasn’t otherwise a part of the 5th-grade curriculum. The team ultimately settled on participating in the nationwide Stock Market Game, run by the SIFMA Foundation. I’m proud to report that even in a down market PBS teams managed to do well, with 4 teams finishing in the top-10  of teams in the Northern California elementary grouping.

Each week, students in Kindergarten through 4th grade present classroom reports as part of our GATHER assembly. These glimpses into the life of each class are presented by a different student each week.

As summer vacation approaches, I am asked again and again about how to keep our children reading during these less structured months. We know well that there are many thrilling pulls to our children’s attention. Your children won’t have their regular trips to the school library or a teacher tucking a new “just right” book into a book box. But they will have something else: they have you and your interest in their learning and their own curiosity.

At the 2018 Spring Benefit, Mr. Tan and Mr. Wheatley offered families the live auction item of a lifetime: the opportunity for their children to channel their inner barbers and cut Mr. Tan’s hair and Mr. Wheatley’s beard. They really started the auction off with a bang – or, perhaps more accurately, with a buzz. On Monday, May 7, they made good on their offer. Photos and video are below

Grandparents and Special Friends Day is one of our favorite annual traditions, when our students eagerly eager to share with their loved ones the many amazing things they learn and do at PBS. We start the day with a special GATHER in the Amphitheater, followed by a program directed by Music Teacher Tamara Stephens.

Each week, students in Kindergarten through 4th grade present classroom reports as part of our GATHER assembly. These glimpses into the life of each class are presented by a different student each week.

The health and safety of all students is a top priority. The 2017–2018 academic year has brought this topic into focus: Not only have we faced challenges locally (October’s wildfires) and nationally (continuing incidents of campus gun violence), but we have also been proactive in taking steps to make our campus community safer and healthier. I acknowledge that many parents have questions and concerns, so I’m writing today with a progress report from our new Health and Safety Committee.

When it comes to quality, the Oxford Dictionary defines it as “the standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind; the degree of excellence of something.” In the world of art, with its varied and ever-changing landscape, defining quality becomes difficult. How one conversation revolutionized my personal view of what constitutes quality in art.

Each week, students in Kindergarten through 4th grade present classroom reports as part of our GATHER assembly. These glimpses into the life of each class are presented by a different student each week.

Each week, students in Kindergarten through 4th grade present classroom reports as part of our GATHER assembly. These glimpses into the life of each class are presented by a different student each week.