Blog Dynamic – Page 2 – The Leelanau School

Alumni Return to Speak for Graduation

Written by Julie Povolo on May 22, 2017. Posted in School. Leave a Comment

We are excited to announce that two alumni, one from the 80’s and one from the 90’s will be back on campus to share their perspective and wisdom with our seniors and community. On Thursday, June 1, Meagan Darlington from the class of 1990 will be the featured speaker to the senior class at their traditional breakfast. The senior breakfast is their first glance at the world as our newest Leelanau School alumni. They will hear about our expectations for maintaining close ties to the alumni office and especially each other, and taking opportunities to give and be of service to The Leelanau School. Meagan returns as our one of our two newest Board of Trustee’s members. She attended her first board meeting in May and has already added much to discussions in marketing and branding as a manager in these areas for Adobe, Microsoft and Google. We are excited to have her return to talk to our students in an intimate breakfast format. Area alumni are welcome to the breakfast. Please contact Julie at 231-334-5827 if you plan to attend so we can have enough seating and food prepared.

On Graduation, Saturday at 11:00 a.m. we will hear from Leelanau School alumnus, Arya Khoshnegah, class of 1981. He will be sharing his experience as an incoming student directly from Iran during his country’s political unrest. He will share his views on how Leelanau School provided him and his sister a “home- away-from-home,” and prepared him for a successful life in the United States. The public is welcome to attend Graduation – no RSVP’s are needed.

This year, we will graduate 19 wonderful seniors. They represent the following states:

Michigan (7) Illinois (3) and one each from Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, New York, Connecticut, Florida, Colorado and California.

Come Visit …

Written by Julie Povolo on April 14, 2017. Posted in School. Leave a Comment

Houseparent Spencer Seaman snapped this gorgeous picture at sunset last evening on April 13, 2017 at The Lanphier Observatory at The Leelanau School.This hidden treasure is something you want to put on your “must do” summer list. Click on the link and then scroll down the page to read a wonderful article in the Glen Arbor Sun last year about the Observatory.

July 5, 2016 “Lanphier Observatory celebrates 40 summers of public stargazing”

New Year Gifts from The Homestead

Written by Julie Povolo on January 6, 2017. Posted in School. Leave a Comment

The holidays were extended for The Leelanau School thanks to our neighbors to the northeast at The Homestead. Yesterday, we received word that The Homestead was upgrading and renovating their conference areas, and as a result had a wonderful array of gently used items that they were kind enough to donate to The Leelanau School.

“They sent photos and detailed descriptions of all the items and it quickly became obvious that the chairs and whiteboards in particular would be put to very good use at our school,” said JD Friley, Head of The Leelanau School.

The items were ready to go by the next morning and Leelanau students and staff loaded them into trucks and unloaded them in our Learning Commons and in our Karman Activity Center.

It didn’t take long for the students to find them and give them the big thumbs up. The dark brown chairs are perfect in our Learning Commons, because they allow us to rearrange the space quickly and gather in circles, around desks and in quiet study areas. Plus, the color and texture will hide dirt! The chairs they are replacing are decades old, and have been repaired numerous times.

The lighter chairs will be used in the Karman Activity Center which is used as a class room, meeting room and casual gathering space. They will be functional, comfortable and much more attractive than what we were using.

“We are so very grateful that The Homestead donated these great items to us! What a wonderful way to start the New Year!” Friley said.

You Light A Flame For Leelanau

Written by kmccaw on November 22, 2016. Posted in Blog. Leave a Comment

ADHD Awareness Month – 5 Strategies for Learning Success and Joy

Written by kmccaw on October 27, 2016. Posted in Blog. Leave a Comment

Here at The Leelanau School we couldn’t let the month of October – ADHD Awareness Month – go by without sharing some of the valuable strategies we have in place to ensure learning is a successful and joyful experience for students with ADHD.

Like Dr. Hallowell, Best Selling New York Times author and world-renowned ADHD expert, says in his 20 Tips For Helping Kids With ADHD Succeed At School , “Most teachers and adults could benefit from pretending that all kids in their class have ADHD – what is good for kids with ADHD is good for all kids.”

We couldn’t agree more!

Here are five of our favorite strategies to help students, especially with ADHD, to thrive at school.

1 – All students benefit from activities that boost the brain body connection, ahem, enter Morning Energize. We start each school day with this knowledge in mind. Students engage in activities that awaken their bodies and brains which is proven to allow them to increase the capacity to enhance attention during the academic day.

2 – And then there are Small Classes, I mean, how could you go wrong with the individualized attention available with an average class size of 6? Not to mention the personal relationships that are fostered in a setting where people are able to speak to each other and get to know each other.

3 – How about the energy and nutrients that students consume. Healthy food is brain food. Fresh, whole foods, prepared from scratch both nourish the mind and soul. Super healthy and diverse meals and snacks throughout the day help to fuel all of the wonderful learning being done.

4 – And then there is sleep. Sleep you say? Why would a school mention sleep when referring to learning? Well, we know that students who get a good night’s sleep are better equipped to focus. That is focusing on work, listening, interactions – everything. Our Residential Life Faculty creates an environment that encourages the right amount of sleep. In the evening students transition into low lights, with lights dimmed and screens put away.

5 – Lastly, we help our student’s with ADHD be organized. Not everyone does this in the same way, but they do it in some way. And we help them find the way that suits them best. Breaking assignments down, using planners, scheduled check- ins with teachers in the Learning Commons, and with other Academic and Residential Life Faculty assures no one falls through the cracks and things get done.

At The Leelanau School we already have the Awareness that ADHD can be tricky and sometimes down right hard, but we also know it can be a gift – A gift of intelligence, creativity, passion, and exuberance that can be channeled in a multitude of ways to allow for amazing things to be accomplished.