FlexFriday

Bronxville students dove into detective work in the lab at the Regeneron Lab on Friday. The day’s exciting activities included fingerprint collection, differentiation and analysis. Students learned how to lift and analyze fingerprints from surfaces, and analyze their own fingerprint minutiae.  Then they were tasked with using the skills they learned during the lab to solve a mystery!

In an exuberant display of creativity, showmanship and humor, 16 performers wowed their families, peers and teachers with music, comedic skits and visual art at the Berkeley Heights FlexSchool Talent Show last Friday.

FlexSchool students learned about climate change, disaster preparedness and off-the-grid agriculture aboard the Science Barge – floating sustainable urban farm docked in the Hudson River!

Meet Uno – a bald eagle who was rescued after being found, injured, emaciated and unable to hunt in Sitka, Alaska in 1989. FlexSchool students were treated to a “meet and greet” session with Uno, along with other awesome birds of prey, during a recent FlexFriday visit to the Raptor Trust.

FlexSchool students and staff donned chest waders and waded out into the Hudson River, dragging a 30-foot seine net to collect samples of various species of fish, crab, shrimp, jellyfish and more on a recent FlexFriday excursion to the Center for the Urban River (CURB) at Beczak.

At last week’s special multi-campus FlexFriday event, FlexSchool students crafted handmade messages of kindness and support, and attached the notes to warm blankets to be distributed to individuals experiencing homelessness. Then they were treated to a live Q&A with Mike and Nick Fiorito, founders of the charity Blankets of Hope. Students shared some of their own charitable endeavors and were able to get advice from the experts on how to take it to the next level.

November is Native American Heritage Month, and in honor of this cultural celebration, Bronxville students traveled by bus to our Berkeley Heights campus to share a special FlexFriday event.

As we prepare for a special multi-campus event with the Red Hawk Native American Arts Council later this month, our respective campuses have been busy exploring different parts of Native American history and culture.

At FlexSchool, we love hands-on, project-based learning! This week, FlexSchoolers were challenged to transform math class into their own bubble factory. They applied their math skills to every stage – from calculating their daily output, to comparing shipping rates to making and testing a real bubble solution. Who knew math class could be so much fun?

Students from both FlexSchool campuses rolled up their sleeves for a FlexFriday volunteer day at the Pleasantville Community Garden, which grows fresh, nutritious food for donation to local food pantries – an important component of a crucial food supply that might otherwise only include nonperishable and canned foods.

FlexSchool students on both sides of the Hudson River enjoyed a crisp, sunny winter’s day in the outdoors this past FlexFriday.

FlexSchool students got to meet video game producer Steve Patterson on a recent FlexFriday virtual visit. Steve told the story of how he broke into the business, and shared his best tips for building a successful career in this exciting field!

Ever since cardboard entrepreneur Zachary Rotholz of Chairigami introduced FlexSchool kids to the art, science and business of cardboard carpentry in a hands-on workshop, our students have been busy designing and executing their own original creations for our Cardboard Box Challenge. Last week, the students exhibited their work in our Virtual Fair -- and Zachary even returned for the event, to see everyone’s finished products!

Meet our oldest FlexFriday visitor ever: Otzi – a 5,300-year-old mummy with a mysterious past. FlexSchool students got to meet Otzi and learn about DNA science on a virtual visit to Cold Spring Harbor Lab.

What do functioning gears, sturdy dorm furniture and a pair of goggles have in common? They can all be crafted out of cardboard! At a special all-campus event, The Cardboard Carpentry Workshop, FlexSchool students got a crash course in creative cardboard engineering and artistry from entrepreneur Zachary Rotholz -- and then got a chance to put their new skills into action.

In a thought-provoking FlexFriday event, the second of a special three-part series, FlexSchool students watched the conclusion of the important Netflix original docu-drama The Social Dilemma. They then acted as cultural ethnographers and journeyed into a guided intellectual discourse surrounding the history of digital media, as it relates to the film, and what it all might mean to us today. Students then created a special presentation to share what they learned with their younger classmates.