This eloquent, atmospheric take on Saturday's best-ever Harvest Festival by PDS alum Tag Quijano '17 warms the soul. You'll also want to savor the short video premiered at the Festival, celebrating 10 joyful years of the garden program at PDS, created by local filmmaker Jared Flesher and produced by Sustainability Coordinator Liz Cutler. Also: more Festival photos added to our Flickr album!

Head of School Paul Stellato has this to say about the School's new coaches: "I'm proud of the strong scholar-athlete credentials of the coaching staff, which speak volumes about the values that fuel teams of all kinds here. All of these new coaches offer invaluable perspective and experience as players recruited by top college programs and as leaders in the classroom, on the playing field, and as coaches. They join an exceptional group of coaching colleagues actively mentoring student leaders while building teams poised to compete at the highest level."

Alexander Heffner, host of PBS's The Open Mind, author, and political and civics expert, delivered today's annual Anne Rothrock Lecture at PDS on the crisis of civility in our country today. Upper School students asked many compelling questions following his cautionary tale and call to action, which spanned the political divide. Mr. Heffner explored a number of macro and micro areas — from the exploitation of social media to the shifting role and focus of journalism to determining whether the rule of law is equitable to all people — in which civil participation is the key to overcoming dysfunctional societal trends and politics.

"Princeton University's ThinSat partnership with PDS is unique among independent schools," Jonathan Tatkon-Coker explains in announcing to US students PDS ThinSat, a new partnership and co-curricular program that aims to advance STEAM education with a particular focus on science and engineering. Partnership collaborators in addition to Princeton University include Twiggs Spacelab, Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia Space, NASA, Orbital ATK, NearSpace Launch, Inc., In a Box, and even the US Navy and Coast Guard. The mission: Students will design their own "thin" satellites to collect data on low-earth-orbit space, an under-explored space environment. As they prepare their satellites for launch and space flight in an Antares rocket, the PDS ThinSat student teams will be mentored through weekly meetings with the Princeton University ThinSat Team and PDS ThinSAT Program faculty. The new co-curricular program, which culminates in November 2019 with a satellite launch at Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's eastern shore, announced today that it is requesting applications from US students.

Lena Zlock '15, now a senior standout at Stanford whose extensive digital research is bringing "the laboratory of Voltaire's thoughts" into full form, has this to say about the impact of PDS on her present life: "Without the close faculty connections, the small classroom sizes, or the generous course offerings at PDS, I would have neither the capacity nor the confidence to undertake the Voltaire Library Project."

On October 13, 2018, the PDS Garden celebrates 10 years of bringing joy, sustenance, beauty and sustainability practice to the Princeton Day School community. PDS families won't want to miss this year's extra special Harvest Festival!

Last week's Upper School Gathering, developed by the School's Black & Latinx Student Union, offered a sharpened perception of what it means to be Hispanic/Latinx. View video highlights and learn what students shared, including the essential questions that framed BLSU co-head Zoe Rivera's concluding remarks.

Last week's fantastic reception for the year's first Anne Reid '72 Art Gallery exhibit, Evolution of a Concept, featured some great music and impressive architectural models and projects of five Princeton Day School alumni. The exhibit remains up through October 5, when it will come down for the next installation, Distraction, a provocative two-artist show exploring technology and its collisions and intersections with our conscious experience. Don't miss the artist's talk at the public reception for Distraction, Friday, October 26, 5:00-7:00pm at the Gallery.

Renée Price continues as Middle School Head and, as Assistant Head of School for Academic Life, works closely with the chairs of the School's Academic Affairs Committee as it shapes and assesses the PreK-12 academic program; and with Associate Head of School Lisa Surace, Lower School Head Alesia Klein, and Upper School Head Trixie Sabundayo, as they recruit and assess faculty. She will also oversee orientation of new faculty and help oversee, with science faculty member Charlie Alt, Princeton Day School's participation in the University of Pennsylvania Fellow Program.

Four new trustees of Princeton Day School -- Sanford "Sandy" Bing h '87, Alanna Bocklage p '26, '29, Anita Gupta p '26, '29, and Jacob "Jake" Silverman '89, add their talent, experience and perspective to the board.

Beautiful photo albums of Garden Day and Fall Weekend, along with reflections from student and parent voices, bring back the sunshine, warmth and meaning of this very special community day held on Saturday, September 22.

Princeton Day School seniors Nina Kanamaluru, Rakesh Potluri, Angela Talusan, Rebecca Tang, Jacob Tharayil, and Elsie Wang have been named semifinalists in the 64th annual National Merit Scholarship Program. These accomplished students are among roughly 16,000 semifinalists nationwide competing for finalist designation in February 2019 and a shot at being named later in the spring as Merit Scholars and National Merit scholarship winners.

Upper School Head Trixie Sabundayo is laser-focused on student culture and the everyday victories and trials of the Upper School daily experience. Not surprisingly, she's also in love with Princeton Day School and the ebullient spirit that is clearly in evidence among students and the faculty who are so committed to connecting with these amazing kids every day. Here are the insights she shared with parents at US Back to School Night last evening.

Renée Price rivets us. It happens every time the Head of Middle School speaks, whether one on one or in front of a full house of parents in McAneny Theater, which was the case last night. Both her dynamic presence and her command of the totality of the middle school student experience compel us to listen and learn.

PDS parents who attended yesterday's Back to School Night know that stepping inside the Lower School brings the "magic of this kingdom" to life in their children's classrooms with teachers and through the invaluable perspective of Lower Head of School Alesia Klein. Here's what Alesia shared last night.

When you become aware of something extraordinary happening in the midst of your busy day, think twice before hurrying on.

Science Department Chair Jason Park has a lot to share about the revitalized science curricula across PDS featuring inquiry-based, student-led problem solving. As Jason explains, it's been a collaborative, cross-team effort for some time, which will continue through an exciting "innovation for impact" initiative that is spreading across academic disciplines.

Welcome, "Class of 2018-19" new faculty and staff at Princeton Day School!

When new community members and those who are well established are actively encouraged to respect each other's ideas and approaches while also finding common ground, exceptional experiences are bound to happen. That's the essence of PDS. Here are some inspiring moments from opening assemblies this week at Princeton Day School.

Getting ready for students to return, the focus is on tuning in and stepping up. At PDS this week, an intensive two-day workshop facilitated by the deeply experienced counseling professionals at the Stanley King Institute produced some remarkable shared learning experiences across all faculty teams.