Tour The Renaissance International School, learn about our Montessori program, which inlcudes strong music, fine arts, and French and Spanish language immersion programs, and get an up close look at what we offer your child and family.
The next scheduled tour will be led by school founder and head, Leslie Hites:
Wednesday, May 28
9:30 a.m. to Noon
Tours are also available by special appointment.
For more information, contact us at 510-531-8566.
We look forward to meeting you!
We made our way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The architecture, the people, the cars and taxis, the dogs, the flowers and blooming trees...the flavor of (uptown) Manhattan was all around us.
The Metropolitan Museun of Art is a world class museum, and the entrance lets you know it. We knew we only had a few hours and so we chose a careful path. Starting off in the Egyptian wing, we were truly amazed by what we saw. Most of us felt somewhat prepared having looked at many reproductions of Egyptian art but standing in front of so many fine examples had an impact on all of us. It was interesting to talk about the ways that the Egyptions positioned their figures in order to represent space. The Temple of Dendur and the "mummy room" were particularly striking. After having seen the art and artifacts of many "primitive people" the previous day at the Natural History Museum we could not help but make connections and identify differences.
As in life, carefully designed plans are often thwarted. The museum was preparing for special exhibitions and events so our route was changed. We entered the American wing and viewed portraits and historical paintings - many depicting scenes from the American Revolution. The enormous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware was incredible. The students were easily able to see how the strokes of a paintbrush can create the illusion of water, ice, cloth, and movement - this when the painting is over 10 feet long and one's nose is 3 inches from the surface. We saw Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, Mary Cassatt and other American Impressionists.
From there we happened into the hall of armor (including Henry VIII's) and again recognized similar shapes and styles of tools and weapons (a theme by now!). It took a while to gather everyone in order for us to move along because the students were fascinated with the metal workmanship and imagined situations where these objects might have been used.
We made our way back upstairs and into the galleries of European paintings. Winding through medieval religious pictures, we again noticed the different techniques that artists used to depict space.Tiepolo, Goya, Velasquez, Ruebens, Carravaggio, and on and on. Art History textbooks come to life! The students took it in as best they could, given limited time and advance preparation.
Our final tour in the museum were the European Impressionists and other 18th and 19th century European painters and sculptors. This wing might otherwise be known as "The Greatest Hits"! Renoir,Cezanne, Monet, Picasso, Matisse, Sargent, Degas, Van Gogh, and more.
After the museum, we had hotdogs and felafels from the carts and apples and oranges from home while sitting on the steps of the Museum. Delicious!
From there we hopped on a bus and made our way to the Empire State Building. No lines! Wow, wow, wow! We each had a personal audio tour which enlightened us about the buildings and neighborhoods we could see. We visited the giftshop, and walked back to Grand Central to catch our train.
Dinner was a beautiful Hungarian feast, prepared by our hosts. Chicken Paprikash with spaetzel (Paprikas csirke and nokedli), salad, and homemade Almond Torte with whipped cream. A delicious end to a delightful day!
Our Upper Elementary students recently traveled to New York City and really got a taste of The Big Apple. The trip began in true New York style with students and adults rushing to make a performance at the Met. We knew that it was a crazy idea to go to the Met from the airport, but it was worth every bit of craziness!
We landed a little later than scheduled and went through a short train ride to the rent-a-car, and left efficiently on our way to Manhattan. We realized by then that we had to be even more efficient if we wanted to make it for the 7:00 pm curtain time, so utilizing the technological possibilities of our day, we ordered five pizzas from the car which were ready for pick-up when we arrived. The pizza snack was very welcome by all while we kept driving towards the Met. Upon finishing the snack, everyone started dressing so that we would be ready when we arrived.
Everything worked like clockwork and we arrived at Lincoln Center just a little after 7:00. But life is always interesting and when we were getting out of the car we noticed that some of the children were looking a little strange. One boy had pants that were at least six inches too short while another had pants that were a little on the long side! There was one who couldn't come out of the car because his shoes were not to be found. Unfortunately, the four children's belongings had gotten mixed up so the next 20 minutes were spent in a practical life exercise of
sorting clothes. In the end everyone found what they needed and felt much more comfortable! We had a good laugh and moved towards the entrance of the opera house where we were welcomed by the ushers who were impressed that the children were coming from Oakland
directly to the show. We were ushered into the the wide screen viewing room for late comers to enjoy the remaining portion of the first act of Julio Caesar. We then moved to our seats in the house for a spectacular performance!
We thought the children would fall asleep, but actually most of them stayed with the performance until the end of the opera, becoming more and more engaged in the story as it went by. This particular opera is very special because it features roles for three countertenors and we had the privilege of hearing three of the world's most prominent countertenors. Clearly an experience of an opera at the Met is many notches above most other opera houses. From what we observed of our group, they were certainly engaged and enjoyed the experience.
As is customary to hear when we go out with our students, people around us were very impressed with our students' maturity, composure and engagement with the performance. We were asked many times who these children were and congratulated for their demeanor. The ushers and other patrons also commented on how wonderful it was to see young people properly dressed for the occasion.
Upon leaving the theater, we enjoyed a little stroll around the Lincoln Center Plaza with its beautiful fountain and then headed to the house we
will consider home for the next five days. Upon arrival we started the process of finding a place for everyone and everything we brought with us,while soup was warmed. Most everyone enjoyed hot soup and bread and dessert before going to sleep. Bedtime was certainly later than ever before, but our introduction to the Big Apple was spectacular!
The next morning, the students were awakened at 10:00 am and slowly moved through showers, breakfast, and some time to play. We left to catch the train at about 1:00 pm to go to the Natural History Museum where students spent the afternoon.
Coming soon--more exciting adventures from our New York City visit!
Our Primary students are very productive in our art studio. During a lesson in glazing ceramics we discussed this unique type of "painting." The children learned that ceramic glaze is made from chemicals, which when heated to a very high temperature, melts onto the clay, creating a glass-like surface which is safe to use for eating and drinking. The children are excited to use the little pots they make for these things.
Other projects the Primary children do in the art studio include clay and bead mosaics, painting and drawing.
About The Renaissance International School's Art Program
All of the artwork that our students create at our school in Oakland's Dimond District represents a significant artistic accomplishment as well as bringing to life the Montessori philosophy. We educate the whole child and believe in fostering every child's individual intelligence and creativity.Our Pre-Primary children recently discovered the butterflies in our school yard. They chased them and counted them. We talked about birds and read the book, "My Book of Birds," by Tibor Gergely.
It introduced the children to different kinds of birds. We talked about the parrot family, how they are large and noisy, have feathers of many colors, and when they live with people they sometimes learn to talk. We also learned that cockatoos and parakeets are parrots too.
Other things we learned are that the peacock is one of the handsomest birds, toucans' bills are almost larger than their bodies, and canaries are fine singers. The children really loved this book, and the teachers did too!