Every year students and teachers in each of the school's three divisions engage in a variety of interesting academic and artistic explorations and community-building activities, often resulting in culminating projects, some of which also span divisions. This page highlights recent notable work. However, it is just a sampling of the wide-variety of student projects realized at Poughkeepsie Day School.

Click here to view student work from the 2006 Spring Art and Music Festival.

Challenge 20/20

Central study (CS) continues the PDS tradition of hands-on, in-depth, interdisciplinary work

For children in Poughkeepsie Day School's lower school, social studies provide the central thread for classroom study. Examples of year-long themes are Africa, Native Peoples and the Hudson River. When students move to middle school, the humanities curriculum, which combines history and English, continues the Day School's historical emphasis on thematic study. At that level students investigate Ancient Greece or the Middle Ages as well as explore the ramifications of Cultural Encounters in the Americas and pivotal political, economic and social issues in the United States from the development of the Constitution to the struggle for civil rights in contemporary times. The capstone of this dynamic, interactive and collaborative approach to academics can be found in the school's unique central study (CS) program. Through CS, students in grades seven through twelve have the opportunity three times each year to choose from a variety of interdisciplinary courses, which combine group work with independent, in-depth explorations. According to Liz Vinogradov, acting head of school, since CS courses meet each Wednesday for an entire morning and once a month for a full day, students “learn to apply critical and analytical thinking skills and team work skills in situations similar to future work life.” As a result, they “develop abilities in leadership, initiative, self-direction and time management.” In the Challenge 20/20, CS, offered by middle school humanities teacher Geetha Holdsworth ’86 and upper school history teacher Bernadette DePaz, students collaborate through their Web site linking international and US schools to research and discuss the global challenge of poverty. Bernadette says that “the PDS philosophy resonates in the CS program.” She adds that “students are actively engaged in learning, asking and researching big questions: How do we allocate decreasing world resources as the world’s population increases? How do you balance the rights of the individual and the community?” Geetha notes that “the teacher in a CS is the facilitator—not the sole source of knowledge—much like the real world. At work you don’t sit in a lecture for six hours; you work collaboratively, gather information and create a product.” For a full description of the 20/20 CS, click here. To learn more about 20/20 outreach projects, click here. For more information on the CS program, click here. For a full description of all fall 2005 CS offerings, click here. For a special "Spolight" article on three CS offerings this fall, click here. John Kelly, Ph.D., PDS parent and professor of anthropology at The University of Chicago, recently spoke to the Challenge 20/20 CS, co-taught by Geetha Holdsworth '86 and Bernadette DePaz, about the economic and political crises facing Burma. PDS students participating in the Challenge 20/20 CS, in conjunction with a school in India, are learning about and addressing the global fight against poverty. Prof. Kelly spoke to the historical socio-political background of Burma, past and current economic conditions and how one of Asia’s wealthiest nations came to be one of the world’s poorest. He addressed the current economic and political policies of the United States, the European Union, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in relation to Burma and its military dictatorial government. A slide presentation from John's recent visit to Burma demonstrated to students the economic and social contradictions that permeate societies in conflict. Finally, John informed students on the role of NGO’s (Non Governmental Organizations) in addressing the complexities of implementing global solutions at the regional and international level.         Other recent student projects: View a PowerPoint presentation on Africa, created by Shirley Rinaldi's 3-4 class. Read about the student-initiated All-school Tsunami Relief Fundraiser, through which PDS collected more than $7,800 for UNICEF; view students' PowerPoint presentation on the cause and effects of tsunamis. Find out about the newspaper, 21st Times, created by Shirely Rinaldi's 3-4 class. View the award-winning middle school magazine, Made-You-Look. (Adobe PDF) Note: you must have high-speed Internet access to view these large files.) Click here to learn more about how this magazine was created. Press release on award. Read the latest edition of the award-winning middle school newspaper, Four Points.     Upper school students at the car wash in April at PDS. Proceeds benefited UNICEF and victims of the tsunami. View a sampling of American Landscapes done by students in the 3-4s. Read about the 1-2's Life Along the Hudson study, funded by a Heritage Grant. Learn more about a central study group's Photography Documentary. Read about the 7-8 Science Symposium.