The Final Chapter: Learning, Legacy, and Letting Go

spark studio

Mapping the Future

It’s been an incredible, heartwarming year. Believe us when we say — we’ve experienced every emotion you can possibly imagine. And personally, we can’t think of a better way to truly get to know and understand one another.

Each and every one of us has grown so much. Through every accomplishment and mistake, we’ve managed to strengthen all four pillars that TFS is built upon. Can you remember the four pillars?

Onward and upward we go, standing tall on the foundation that Spark has built. Thank you so much for trusting us with your amazing, beautiful people. It’s both an honor and a privilege.

We look forward to our final three in-person days together. We plan to head to Central Park Wednesday morning for some end-of-the-year fun. If you are able to help escort us over, please let us know. We’d love to have you.

SPARK ROCKS!!

lower elementary studio

That’s a Wrap—Or Very Nearly So!

From rehearsals to the history of “break a leg,” to the magic of performing on stage, we have learned so much this session in our Story Arts (with a side of Quest) Exhibition!

Thank you to all of you who supported us in this endeavor! To the parents who helped their learners run their lines, washed the paint from clothes, and helped with our last-minute backstage needs — we thank you!

You should know that our learners all agreed that there were many elements of this exhibition that were hard, but they also shared that these hard things were also interesting (and even fun!) as they worked to master and build their vision together.

The learners also created teams and worked together on creating slides about local pollinators with facts about them. Please take a moment and check them out here:
https://theforest.school/pollinator-path-sculpture-draft

These slides will be up through the end of this session.

Please be on the lookout for your learner’s work from the year to be heading home in the next few days. Together, we have created, tried, failed, tried again — and LEARNED! What a year!

A reminder that we will have a short week next week and then our virtual learning days. Please see the Virtual Learning Days Plan for more details on this and summer reading ideas: Session 7 Virtual Work Plan

Thank you, and happy almost summer!

With gratitude,
Ms. Brooke and Ms. McKenna

upper elementary studio

Thank you to everyone who joined us for Tuesday’s exhibition!

It was such a joy to watch Lower Elementary bring Bug Beth to life on stage, and to see Upper Elementary guide families through the Pollinator Path experience they worked so hard to create. The learners received thoughtful feedback from visitors, which we reviewed together during our end-of-session reflection day.

As we wrap up the year, learners are putting the finishing touches on their Civ and Story Arts badges. I want to take a moment to thank all of our families for your partnership, encouragement, and trust. This year has been truly amazing, and I’ve been incredibly honored to guide your children on their learning journey. It has been a blessing I won’t soon forget.

While I won’t be returning to The Forest School next year, I hope your learners will consider adding me to their Dream Teams — I would love to come back and cheer them on at future exhibitions. And to our fifth graders heading into middle school: I’d love to invite you to apprentice with me next year in my new role as a field historian. You’ve got bright futures ahead, and I can’t wait to see where your stories lead.

With gratitude,
Gage

middle school studio

Middle School Weekly Recap: Closing with Purpose and Reflection

This week in Middle School was a powerful culmination of hard work, creativity, and growth. With our Mystery Show Exhibition just behind us, we used this final stretch to reflect, share, and begin to close the year with intention.

We kicked things off on Monday with one last round of expert coaching. Learners used this time to sharpen their performances and fine-tune their final rehearsal, preparing for a strong finish. On Tuesday, we hosted our final “New Haven” rehearsal and then opened the doors for our interactive Mystery Show Exhibition that evening. Learners stepped fully into character, engaging guests in an immersive story they had written, produced, and performed themselves. It was a true celebration of storytelling, teamwork, and creative problem-solving.

Wednesday offered space for reflection. Learners reviewed feedback from the peer survey, revisited their writing, and evaluated their collaboration throughout the session. These moments of honest reflection helped them better understand their own growth and the role they played in group success.

On Thursday, we wrapped up our Civilization studies with each learner writing a personal summary of the “history of the world.” These final reflections tied together themes we’ve explored all year — from ancient empires to modern movements — and showed how learners are connecting historical insights to their own worldview.

Friday was focused on closure and growth. We conducted an After-Action Review to process the year — what worked, what we’d do differently, and how we grew academically and personally. Learners also reflected on how their music compositions contributed to the tone and pacing of the Exhibition, analyzing the audience response and their own creative process in Story Arts.

Throughout Thursday and Friday, learners also presented their Practicals on Growth Mindset. Each learner shared personal evidence of how they’ve demonstrated mastery of perseverance, learning from failure, and taking ownership of their growth. Guides offered feedback, celebrating specific examples and helping each learner identify where their mindset continues to develop.

This week was a thoughtful and meaningful conclusion to our year. We are proud of the growth we’ve seen in each learner — not just in their academic skills, but in their confidence, creativity, and sense of self.

high school studio

That’s a Wrap!

What a week it’s been! Our Story Arts Studio has officially wrapped up for the year, and what a journey it was. After months of hard work, learning, rewriting, rehearsing, filming, and editing, our year-long short film project came to a powerful close — and we went out with a bang! From red carpets to real theaters, our heroes poured their hearts into this production, and the results were nothing short of inspiring. Well done, heroes — your dedication and creativity lit up the screen and our community.

In addition to wrapping up Story Arts, we’ve also officially closed out both Quest and Civilization for the year. Heroes have completed their final reflections and deliverables, and now we’ve entered the important process of transcript meetings. These one-on-one conferences are an opportunity to review badge progress, set goals, talk through summer plans, and confirm class standing. Whether a hero is heading into their junior year or preparing to step into their final year as a senior, we’re helping each one look ahead with clarity and confidence.

And what’s next? One word: fun. Next week is all about bonding, celebrating, and closing out the year together with laughter and memories. So don’t miss it — be here, be present, and let’s enjoy these final moments of the school year as a community.

Let’s finish strong.

Session 7: Year 7, WeeK 42 In Review