Dawson Blog Archive

List of 40 news stories.

  • Modern Learning at Dawson: An Opportunity for Differentiation

    Nissa Reynolds, Dean of Student Services
    When I entered the field of education almost 20 years ago, I could never have predicted what awaited me in 2024. Certainly, longstanding joys such as watching new readers crack the phonics code, students mixing paint using a color wheel to make the perfect purple, or Lower School friends passing along a classic joke (“Why couldn’t the skeleton go to the ball?”) are ever present at Dawson. On the other hand, education in 2024 often feels like some kind of voyage into space – leaving the old precepts of teaching and learning to explore the unknown reaches of what students will need to know when they enter the workforce in 10 years, 20 years, and beyond.
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  • The Need for Professional Development: Dawson Educators as Forever Students

    Rachael Lachhwani, Communications Manager
    It would be irresponsible to educate the students of today using practices that are no longer relevant. Just as we’ve seen the landscape of education change, so have the needs of our students and their unique learning preferences.
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  • Making Time For Modern Learning in Middle School

    Dr. Brandon Wiley, Chief Academic Officer
    Awkward. Confusing. Change. Exciting. Turbulent. These are just a few words that often describe a student’s middle school journey. Adolescence is a time for self-discovery, change, and tremendous growth. With increasing social, emotional, and physical changes, middle school can feel a little like navigating a maze–filled with twists, turns, challenges, and uncertainty until you find your way out the other side. Most adults, when asked if they’d want to relive middle school, emphatically say, ‘No way!’ So, how can Dawson make these years different from the experiences many of us had? As educators, we strive to create an engaging learning experience for our fifth through eighth-grade students, meeting their current needs while also preparing them for the demands of high school and beyond.
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  • Belonging Isn’t Just a Marketing Strategy at Dawson

    Shea Phillips, Marketing & Digital Content Manager
    The thing is, every school refers to itself as a community. It’s embedded into our vernacular as educators – especially for those of us in marketing and communications. Some go as far as using the word family to describe themselves, suggesting a sense of relational closeness among members. While these words will easily attract prospective families and promote our school, have we thought about whether they truly describe the experience of our students, their families, and our employees?
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  • Rooted in Values: The Defining Thread of Dawson’s Throughline

    Roxanne Stansbury, Head of School
    Each year, Dawson selects a throughline that serves as a lens for the student experience. A throughline is a powerful mantra that helps learners synthesize new content tethered to our School Mission, Vision, Core Values, and Diversity Statement. It also takes thoughtful planning and integration. The throughline serves as the guiding principle that informs the design of our instructional strategies and learning initiatives, an alignment that strengthens the credibility and authenticity of the message when delivered to students. It enhances their ability to connect their sense of self to their academic experiences. The clarity and focus brought forth by this interconnectedness tie all elements of a student’s journey together, providing a unifying thread throughout the entire school year and making the learning memorable, engaging, and motivating.
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  • Design at a Distance: A Dawson + Dawson Collaboration

    Rachael Lachhwani, Communications Manager
    Innovation means finding new and impactful ways to create meaningful learning opportunities so our students are prepared to untangle life’s challenges for a deeper purpose. Dawson pushes the thinking about the boundaries of education and strives for outcomes that make our community and the world a better place. This is where our seventh and eighth-grade Tech for Good elective comes into play. Explore how Dawson introduces students to new technology devices and applications in constructive ways for innovative, motivating projects that demonstrate a positive impact – literally using technology for good.
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  • Director of EC-1 Amanda Murray-Musgrave catches a ride during Early Childhood's Annual Bike Day

    The Abundant Benefits of Bike Riding 

    Amanda Murray-Musgrave, Director of EC-1
    My father likes to jokingly retell the story of when he taught me how to ride a bike and how he questioned if I would ever learn. We both remember the skinned knees, him running behind me holding on to the big banana seat, and his letting go without my knowledge (until he yelled, “You’re doing it!”, which caused me to turn my head, panic, and promptly crash). Learning to ride a bike was an expectation in our house, and the countless “let’s try again” frustrations on both of our parts are embedded in our memories. My sister and I started with big wheels before graduating to bicycles with training wheels and eventually to two-wheelers. We biked for exercise, pleasure, and freedom, and I rode my bike to school every day as my mode of transportation.
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  • The Importance of STEAM Education for the Next Generation

    Rachael Lachhwani, Communications Manager
    Dawson’s real-world exposure to STEAM allows students to see value in using their creativity, explore diverse social elements through partnerships, develop the intrinsic motivation to succeed through passion projects, and promote mastery of a given subject through commitment and confidence. They research, brainstorm, and hypothesize novel solutions and achieve outcomes that hopefully result in positive and meaningful change. And we start early, embedding STEAM lessons throughout Early Childhood and Lower School so students have a solid foundation once they enter Middle School and are developmentally prepared to take on more profound, actionable projects.
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  • We Believe in Modern Spaces for Modern Learning

    Rachael Lachhwani, Communications Manager
    Each Dawson student is one of a kind and just as our approach toward world readiness has evolved, it’s now time for the physical landscape of our campus to follow suit. With the School’s commitment to philanthropy as the guide, our goal is to further enhance more innovative and creative spaces across our school campus that are designed to meet the modern learning needs of our students. 
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  • Unplug Your Child Before Bed 

    By Asti Ptak, Middle School Counselor
    In anticipation of turning in their phones to Advisory every morning, it is evident that our students’ lives are fully integrated with technology and social media. They pour into the halls while sending that final morning text or taking one last glance at TikTok. For children and teens, regulating phone use can be quite difficult in general, but it becomes especially challenging at night without supervision. 

    According to data from the Challenge Success-Stanford Survey of Adolescent School Experiences administered to our Middle Schoolers in November 2022, 55 percent of Dawson students go to bed with their cell phones. Allowing someone whose decision-making is still developing to keep a device in their bedroom can increase the temptation to scroll when parents believe they are sound asleep. The act of browsing before trying to sleep may have a detrimental effect on their rest. Unbeknownst to kids, the blue light radiating from their device decreases their natural levels of melatonin, leaving – according to a new study – almost half of America’s teens sleep deprived. The level of sleep deprivation has grown as student phone ownership has increased.
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  • Dawson NJHS students organize donations for the Foster Kinship Winter Wishes Initiative

    Purpose & Progress Through Service-Learning Projects

    Rachael Lachhwani, Communications Manager
    Each year, Dawson engages in a school-wide service-learning initiative that helps unite us in one purpose as one community. During the winter season, the School partnered with Foster Kinship to fulfill the Winter Wishes of local children. Foster Kinship’s mission is to strengthen kinship caregivers’ capacity to provide safe, stable, permanent, and nurturing homes for children so they do not enter the state foster care system and instead remain with extended family members. 
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  • The Purposeful Synergy of PBL & Play

    Jill Moschella, Lower School Program Coordinator
    At Dawson, Project-Based Learning (PBL) brings education to life for our students. Creative, playful inspiration bounces around the classroom while students actively absorb academic concepts that include design, critical thinking, data interpretation, collaborative planning, and compromise. And rest assured, the three Rs are always reinforced through PBL: knowledge of math is built upon, and reading and writing skills are challenged. 

    This fall, Ms. Greenspan’s kindergarten class endeavored to build a haunted house. Not just any haunted house, however. This house had to be large enough for at least one student to play. Thought-provoking discovery questions arose, such as, where should the windows be placed so all students can see? What should the roof look like? How many doors should be cut into the house? And so many more curiosities yet to be answered.
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  • Challenge Success: The Benefits of Developing the Whole Child 

    Rachael Lachhwani, Communications Manager
    In alignment with the Challenge Success philosophy, Dawson provides students and families with information and strategies to create a more balanced and academically fulfilling life for kids. We partner with families to help children strengthen their sense of self, increase their motivation and critical-thinking skills, and learn how to effectively deal with life’s inevitable challenges. 
     
    This fall, we had the distinct privilege of welcoming Dr. Denise Pope, co-founder of Challenge Success and senior lecturer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education, to campus to meet with families, faculty, and students. During the Parent University presentation, Dr. Pope explained the guiding principles of the “developing the whole child” approach and how Dawson applies the Challenge Success SPACE Framework to create a student-centered learning environment. She also shared the results of a recent Dawson student data collection and how parents can partner with the school community in support of creating the foundation that is necessary for children to grow into well-rounded, healthy individuals.
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  • Cultivating a Lifelong Love of Reading and Writing

    Lindee Witt, Dean of Lower School Academics
    Dawson’s robust literacy program nurtures a love of reading and writing through an integrated, relevant curriculum aligned with The Science of Reading research and Being a Reader and Being a Writer programs. We know using a common scope and sequence for phonics and high-frequency word instruction is beneficial for our students as they advance in their Dawson journey. The continuity of the routines, instructional practices, and consistent and concise language across grade levels is a strength of our program. And we are proud that it reflects what the research says kids need in order to become capable readers and writers.
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  • Level Up: The Driving Force Behind Dawson's School-wide Throughline

    Roxanne Stansbury, Head of School
    Dawson’s school-wide throughline this year is “Level Up.” The power of a community-accepted throughline can cultivate a mindset that encourages a lifetime of improvement, growth and the joys of becoming our better selves. Read more about the intention for this year's message in our latest blog.
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  • Early Childhood Butterfly Project

    Rachael Lachhwani, Communications Manager
    With Dawson’s commitment to modern learning, all of our families have heard the term Project-Based Learning (PBL). But they may not yet fully understand what it means and how modern learning is accomplished through the PBL process. The Early Childhood Butterfly Project, led by teacher Katie Figg, is one incredible example of how Dawson delivers this inquiry-based approach to teaching new information and demonstrating how learning takes shape.
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  • Dawson's Class Placement Process

    Roxanne Stansbury, Head of School
    Every spring as the school year draws to a close, there is a particular topic that begins to permeate the conversations of our Dawson students, teachers and parents alike: class placements.
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  • How Students Find Their Place After Dawson

    Rachael Lachhwani, Advancement Manager
    There is a big world beyond the walls of The Alexander Dawson School. The next step for our graduates is high school, and we understand the importance of addressing the academic expectations and needs of our outgoing students so they can continue to meet their personal potential in the future. And while our students experience myriad emotions as they exit the doors as eighth-graders, we are confident that they are prepared to meet the challenges of that big world. 
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  • Using Challenge Success Strategies at Home

    As Nevada’s first Challenge Success partner school, The Alexander Dawson School is in an important position to educate the community about this Stanford University-affiliated program and the role it plays in the lives of Dawson students. Dawson’s most recent Parent University discussion titled “The Well-Balanced Student”, led by Head of School Roxanne Stansbury and Director of EC-1 Amanda Murray-Musgrave, highlighted the Challenge Success program, what it looks like at Dawson, and some helpful ways parents can utilize Challenge Success strategies at home.
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  • Why the Dawson Community is Stronger Together

    Roxanne Stansbury, Head of School
    Each year, Dawson faculty and staff choose a throughline that helps anchor our greater purpose and keeps our community connected. Head of School Roxanne Stansbury shares her take on this year’s throughline, Stronger Together, and what it means to the Dawson community.
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  • Dawson Alum Profile: Lauren ('06) & Carmen ('08) Hollifield

    Shea Phillips, Marketing Communications & Events Manager
    When the Hollifield family relocated from Washington, D.C. to Las Vegas in 2001, Lauren and Carmen joined the Dawson community in the School's second year as fourth and second-grade students, respectively. Lauren graduated from the eighth grade in 2006 and Carmen graduated in 2008, and now 20 years after they first became Dawson Bears, both sisters have pursued advanced degrees and careers in medicine, crediting the Dawson experience with making a huge impact on their educational and professional paths.
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  •  Dr. Wiley is seen here mentoring a group of eighth-grade students during their end-of-year capstone project.

    The Academic Architect of Dawson’s Future

    Rachael Lachhwani, Communications Manager
    For the upcoming 2021-22 academic year, the School is incredibly excited to announce Dr. Brandon Wiley’s new title of Chief Academic Officer. The change for this position, originally Director of Teaching and Learning, is due to the large breadth of responsibilities and comprehensive understanding of student learning and success, educational research, and program integrity required and demonstrated to make ours a school ready for the future.
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  • How a Banana Helped Shape Dawson’s Community & Culture

    By Rachael Lachhwani, Advancement Manager
    Modern learning concepts are illustratively woven throughout our quarterly seventh-grade genius hour insights course, a class where students working in small, collaborative teams apply the design-thinking process to solve real-world problems challenging our community. Students use their agency and important critical-thinking skills to identify a unique learning path and discover outcomes based upon one simple challenge: How can we all work together, in partnership, to make Dawson a better place?
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  • More Than Just Competitive Gaming: Leveraging Esports As A Learning Experience

    Hubert Ham, Director of Innovation & IT and Megan Gray, Chief Communications Officer
    A new and emerging trend throughout K-12 education is the creation of esports programs. At The Alexander Dawson School in Las Vegas, Nevada, our esports elective course is one of the most popular. Now, a question: Did you immediately envision students mindlessly playing video games in a classroom for 50 minutes? We wouldn’t be surprised if you did. In spite of its global popularity and exponential growth as an industry, the term esports still evokes for many the image of hypnotized children playing video games alone in their rooms for hours on end. But those of us who teach esports courses and run esports school teams and leagues know that it is not only a legitimate sport, it’s also a terrific vehicle through which to teach a host of valuable education-based and interpersonal soft skills.
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  • The Parent-Partnership Dance

    Roxanne Stansbury, Head of School 
    Twenty-one years ago, I prepared for my first parent-teacher conference as a fifth-grade teacher at The Alexander Dawson School. With sweaty palms and a nervous stomach, I was intimidated to meet families who invested a great deal of time, energy, and money into their child’s education. Receiving the best education possible was a priority to these families, and I assumed this was their sole priority. I knew their expectations would be high and their questions would be tough. Those nerves lasted until I was about 10 minutes into my first conference when I realized we all shared the same endgame: We wanted their child to grow into the best version of themselves.
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  • This Isn’t an Upbeat Education Blog

    Megan Gray, Chief Communications Officer
    A Special Note (1/06/2021): Over the course of winter break, I wrote this blog about the challenges of keeping a school open during the pandemic, firmly believing that with some time away from campus to reflect on the year so far - more specifically, on the need to continue supporting each other through the next wave of the pandemic by “holding” one another - it would help me and others feel more connected and hopeful about the new year and new semester. I could have never anticipated that five days after we shared this blog, our community would suffer an indescribable loss with the tragic passing on New Year’s Day of a bright, vivacious Dawson eighth-grade student. 

    This blog uses tidal waves as a metaphor for the challenges that the pandemic has wrought; this was a different tidal wave to hit our campus and unlike all the processes and protocols we put in place to control some of the effects of the pandemic, there is simply no way to prepare for the loss of a life. Over and over, the sorrow and disbelief continue to slam into each Dawson student, family, faculty, and staff member who knew her. Our collective grieving has just begun, and the only way to work our way through it is together, as one school community. For me, the concept of holding is more real and precious than ever before, and we must continue to hold one another without judgment or expectation. It is in this spirit that we are resharing this blog post. While framed within the context of the pandemic, we hope the general emotions and thoughts the blog conveys are relatable on a larger scale and the resources shared on grief and holding are just as helpful. 
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  • Q&A with Dawson's DEI Instructional Designer Kelisha Everage

    Shea Phillips, Marketing Communications & Events Manager
    When The Alexander Dawson School reopened in August, the leadership team made clear the important goal to develop competencies and take actions that continue to build diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the Dawson experience. More than ever, it is important to take the words of Dawson’s Diversity Statement and Core Beliefs to heart as we work together to model for our children what it means to be agents of positive change. Together, all members of the School community must remain unwavering in our commitment to helping our children build communities where everyone truly feels valued, safe, and accepted.

    To help lead our community in this important work, Dawson faculty member Kelisha Everage has taken on a new role at the School: In addition to being a sixth-grade advisor and math teacher this year, she has stepped into a leadership position as Dawson’s diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) instructional designer. Learn more about her responsibilities and passion for this work in this Q&A.
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  • Parenting During a Pandemic

    Megan Gray, Chief Communications Officer
    When Dr. Michael Thompson, clinical child psychologist and New York Times best-selling author, began his Dawson Parent University presentation, he opened with a simple but powerful acknowledgement: In his more than 50 years of work with children and independent schools, this is one of the most challenging times for families he’s ever experienced. Whether a family is facing the loss of employment, managing health concerns, balancing working remotely in conjunction with a child’s distance education needs, or even grappling with the inability to see friends and family, the pandemic has made the grim trifecta of worry, stress, and fear a part of daily life for most of us. The demands on parents of young children in particular have grown exponentially, and a healthy work-life balance difficult to maintain, which makes how we care for ourselves and each other more important than ever. Yet, as Dr. Thompson notes, the most important thing parents must remember is they are not struggling alone.
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  • Discover Your Voice

    Megan Gray, Chief Communications Officer
    Untold Stories. Brave Voices. Courage Over Comfort. Discover Your Voice.

    To the uninitiated, it’s easy to assume these buzz words are trending hashtags you’ll find sprinkled throughout social media. But at The Alexander Dawson School, these phrases are our School’s thoughtfully developed throughlines, common threads that imbue our students’ learning with relevance and deeply connect us to our Mission, Vision, and Core Beliefs. In Dawson’s first Zoomcast of the 2020-2021 school year, Head of School Roxanne Stansbury and Assistant Head of School Andrew Bishop discussed this year’s throughline, Discover Your Voice, and why one common purpose as the foundation for what we do every day is more important than ever.
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  • Flexibility, Self-Talk, and Stamina: How to Immunize Your Child Against Uncertainty

    Nissa Pearson, Coordinator of Student Services
    During a pandemic, when kids face canceled summer trips, postponed playdates, and missed celebrations, how do we equip them to pivot when plans and routines change? The solution is building their executive functioning – soft skills such as cognitive flexibility, stamina, and positive self-talk–that will serve them as they transition back to school and encounter uncertainties during this new academic year.
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  • The Pandemic Opens the Door for Reimagined Learning

    By Meg Aumann, Kelisha Everage & Beth Vineyard
    Situated at the edge of the Spring Mountains and the Red Rock National Conservation Area, our 33-acre Dawson home of flexible space and modern learning abruptly shut down in March. We left our classrooms filled with tangible remnants of the Dawson Bears spirit and headed into an indefinite distance learning reality. Hard questions emerged about how we might maintain who we are as a school while managing a crisis that was beleaguering our community. We grappled with so many uncertainties: What’s a Google Meet? How will we persevere? How do we still continue to provide safe spaces for our students? How can we build connections, provide a climate of care, and allow equitable access to educational experiences through devices? Will we be able to recreate what is unique about our Dawson community, virtually? 
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  • Authenticity and Collaboration in an Online Setting

    Chris Estrella, Director of K-8
    Dawson’s pivot to distance learning is a differentiator. From planning to execution to content, our faculty is leading the way in how to design a program that is best for kids. In our latest Zoomcast episode on distance learning, we hear from Assistant Head of School Roxanne Stansbury, Assistant Head of School for Advancement Andrew Bishop, and incredible faculty members Matt Reynolds, Nikki Baker, Hung Le, and Simon Hunt on how Dawson maintains authenticity and collaboration in an online setting. This blog post will complement that discussion and include key examples and links.
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  • Introducing Dr. Brandon Wiley, Dawson's New Director of Teaching & Learning

    Roxanne Stansbury, Assistant Head of School for Teaching & Learning
    After an extensive and thorough nation-wide search of several prestigious candidates, The Alexander Dawson School is pleased to announce the hiring of a new director of teaching and learning as a member of our leadership team.
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  • The Importance of Wellness

    Meg Aumann, Director of Student Life & Diversity
    Cognitive excess. Digital overload. Grief and rebirth. Connection and isolation. The COVID-19 global pandemic has closed the curtain on life as we once knew it, and everyone is talking about the latest article, blog, or website that addresses our new reality. 

    The National Association for Independent Schools (NAIS) recently hosted a webinar in which experts predicted one of the biggest secondary public health consequences from COVID-19: mental health issues. The coronavirus pandemic has caused extreme anxiety by adding stress on families, particularly financially and emotionally, and has forced us to ask ourselves what an authentic, virtual relationship looks like. 
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  • Distance Learning: A Journey of Discovery

    Amanda Murray-Musgrave, Director of Early Childhood
    In the early twentieth century, American philosopher and scholar John Dewey said, “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” Perhaps, as our country embarks upon a virtual education journey due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this statement is even more relevant now than it was at the time. Schools across the country have been forced to quickly pivot their educational plans without notice, and administrators are challenged with determining if curriculum should be synchronous (students engaging in real-time lessons) or asynchronous (students completing lessons independently).
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  • Supporting Students at Home During a Pandemic

    K-8 Director Chris Estrella, Assistant Head of School Roxanne Stansbury, and Marketing Communications and Events Manager Shea Phillips
    As schools around the world close as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, families face the challenging task of transitioning to at-home learning for an estimated or indefinite period of time. Some schools are quickly pivoting to a distance learning module, as we have done at The Alexander Dawson School, while many are still figuring out how to continue educating and feeding our youth in the midst of so much uncertainty. Whether a school has the ability to provide at-home learning or not, we know our children’s routines and expectations and family life as we know it are significantly disrupted. Although some situations may present challenging behaviors, it’s important to remember all emotions are OK. Parents can incorporate the common language used in school, including Social Thinking vocabulary and the Zones of Regulation, to support children during this time.
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  • Keep Social Media In Check By Creating Balance

    Rachael Lachhwani, K-8 Program Manager
    Social media. Just the mere mention of it can elicit a collective groan from all within earshot. It’s the thing almost everyone hates to love, yet the thing in which almost everyone loves to partake. From pictures of our daily meals to throwbacks of our most embarrassing photos, it’s easy to fall down the rabbit hole when perusing your newsfeed or dreamily reliving some of your most favorite memories. Even as adults, it’s difficult to draw the line; I myself must admit that I am guilty of experiencing FOMO (or, anxiety and apprehension caused by the “Fear of Missing Out” for those of you who don’t know) when I see others having what I perceive to be fun in their online posts. Yet, because I am an adult, I also have the knowhow to realize when it’s time to put myself on hiatus and take a break. But are kids capable of this same self-awareness and understanding? Through the many ages and stages of adolescence, children and teens vacillate from adult-like independence to awkward self-consciousness, from curiosity about the vast world around them to introvertly locking themselves away in their rooms, from enthusiasm over family dinner to only seeking the approval of their peers. So how can we, as the adults in their lives, help kids strike a healthy balance? Enter Rosalind Wiseman.
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  • Let Kids Sleep In

    Chris Estrella, Director of K-8
    Dawson commits a lot of time and resources toward examining the student experience; every evaluation and decision begins with our students in mind. Whether it’s the class schedule, guest speakers, service-learning programs, facilities updates, recess, lunch menus, athletics, or homework loads, we constantly look for ways to improve and meet our students’ needs by asking, “How can we encourage  our students to build self-efficacy and support their wellbeing while also showing parents the value of a Dawson education?”
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  • Setting a Nightly Homework Routine that Works for Any Child

    Nissa Pearson, Coordinator of Student Services
    My favorite of the questions we pose to applicants during their admissions interview is: What do you want to know about Dawson? I’ve heard some pretty great answers throughout the years, such as, “How would you describe the teachers here?” Others’ answers have made me laugh: “How did they get the bear to leave those footprints on the sidewalk?” And one, from a child who had spent the previous weekend house-shopping with his parents, stumped me entirely: “How many square feet is the Dining Hall?” But after meeting dozens of applicants, by far the most popular question is: “How much homework will I have to do?”
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  • What Our Kids are Missing While They Stare at Their Screens

    Nissa Reynolds, Dean of Student Services
    There are pros and cons to growing up as the daughter of two clinical psychologists. Pro: Listening to them dissect the behavior of people around me made me an emotionally attuned, empathetic person. Con: No video games.

    “Atari turns your brain to mush.” That’s what they told me and my little brother, the lone kids on the block who couldn’t hold our own during Ms. Pac-Man tournaments in our friends’ basements, joysticks slipping around in our unpracticed hands like sticks of butter. It wasn’t until recently, as I began reading the emerging body of research regarding the effects of screen time on the young brain, that I realized my parents had given me a gift. 
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The Alexander Dawson School

The Alexander Dawson School at Rainbow Mountain, an independent school located on 33-acres in the community of Summerlin, is Nevada’s first Stanford University Challenge Success partner school for students in early childhood through grade eight. Utilizing the unique Challenge Success framework, Dawson uses research-based strategies and programs that emphasize student academics, wellbeing, and a healthy school-life balance to create more engaged, motivated, and resilient learners and leaders. At Dawson, students achieve their individual potential while savoring life and meeting the challenges of the world.