Summers-Knoll School

After 30 years, Summers-Knoll School closes today. Last Saturday, we held one final SK community event at County Farm Park attended by current and former students and their families. Thank you to the seven heads of school, members of the board of trustees, dozens of faculty and staff, and most importantly, more than a thousand students and their families who brought joyful project-based learning to life over the years.

What a pleasure it was to see our students take the stage of the Campbell Center for the Performing Arts on Friday night to share the gifts of music and art. We heard offerings from preschool through fifth grade and were delighted by a series of songs about spring in various languages, including Japanese and Hebrew. Our third and fourth graders sang and accompanied themselves on ukuleles, and our fifth graders presented a recital in the second half of the concert on their primary instruments. Intermission was an opportunity to peruse the ceramic works of the student body while enjoying refreshments. What a wonderful way to cap off this exciting, transitional year and to shine a light on the arts taking place in our elementary program! — Alexa

Last Saturday at Pioneer High School, Summers-Knoll students gathered to compete in the Washtenaw Elementary Science Olympiad, a county-wide celebration of hands-on STEM learning. Our teams tackled challenges designed to spark curiosity and build the kind of collaborative thinking that defines great scientists, engineers, and problem-solvers. WESO has long been a cornerstone of the Summers-Knoll experience and we look forward to honoring our students and coaches at the next morning assembly.

Last Friday, the 1st and 2nd graders presented a Capoeira performance at the morning assembly. The students first shared some historical facts about this art form, including how its origins are rooted in community traditions from the African continent, and how its presence in Brazil evolved from a prohibited practice to eventually becoming the country's national sport. Today, the Capoeira Circle is recognized as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO.

The students then formed a Capoeira Circle (called a "Roda" in Portuguese) to showcase how Capoeira combines music and movement through the flow of call and response, question and answer. Through their clapping and singing, they generated the energy and excitement that brought their peers forward to demonstrate Capoeira sequences for the audience, showing basic movements of attack and defense in a collaborative spirit.

Our 1st and 2nd graders demonstrated in a vibrant and engaged way how Capoeira brings all these elements together, not as separate pieces assembled into a whole, but as something holistic and ingrained.

Grand Friends Day brought joy to Summers-Knoll on Friday, April 24.

Following the welcoming reception, Grand Friends and students enjoyed an afternoon of yummy snacks, delightful activities, and connection: Preschoolers painted nails and Y5K created fabric flowers and flower pots with their Grand Friends' help. 1st and 2nd graders planted seeds, shared their homemade board games, and 3rd and 4th graders built whimsical "scribblebots," battery-powered motors that gyrated and scribbled fanciful designs across paper. 5th graders explored family traditions through questions and conversation, along with a student's cello performance of a song about Grand Friends.

Thank you to all the Grand Friends, students, and teachers for making the afternoon so memorable!

A visit to the middle and upper school campus gave lower school students the chance to see "La Petite Poule Française" (The Little French Hen) alongside Drama 6 and French 6 students. This lively folktale from Spinning Dot Theatre brought plenty of laughter, music, and memorable moments.

Summers-Knoll students lit up the 16th annual FoolMoon festival in Ann Arbor!

The celebration kicked off Friday morning with ArtMary leading the school luminary parade during the Arbor Hills campus assembly. That evening, students and families gathered on the UMMA front lawn before joining the larger parade through downtown Ann Arbor.

📚 March Is Reading Month Recap!

We are so proud of our Pre-K through 5th graders for wrapping up our reading challenge! From tracking progress with stickers to hitting massive milestones, our students truly went above and beyond.

🌟 Highlights:

Many students read 20+ books this month!

One incredible Kindergartener read a staggering 100 books! 🏆

Why it matters: According to the Notre Dame Center for Literacy Education, reading just 10 minutes a night adds roughly 1 million words to a child’s vocabulary each year.

Let’s keep that momentum going! Just 10 minutes of reading at home each day helps build confident, lifelong readers. 📖✨