Best-Selling Author Tells “How to Raise an Adult”

Julie Lythcott-Haims, best-selling author of How to Raise an Adult and former freshman dean at Stanford University, spoke about the detrimental effects of helicopter parenting to a crowd of more than 300 parents and educators on October 28 at the Princeton Montessori School on Cherry Valley Road.

She discussed the need for parents to lovingly detach from micromanaging their children’s lives, emphasizing the toll that over-parenting takes on children and parents, including children’s mental health struggles and “learned helplessness.”

“We were so pleased to host this particular speaker, as Julie’s message about how to raise independent adults mirrors the philosophy of a Montessori education,” said Princeton Montessori Head of School Michelle Morrison.

Lythcott-Haims’ lecture and a workshop for educators earlier in the day were sponsored by Princeton Common Ground, a volunteer-led consortium of the parent associations of 16 local independent schools.

Mix It Up Lunch Day at Community Park

Community Park Elementary School (CP) students participated in a Mix It It Up at Lunch Day last week, sitting with someone new in the cafeteria as a way to start breaking down barriers, meet new people, find common ground, and learn new social skills.

A concept initiated by the Teaching Tolerance project, the event was organized by CP Psychologist Liz Marmo and CP Guidance Counselor Liz Cameron. Adults circulated to help encourage positive social interactions.

Littlebrook Celebrates Character Counts Week

Littlebrook Elementary School celebrated Character Counts week with visits from local dignitaries, who shared how their jobs relate to the Six Pillars of Character.

Among the visitors were Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert; Princeton Police Officer Jenn Gering; and Attitudes in Reverse Founder Tricia Baker and her trained therapy dog, Misha Silver Lining.

The Littlebrook PTO provided Character Counts shirts for every student.

Forty Years of Peer Leadership at CSS

The Center for Supportive Schools (CSS) of Princeton is celebrating 40 years of peer leadership and school partnerships in the Princeton-Mercer community with a benefit dinner on November 19 at the Nassau Club.

Since 1979, when Princeton resident Sharon Rose Powell created Peer Group Connection, a school-based peer leadership model that enlists students to improve the school experience for themselves and their peers, the peer mentoring program has spread to more than 250 schools across the country and beyond.

Local Student Wins Egyptian Skating Competition

The French American School of Princeton (FASP) eighth-grader Sophia Farajallah was awarded the first place figure skating medal for girls in the 13-15 age group in the Egyptian National Figure Skating Championship in Cairo last summer.

The event, sponsored and organized by Ice Skate Egypt, promotes and raises awareness of winter sports throughout the country.

Farajallah, 13, who has been figure skating since the age of 3, visits her cousins and grandparents in Egypt every summer, at the conclusion of the school year at FASP.

ESF Summer Camps Moves to Chapin School

ESF Summer Camps will move to Chapin School Princeton for the summer of 2020 and beyond, after 27 years at The Lawrenceville School.

“ESF is committed to designing one-of-a-kind experiences, exciting programs, special events, and great learning to ensure optimal impact on a camper’s growth and development,” said ESF Executive Director and Co-Founder Michael Rouse. “Our convenient, new location will give campers exclusive access to the school’s extensive facilities, while elevating our overall mission of youth development.”

Early enrollment opens on November 12, with further information available at www.esfcamps.com/princeton.