Poughkeepsie Day School

To wind down the end of the year, we had an awesome PDS Field Day, where teams of students from all grades competed in a multitude of creative games designed by P.E. Teacher Lisa McVey! Together, they passed batons, tossed frisbees, planted flags, moved pretend space rocks, launched air rockets, and more, all while being cheered on by their peers and teachers! To cool off at the end, everyone got to eat ice cream and do multiple water balloon tosses. It was a day full of fun, camaraderie, and great teamwork. Everyone loved it!

Huge thank-you to Lisa for putting it all together!

On Friday, the preK and kindergarten ran a smash-hit full-service pizzeria with the Culinary Institute of America (CIA), aptly named “The Best Pizza!” The menu, complete with multiple toppings, vegan pizza, salad, brownies, ice cream, and strawberry lemonade, was developed and brought to life in collaboration with CIA students in our Cozy Kitchen. Our youngest learners hand-wrote the final menu on paper, including prices, as well as signs to advertise their restaurant.

Once the food was prepared, the preK and kindergarten invited guests—consisting of their families and schoolmates—into their classroom, showed them to available seats, and took orders! Each order was reported back to our friends from the CIA, who poured the drinks and fixed the plates. Before getting their food, customers paid what they owed to the designated preK cashier, many including generous tips. The class’s patrons were very satisfied with the service, and, after an appetizing salad, a main course of pizza, and choice of brownies or ice cream for dessert, they were stuffed! Overall, it was a very successful opening.

Huge thanks to Leanni, Chris, Amelia, Alex, and Prof. Taylor Reid from the CIA for helping create such a fantastic experience! It was a perfect way to conclude the preK and kindergarten’s year-long study of agriculture and food systems.

Congratulations to our 8th graders, who have officially moved up to high school! Today, the whole school celebrated them in different ways: the preK and K sang “2-4-6-8! (Who Do We Appreciate)” with the 3-4, the 1-2 shared their own poetry about each 8th grader, the 5-6 created scrapbooks based on their knowledge and memories of their 8th-grade friends, and a mix of classes delivered two separate Spanish song-and-dance performances! Tammy served as a fantastic master of ceremonies, introducing each group and giving her own emotional speech to the graduating class. It was a heartwarming celebration, and we’re so glad the whole community was involved. We’re all so proud of you, 8th graders!

We had a beautiful reveal of our 2025-2026 “dream bubble” today in the cafeteria! Brought to life by parent Christina Howard, the bubble is a large walk-in inflatable space with windows made out of artwork and writing by PDS students. It was constructed as an end-of-year celebration, reflecting on the past nine months and bidding farewell to our 8th graders as they move up to high school. The preK and K contributed drawings of what they want to be when they grow up, grades 1–4 reflected on their hopes and dreams they wrote at the beginning of the year, and our middle school students created art symbolizing the International Baccalaureate learner profile traits they have been learning about all year. Everyone got a chance to walk inside, surrounded by images emblematic of a great year. It was a gorgeous way for students to experience their own work and be reminded of how much they learned in 2025-2026!

Head of School Spiro Gouras has been meeting biweekly with the middle school Kenyon Planning Committee, a group of older students who want to help shape the PDS experience in our new home.

The committee has so far discussed uses of interior space, continuity of beloved PDS traditions like Winterfest and Thanksgiving, new curricular ideas, and, of course, recess! They’ve most enjoyed envisioning new quiet study rooms and what outdoor play will look like at Kenyon, even pitching ideas about dedicated grounds for specific sports. It’s been so great hearing their ideas; students are the most important voice in this transition.

Our preK and kindergarten had a fantastic time learning about the wonders of pollination with their friends from the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) last week! Guided by CIA students Leanni, Chris, Amelia, and Alex, our young learners participated in a variety of hands-on activities where they got to know more about different types of flowers and pollinators. They got to taste-test a diverse range of honeys with Alex, play pollinator bingo and match cards with Chris, pretend to be bees and simulate the process of pollination using household materials with Amelia, and craft their own flowers with Leanni. At the end, everyone was even gifted their very own bee plushies to take home!

It was an absolute joy for our PDSers. Thank you to Leanni, Chris, Amelia, and Alex for giving them an excellent active learning experience!

Christian’s 1st and 2nd grade Spanish class took advantage of the beautiful weather to expand their food-related vocabulary in a picnic activity! In the grass next to the playground, students made flashcards to memorize words for different types of food, learned how to discuss and describe what foods they like with each other, played Spanish food bingo, and even ate all the foods they’re learning about. Who knew Spanish class could be so fun?

We are completely blown away by our community’s generosity during Hudson Valley Gives yesterday! Due to your gracious support, Poughkeepsie Day School was able to raise $15,505 (out of a goal of $15,000) in one day to further our mission of creating transformative learning experiences that inspire intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, creativity, and compassion.

This morning, we were awarded an additional $1,000 by the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan, receiving the “Team Work Makes the Dream Work” 1st prize for our collaborative peer-to-peer fundraising efforts between PDS families, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends!

We’re so excited to see this support go to great use as we transition to Kenyon House and expand our PDS GROW program. This event has served as yet another reminder of just how strong our Poughkeepsie Day School community is, especially when we work together ❤️.

Let’s keep up this fantastic momentum for HV Gives! We have two generous time-sensitive matches from Board Members Max Owen-Dunow ’11 and Kate Grantz coming up. If you believe in the PDS mission and want to support the future of our school and community, today is the best time to give!

To make a donation, go to hvgives.org/organizations/pds (link in bio).

With love and gratitude,
- Poughkeepsie Day School

Today’s the big day! Hudson Valley Gives Giving Day just started and we’re already 30% of the way to our goal! Help us reach our goal by the end of the day to support 91 more years of innovative learning at PDS as we prepare for our move to Kenyon House. Go to hvgives.org/organizations/pds today to make a gift!