Feynman School Blog

Albert Einstein claimed, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”  Not ones to take Professor Einstein’s opinions lightly, we are pleased to announce two programs at Feynman School designed to spark the imagination of our students.

First, Feynman School has partnered with Bethesda’s Imagination Stage children’s theater; having taken field trips to terrific shows at Imagination Stage, we upped the ante and are delighted to have Imagination Stage’s Mia Branco teaching drama at Feynman.  Students receive a passport that gets stamped for each new place they travel to on their dramatic journey.  So far our students are really having a blast, and eagerly await the weekly arrival of the exuberant Ms. Branco and her magic suitcase.

Second, Feynman students are buzzing about DestinationImagiNation®, an international program in which student teams solve open-ended “challenge” problems and present their solutions at regional tournaments.  Our students learn to think on their feet and work together as they devise original solutions to problems given a limited supply of time and materials (think MacGyver).  Thanks go out to Feynman dad Dan Serrano for volunteering to be an appraiser at this year’s Maryland West Central tournament to be held February 25th at Clarksburg High School.  Please don’t ask Dan for insider information on the instant challenges presented to teams, though, as appraisers do take a vow of secrecy.

As a side note, Professor Einstein was an audience member at Richard Feynman’s first doctoral student presentation (no pressure there!), as were mathematician John von Neumann and physicist Wolfgang Pauli.  Feynman later recalled feeling intimidated at first, but once he began talking about physics, he felt at ease, participating in what he viewed as an exciting exchange of ideas, on a level playing field.  We try to instill this same spirit in our students every day, facilitating an exciting exchange of ideas while respecting each student’s budding intellect—and imagination.

Whew!  Today (1/3/12) we completed our first day at our new Bethesda location and our students gave it a rousing thumbs up.  Our move was made possible by the strength of our school community, both figuratively and literally, and we are especially grateful for the manpower provided by Feynman dads: Bob Carey, Rob Gold, Jon Issler, Rick Krzysztofik, and Kevin Painter.  Hats off to students Madeline and Jacqueline Gold for their cooperation and patience while Mommy and Daddy were busily arranging the new rooms.  We also want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Emmanuel Lutheran Church for giving us a warm welcome.  So stop by and check out the new digs!

We are pleased to announce that Feynman School is the recipient of a 2011 unrestricted grant from the T. Rowe Price Foundation and we wish to thank the foundation for this generous contribution.  Tax-deductible donations large and small enable us to maintain a need-blind admissions policy and provide a world-class early education for gifted students regardless of socioeconomic background.

Greetings!  We are excited to announce that Feynman School is relocating to Bethesda.  Our new campus address will be 7730 Bradley Boulevard, Bethesda, MD 20817.  (The nearest intersection is Seven Locks Road.)  We expect to complete the move by December 2011.  If you would like to volunteer to help with the move, we are especially looking for brawny types and people with trucks!  In any event, please come visit us for an Admissions Open House in Bethesda on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 at 6:30 p.m., or on Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 2:00 p.m.  Children are welcome to attend as always.  If you have any questions regarding the new location or to RSVP, please contact us at 301-330-9652 or drop us an email at sgold@feynmanschool.org.