Each year, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) chooses a different theme for Black History Month. This year, the theme is “Black Resistance.”  Lis…

While most of Asia celebrates the Year of the Rabbit, Vietnam celebrates the Year of the Cat. Lunar New Year celebrations emphasize family togetherness as well as good luck and prosperity for the c…

Synergy School students and staff had the exciting opportunity in February to participate in research that may benefit schools all around the state of California.  On February 14th and 28th, medica…

How do you squeeze more space out of a small school? Very delicately.  That’s what Synergy’s Buildings and Grounds Task Force discovered three years ago when it started looking into maximizing the …

This trimester, our history project was the Columbus Trial. We put Christopher Columbus as well as the other groups and people involved on trial. Our history teacher, Dominic Alteri, was the judge.…

In February, Synergy’s eighth-grade class traveled to Puerto Rico for a week of service-learning with Global Works. This class trip was our first class trip out of California since the start …

In a recent morning meeting, students in 8th grade took part in a simple activity. The prompt was to explain the work the adults in their family do—in the home, in the community, or at a paid job. …

Lively tunes and rhythmic clapping and tapping set the tone as students settled in for a morning of stories from award-winning storyteller Diane Ferlatte on Thursday, Sept 15. As students found sea…

Last year, in our virtual auction, the Synergy community raised over $45,000 for a lofty Fund-a-Need goal — increasing representation in our classroom libraries and engaging in professional develop…

Diwali is a festival of lights celebrated around the world by the South Asian diaspora. It is a religious holiday for Hindu,Jain, Sikh, and Buddhist people, and Diwali festivities can include anyon…

We recently sat down (virtually, of course), with Jessica Raygoza, Synergy’s learning specialist. We have known and loved Jessica ever since we joined the Synergy community 2 years ago, when she st…

On Wednesday, April 28, the Kindergarten through 5th grade classes enjoyed a warm and engaging Zoom visit with Victoria Sanchez, author of the picture book, Pilar’s Worries. To begin the meeti…

Roy Wise is a big reason we chose Synergy. Our daughter Evelyn is African American, and had never had a teacher who looked like her. When Evelyn got off her zoom interview with Roy and Rita, she sa…

One of the challenges of the pandemic is adapting community traditions to together on Zoom. Every February, the students and staff gather in the Big Room to celebrate Lunar New Year. Traditionally …

On Wednesday, following Synergy’s Lunar New Year celebration, children’s author and illustrator, Grace Lin joined the weekly Community Read Aloud. Lin has written and illustrated all kinds of books…

Early Monday morning, February 1st, a few students and staff started queueing up on the sunny sidewalk outside the school building.  “Have you ever picked your nose?” asked Becky Barmore, scho…

Judd Winick, local author-illustrator and creator of the wildly popular HiLo graphic novel series, brought laughter and life lessons to Synergy students on February 10, 2021, in a virtual…

One of the many reasons families choose Synergy is for the the warm and welcoming community. A community of families with diverse backgrounds, and parents with meaningful, important and creative pr…