Feeling Groovy

This morning Mia and I met on Roosevelt Island to tour The Child School. I had never been there before and getting there is a lot of fun. I took the subway into Manhattan as I do most days, but stayed on the train until 59th Street (usually I get off at Times Square and transfer to an uptown train for Harlem). I walked a few blocks up to 2nd Avenue at 59th Street which is where the 59th Street Bridge is. It is the bridge that inspired Paul Simon to write what many people call the “feeling groovy” song (interestingly, MS Word seems to recognize “groovy” as a word – huh?). This is also where one catches the Roosevelt Island Tram (pictured). After securing a cup of coffee for the ride at the diner on the corner, I found that when I swiped my Metrocard to enter the loading area that I got a transfer and thus got on for no additional charge (hooray for me).

I got a seat by the front window and enjoyed the view, which is in fact pretty groovy. The tram runs along side the bridge, which is an old art-deco affair spanning the East River, built of stone and some amazingly intricate ironwork. The ride only lasts for a few minutes, but it takes you up a couple hundred feet into the air then back down to the island. Roosevelt Island itself looks like it was once just a sandbar in the river, though now it has been developed into a charming little community. It has a free shuttle-bus service that runs you up and down Main Street (which seems to be the only street) and the whole place has the feel of a village, with incredible views, promenades, parks and lots of condos. The school is towards the northern end of the island on the Manhattan side.

The Child School occupies four modern buildings and has a real campus feel to it. It also has everything that you could ever want in a school – gyms, art studios, soundproof music rooms, stages, science labs, an organic garden, libraries, rock climbing walls, courtyards, soccer fields, and on and on and on. Most of all it was a real place of learning where the students were happy and safe. I was truly wowed! We were most interested in the kindergarten, which has six students, one teacher and one assistant teacher. They have a speech pathologist, psychologist, and OT on staff and appeared to use them very flexibly. Needless to say we are going to apply for Zachy for next September, as it seems like a darn good fit.

After the tour, the dog and pony show and questions and answers, we rode the tram back to reality-land and back to work. Today is a short workday for me, as I’ve lots to do in order to get ready for Overnight Monkeyshines – stay tuned sports fans!