Fieldston Upper’s City Semester Students Capture NYC Onscreen

Now in its second decade, the City Semester program at Ethical Culture Fieldston School encourages students to shape their own learning experiences and civic engagement through the lens of New York City. Led by City Semester Director Roy Blumenfeld and ECFS teachers instructing in their respective disciplines, the program takes students across all five boroughs to explore topics such as transportation, immigration, and arts and literature, right where these subjects come to life. 

In addition to community service work at public gardens and a final research paper addressing urban policy challenges, the program’s 11th Graders often take on creative assignments involving film or photography. In a new collaboration with Film Teacher Shaun Seneviratne, students recently documented a day in the life of the City Semester experience through their own video clips. 

Capturing both the beauty of the ordinary and the diverse landscapes and perspectives found across New York City, the footage emphasizes how City Semester teaches students to apply active thinking to the real-life context of their classroom lessons. In the video below, sample work of City Semester students Max G. ’27, Farah S. ’27, and Loretta K. ’27 demonstrates this balance of reimagining traditional lessons in an immersive classroom.