Hello Dear Families,
I hope this finds you well and ready for the week ahead. I look forward to seeing each of you at conferences this Thursday and Friday. I deeply value this time together to share all the wonderful gifts your child brings to our community and to continue to partner on behalf of your child. Children in the second plane of development often loose their sense of physical order and are, instead, building a strong sense of moral order. They become keenly aware and interested in justice and fairness. Children in this plane of development are also developing great mental growth in the form of unparalleled imagination and interest in the universe around them. During our time in conferences we will focus on both their social/emotional development and their academic interests. For more information on the characteristics of the lower elementary child look
here.
Over the past weeks we have witnessed the children take a greater sense of responsibility for their classroom, their work, and each other. This has come in the form of offering to be student tutors and experts for their peers, reflecting and finding solutions when they recognize we are not living up to our community beliefs, taking care of our physical environment and spaces, and succeeding and failing graciously together each day. One example of this follows:
In our classroom teachers use a chime to call the attention of the whole class. We do this for different reasons, one of which is to signal for quieter voices if it is getting too loud. However, in these past weeks I have used the chime less and less for this particular reason. Not because we are always peacefully quiet, but because the children have been asking for this peace and quiet themselves, without any request from adults. Often the children even ask for two minutes of silence if we are particularly loud at that time. They do so by holding up the peace sign, waiting for the class' attention, and then stating their request for peaceful quiet. I am delighted to see they are taking this initiative and asking for what they need. I always refer to the classroom as "our classroom", and am impressed with the responsible stewardship of this community of children; in times of success and in times of difficulty and challenge.
Cultural work is always a big hit with lower elementary children. First grade students are creative in their work with plant studies and calendars. Second grade children are nearly lost in their volcano work (make room for these final projects to come home in the weeks ahead). Third-grade students are exploring STEAM work through a study in push/pull forces (they will soon get to put their learning and ideas into action though an engineering project).
Reminders:
- We have a short week ahead. Please note that Wednesday is a half day, ending at noon. More details on end-of-day transportation and lunch will come tomorrow (note: there is no Big Canoe after school this Wednesday).
- You will see some classroom donation requests posted on our door during conferences. If your family is able to help in this capacity we are grateful and are happy to have those donations in the coming weeks.
- Don't forget to check the lost and found for any missing items during conferences (lost and found can be found just inside the entry door of the elementary building). Items remaining after conferences will be donated.
- Next week is a three-day week as well. On Wednesday afternoon, we will enjoy some time reflecting on our gratitude for friends, family and the Earth, doing some crafts together, and having some fun along the way. There is no need to plan differently for this day.
We are, as always, grateful for the honor to spend our days in community with your children. They never fail to inspire us and show us the best of what humanity can be.
In Appreciation,
Nadine
Below are pictures of one of our 3rd grade students, presenting her self-designed recycling project that aims to help us all be more informed and responsible stewards of our planet.
