Adventure Specialists' Advice
October 7, 2016
Thanks Again!
I just wanted to say thanks to all of you for your hard work during the end of the quarter. I know that there is a lot to be done and that these weeks are very stressful. You will likely be spending a lot of time over the weekend grading and trying to wrap up the first quarter, while at the same time moving full steam ahead into the second quarter. We won't have X blocks next week, so I hope that will give you just a little more time to fit everything in. I appreciate all of your hard work, and I am thankful that each one of you is a part of our team.
Parent Teacher Conferences
School dismissed at 12:30 - half-day schedule
Conferences in the library, 2-6
- report cards will be handed out
- keep each parent meeting to 10 minutes
- focus on learning more than grades
- Habits of Learning are a new addition to the report card, so be prepared to explain them
Important Dates
October 10: Grades verified by 8 AM
October 10: Combined Staff, 4 PM
October 10-14: School Safety Week
October 12: Parent-Teacher conferences; Students dismissed at 12:30
October 15-23: Mid-Semester Break
October 24: School and X Blocks Begin
October 25: Divisional Meeting, 4 PM, Rm. 23
Nov. 1: PD Meeting
Nov. 4: Ms Service Learning Day
Nov. 7: No School; Curriculum Work Day
Nov. 11: Remembrance Day Assembly (X block)
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Recently my daughter Lydia planted a beautiful herb garden in view of her bedroom window. She and Ruthie spent a Saturday morning clearing out weeds and getting the soil ready for the new garden. Next they planted seeds and cuttings. At first it looked like an unimpressive patch of soil, but now, weeks and buckets of rain later, the little herb garden is flourishing. Lydia’s proudly bringing me fresh herbs to add to our dinners, and even little Caleb enjoys going out to see how much everything has grown.
It’s part of being made in God’s image to enjoy seeing growth. Very much like creating a garden, you’ve been planting seeds of knowledge in your classroom. Think back to those first few weeks of school. You were clearing out weeds that had accumulated all summer and were planting seeds of learning. Now it’s time to stop and look at how much those seeds have grown.
Reflection and celebration play a vital role in our classrooms. It’s easy to get so focused on what’s next that we forget to celebrate how far we’ve come. As we wind down before the break and get ready for next week’s parent conferences, take some time to ask your students to reflect on the learning process so far. Where did they start? Where are they now? What can they be excited about accomplishing? This can be done in reflective journal entry, having students get in groups to share, or by creating a mind map. Take some time to encourage students about their growth and inspire them to desire to grow even more!
Susan Allen