Goshen Center School
January 18, 2018
Instrumental Music Concert
Congratulations to the 5th & 6th-grade band members on a tremendous concert last Thursday evening!
Mix It Up Lunch at GCS
During Bullying Prevention Month, the 4-6 grade students participated in a “Mix It Up” lunch day, where they were randomly assigned to tables with other students, to promote inclusion and acceptance. The staff of Goshen Center School decided to continue monthly “Mix It Up” lunch the first Tuesday of every month. In our January lunch, the students practiced introducing themselves to someone new, and were provided with fun conversations starters, such as “What would you change if you were principal for the day?” or “How do you like to eat an Oreo?” It was a great experience to see the children eagerly participate in conversations with students from other grades and classes! The students provided feedback that the experience was “fun” and “it allowed me to meet someone new”. Hopefully, your child shared with you something they enjoyed about “Mix It Up lunch”! We will be incorporate this with our k-3 students later this school year.
Written by: Kristin Lutz, School Psychologist
The Rewards of Reading at Home
The seeds for success in the classroom are sown at home. Encouraging children to read at home is one of the most powerful ways that parents can support students’ learning. Just 15 minutes of reading at home per day can make a difference in students’ reading fluency.
Please check out the article below.
PUZZLES WANTED
This month, the theme of the GCS Makerspace is Jigsaw January! If you have unwanted puzzles, any size or age level, please consider donating them to our Makerspace.
Fully-pieced puzzles are greatly appreciated. However, puzzles that may be missing some pieces are also valued, as they can be “upcycled” and used for student creations. The possibilities are endless! Thank you so much for your support.
Mrs. Jennifer Fodor, Library Media Specialist
Winter Weather is Upon Us
Winter weather is underway and with that comes inevitable delays and cancellations. Please be sure that your contact information is up to date, so that the alert system, School Messenger, can notify you of delays and cancellations in a timely manner. If you need to update your telephone number or email address, contact Mrs. Contadini @ scontadini@rsd6.org or call 860-491-6020.
Also, please make sure your child has warm winter outerwear because we will try to go out for recess unless it is bitter cold.
Thank you.
Dates to Remember
Jan. 19-FNO-Fun Night Out 7pm-9pm-Goshen Center School(Grades 5 & 6 only)
Jan. 22 -PTO Meeting @ 4:00 in Gathering Room. Please Join Us!!
Feb. 7- Early Dismissal
Feb 9 - Fun Night Out (FNO) 7 - 9 p.m. - JMS for 5th & 6th graders
Feb 12 - BOE and Budget Meeting 6:00 p.m. - District Office
Feb 19 - President's Day - No School
Feb 20 - No School for students - Professional Development Day for Teachers
Tech Talk
Click here for Family Tech Tips for the Holiday.
Teaching for Artistic Behaviors (TAB). What is TAB? By Laurie Sweet
Greetings from the art world!
My initiative for teaching a new philosophy and different methodology, Teaching for Artistic Behavior (TAB), was inspired originally by attending the National Arts Education Conference in New York City (March 2017). I attended a presentation about Samantha Varain’s MA thesis, Choosing Creatively: Choice-Based Art Education in an Inclusive Classroom. Ms. Varain’s research showed 100% engagement by students in a choice-based learning environment. When I attended the Northwest Arts Council workshop at EdAdvance (Spring 2017), the TAB model, which was originally founded in Massachusetts over 35 years ago and is a “nationally recognized education approach in teaching,” was also a top topic of discussion.
Through TAB, students experience authentic exploration and learning practices that are interest based. Centers may vary but often include: Drawing, Painting, Collage, Fiber Arts, Clay/Ceramics, Sculpture, and Printmaking. In the Region 6 elementary art classroom, an additional center may include Mixed Media, in which more than one material is used in the artmaking process. TAB aligns with the workshop model that promotes student-centered choice-based learning through centers in the art room. Choice-based art experiences support multiple intelligences and learning modalities, which in turn generate student engagement.
All elementary students are now on the journey of art center-based learning. Primary grades have more modeling and introduction to skills for the success of experimenting with various tools and materials, while the upper grades have more independence in designing and implementing an Art Project Plan. There is an openness and willingness to make mistakes and to be reflective of self and peers during the process and the final product. While one objective is to strive to develop Craft (quality work with use of materials), other objectives include: Engage and Persist, Envision, Express, Observe, Stretch and Explore, Understand the Art World, and Reflect. These Studio Habits of Mind objectives are credited to The Art of Education, which link directly to the TAB mindset.
Students have been unpacking centers by experimenting with tools and materials and generating artwork that does not necessarily look the same as everyone else’s. There may be times that students create a similar project to learn a new skill, but more often than not, the art experiences may be messy as a means of revising. The TAB journey allows for mistakes, revisions, and abandonment of a project (at times) to allow for authentic and real-world experiences.
As past practice, most 2D art projects will come home, as a collection, in a portfolio in early June. The portfolio allows for work to come home undamaged and to house a body of work throughout the academic year for displays, art shows, and assessment. Students will keep sketchbook journals to include drawings and reflections of their process.
There will be projects and/or practices in the trying out of tools and materials that come home from time to time, but the real journey will be in student exploration of projects of interest. Please do not hesitate to volunteer in the art room or reach out to me at lsweet@rsd6.org. Thank you so much.
Of note: Donations of materials such as magazines, newspapers, cardboard, egg cartons, etc. are always welcome.