The Weekly Bulldog
November 7, 2019
From Tim: The purpose of school
I like to reflect on the purpose of school, and it seems every time I do I come up with some slightly different twist. Many would say the purpose of school is to prepare children for further education, or for eventual employment. Some would say school is about more than that – it’s actually practice and preparation for life. I’m one of those, and yet it also seems to me that school works best when we embrace that school isn’t just preparation for life, it’s life itself.
While we’re busy planning curriculum and activities that give children a foundation for what they’ll need in the future, we can also remember that we don’t get these years back with our kids. Childhood is a magical time. Kids are not just adults-in-waiting. A child’s experience in school should reflect that value, with all the richness and variety life offers.
A recent morning I spent in the K-1-2 hallway makes the point better than I ever could. In the first room I visited, children were engaged in five or six different choice time activities, perhaps four or five students in each group. Everyone was busy, no one was left out. One group had just built an elaborate village out of the wooden blocks and were debating with one another about the next structure to be added. Another group was creating a house out of magnet tiles. Another constructed a race track out of cardboard tubes. Yet another group created a dinosaur community out of playdough.
In the second class, small groups of math students worked to calculate basic single digit sums. Some wrote equations on paper (8+5=13) and others used colored counters to build the sums. A teacher asked a student how he knew that 9 plus 7 was 16, and he replied, “That one’s just in my brain already.”
Another class was in the middle of a mindfulness and yoga session. Each child had their own yoga mat, and in silence they listened to the teacher’s calm language and instructions. I joined in time to attempt a few poses myself, with much less success than the students. The classroom had a beautiful sense of peace and tranquility about it.
Second graders in the fourth room were busy with reader’s workshop. Some were reading and reflecting on individual just-right selections and others worked on their book club book, about a group of kids who are sent back in time to convince Abraham Lincoln to pass the Emancipation Proclamation.
In the last of the five rooms, students were working on a project that blended art and science, a follow-up from a recent field trip to Sunflower Farm. Each child drew a picture of their own individual pumpkin – on the surface a seemingly straightforward activity. Yet the teachers coached students in everything from how to sit and hold colored pencils, to how to try various coloring techniques, to how to carefully notice nuances that made their pumpkin unique among the bunch. They were practicing “scientific drawing,” and children spent as much time observing and noticing as they did coloring.
There’s a great quote from Annie Dillard that I like that I’m reminded of when I see the richness of children’s experience at Stanley: “How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”
Best,
Tim
Top Five Things
1. Film Screening: "The True Gifts of the Dyslexic Mind"
Stanley’s Learning Resource Affinity Group invites parents to view and discuss "The True Gifts of a Dyslexic Mind." This film looks at the unique mindset of students with dyslexia as a strength and reframes a perceived weakness as a powerful tool. >>more
2. Schedule your Stanley gift for Colorado Gives Day matching
Your donation supports our teachers, campus, financial aid, off-campus programs and so much more. If you’ve made your gift already, Thank you! On Colorado Gives Day - Tuesday, December 10 - Stanley BPS will receive a pro-rated match for each contribution made from a $1M incentive fund. Preschedule your Colorado Gives Day gift anytime.
3. Got holiday greens & candles?
4. Middle School skills classes sign-ups due Monday
3. Thanksgiving Food Drive in Hambidge Commons
As we have done for more than 20 years, Stanley plans to help stock Families Forward’s food pantry for the holiday season - and bring cheer to families in our own community. In past drives, we have provided enough food to fill 75+ baskets! >>more
Upcoming Events
November 7
Stanley Pick-up basketball - Bricks & Brews
November 8
Parent Association Pop-Up Social
November 12
Learning Resource Affinity Group screening of "The True Gifts of the Dyslexic Mind"
November 11
First day of Middle School winter sports
November 13
November 16
November 19
November 20
Ordering for Lunches, Enrichments & Extended Day ends at midnight
6th-grade sections perform "The Tempest" (day & evening performances)
November 21
Last day for Stanley Thanksgiving food drive
November 22
November 25-29
Stanley British Primary School
Email: admin@stanleybps.org
Website: www.stanleybps.org
Location: 350 Quebec St., Denver
Phone: (303) 360-0803
Facebook: facebook.com/stanley.british/
Twitter: @stanleybps