Reed School's May Newsletter
Have a great summer! We will miss you!
Thank You for Six Amazing Years!
As you know, I will be retiring at the end of the school year. I have been blessed in my 35 years in education as both a teacher and building principal. Ending my career here in D92 at Reed School is bittersweet. I am grateful for the dedicated colleagues who have worked alongside me on this amazing journey. I know what I will miss the most about the job- the children. Being able to watch them learn and grow has left an indelible mark on my heart. I will forever carry those memories with me.
I'm looking forward to retirement and spending quality time with my family, catching up on my reading, and traveling to warm places. Thank you for your support over the years!
Cathy Slee
Teacher Appreciation Week
Social-Emotional Learning Focus: Self-Control: How to Help Your Eight-Year-Old Make Responsible Choices (Taken from PBS Kids)
Practice Cognitive Control
The area of the brain in charge of focus and attention and continues to grow into early adulthood. Encourage kids to read books, play games that require attention to detail, build complex block structures or jigsaw puzzles or practice a piece of music over and over again — these are all activities that will strengthen children's capacity for self-control.
Acknowledge When They Exercise Self-Control
When your child is tempted to respond one way but resists, acknowledge their self-control. This might sound like: "When your sister bumped into you, you were tempted to yell at her, but you stopped yourself! Good work!"
Change the Situation
A simple and effective strategy for self-control involves changing the situation to reduce temptation. For instance, if you're trying to eat nutritiously, not having sweets in the house makes it easier to make healthy choices. Teaching kids this strategy involves helping them thinking about in advance and what they could do to "change the situation." For example, ask them, "It sounds like sometimes you and your friend have a hard time settling down after recess. What could you do to change the situation?"
Teach Them Simple Strategies
Kids of every age sometimes feel overwhelmed by emotions or impulses, and they need simple tools that they can use to regain their equilibrium and make good choices. You can help children develop with similar simple, memorable strategies. If a child is struggling with a particular aggressive behavior, help them verbalize both what they can't do and what they can, such as, "When I'm mad, I can't yell or hit, but I can walk away, stomp my feet or squeeze my ball." You can also model the connection between mood and healthy eating, exercise and sleeping: "Sometimes when I'm frustrated, I eat a healthy snack or take a nap to help me feel better."
Summer Activities/Exploring the World Around Them: Why Children Still Need to Read (and Draw) Maps by Deborah Farmer Kris
In a GPS world, where synthesized voices tell us when to turn to get from point A to point B, do kids really need to learn how to read a map?
Absolutely. While many skills have become obsolete in the digital age, map reading remains an important tool for building children’s spatial reasoning skills and helping them make sense of our world. Temple University’s Dr. Nora Newcombe describes spatial thinking as “seeing in the mind’s eye.” Spatial skills are what allow us to “picture the locations of objects, their shapes, their relations to each other and the paths they take as they move.” Maps support spatial thinking by helping children visualize where objects, places, cities, and countries are in relation to one another. Quite literally, maps help them figure out their place in the world.
In a 2013 report on maps and education, National Geographic concluded, “Spatial thinking is arguably one the most important ways of thinking for a child to develop as he or she grows. … A student who has acquired robust spatial thinking skills is at an advantage in our increasingly global and technical society.”
Understanding maps is also freeing, says Dr. Julie Dillemuth, children’s author and spatial cognition expert: “When you look at maps, you are building a mental map. Mental maps are really important because it gives you freedom to navigate where you want to go” in face of inevitable detours, roadblocks, and GPS errors.
So when can parents get started? Even preschool children have the ability to understand the relationship between a map and the physical world, but they need guidance—someone to expose them to maps and teach them the basics of how they work. Here are a few tips and resources.
Mapping Books for Children
Picture books are a great way to introduce the concept of mapping and help kids develop spatial language. Here are six to get you going:
- Lucy in the City: A Story about Developing Spatial Thinking Skills, by Julie Dillemuth
- As the Crow Flies: A First Book of Maps, by Gail Hartman
- There’s a Map on My Lap!: All about Maps, by Tish Rabe
- Kat’s Maps, by Jon Scieszka
- Henry’s Map, by David Elliot
- Follow That Map!: A First Book of Mapping Skills, by Scot Ritchie
Digital Resources:
From interactive atlases to map-making tools, the web is filled with interactive resources that provide more than turn-by-turn directions. Use digital tools to . . .
- Explore: National Geographic has a multitude of mapping tools and activities, including lesson ideas for PreK-6, an interactive Kids Atlas, and a map-making tool. Google Maps is another terrific resource. Zoom in on your neighborhood and look for key landmarks. Toggle between the map and the “street view” to help kids figure out the relationship between an aerial map and what we see from the ground. Before going on a trip, use digital maps to plan and explore the route.
- Build: PBS’s Cat in the Hat Can Map This and That is a site that lets kids design and build their own indoor or outdoor map and populate it with objects such as furniture and trees.
- Watch and Play: PBS has developed map-related parent/child activities in conjunction with two Curious George episodes: Up Up and Away (Episode 1) and Curious George Takes a Hike (Episode 10).
Hands-On Activities
- Draw a Map: Grab some paper and crayons and work with your child to draw maps of places you both know well. Start with rooms in your home and then branch out to favorite places such as a local park. Use simple shapes to draw and label objects such as furniture or playground equipment. Take a walk around the block together, looking for landmarks to include in a neighborhood map. As kids get more proficient, encourage them to create maps of imaginary worlds or of places in their favorite books or movies.
- Treasure Map: After drawing a map of a room together, hide a special objectsomewhere in the room and then point to its location on the map. If they struggle, use spatial language to give clues, such as “It’s under a pillow” or “It’s inside a cabinet.”
- Talk about Directions: As you drive or walk together, ask them to anticipate where you need to go next. “Which way do we turn at this stop sign? Right or left?” or “How many stops are left before we get off the subway? Let’s look at the wall map.”
As you explore mapping with your child, you might just find that it reignites some of your own curiosity about the world and what it looks like. As Judith Schalansky, acclaimed author and map lover, wrote, “Give me an atlas over a guidebook any day. There is no more poetic book in the world.”
Reed's May Students of the Month
Reed students who demonstrate responsible citizenship throughout May will be celebrated in a very special way at the end of the month. Students selected from each classroom will be recognized for their outstanding efforts. Students nominated for this prestigious honor will have demonstrated the 3 B's (Be Respectful, Be Responsible, and Be Peaceful) consistently throughout the month.
The District 92 Foundation for Educational Excellence generously funded the lawn signs for this school-wide project. Look for Student of the Month signs soon in your neighborhood!
News From Physical Education Class
We are so sad to say, "See you later" to Miss Mane. We wish her luck on her journey to becoming an amazing PE teacher at another school. We have been working on volleyball during PE time. We have completed forearm passing, set and serve. We will be playing volleyball games for about a week. To finish off the school year we will be working on soccer skills. We do very basic skills. Dribbling and passing is our main focus. We play several games to practice the skills we learn.
This year field day is going to look a little different. We will be doing Field Day week that will take place during their PE time. Students will get 4-5 days of really fun activities. With construction going on we had to pivot and figure out an alternative for Field Day. It is still going to be a really great week to finish out our school year!
Now that it is getting warmer outside, just a gentle reminder that if you wear a dress or skirt to school, that you wear shorts underneath your clothes. Please don't hesitate to email us if you need anything!
Thank you so much!
Mrs. Kolcz and Miss T
News From the Art Room
News From the Music Room
The Second Graders are having a Pajama Party! Our Second Grade Musical, Pajama Party, is taking place on Tuesday May 23 at 9:45. Please note that the performance will be at Oak Prairie Jr. High School, due to the construction at Reed. Oak Prairie is located at 15161 South Gougar Road.
Our Composer of the Month for May is Irving Berlin.
Lost and Found
What's for Lunch?
News from the Media Center
This month, the library has been transformed into a book cafe! Students have been participating in book tastings from the following genres: adventure, comedy, mystery, historical fiction, and fractured fairy tales. Hopefully, it has turned our students on to some new books and series they may not have otherwise read.
During media time, we've been using our creativity! 2nd grade has learned how to use Seesaw and Google Sheets to create pixel art! 3rd grade has been using the Canva app to create logos and invitations! We have a lot of budding artists interested in careers in digital art or graphic design!
My power time groups have also been using the Canva app to create research presentations. 2nd grade has been researching states and has found some creative ways to present their findings: concept webs, comic strips, storyboards, etc. 3rd grade has been researching and developing their own walking tours. They have chosen a city, 10 tourist attractions, and informed us of the address, cost, highlights of each attraction, and a picture of each attraction. We've taken tours to NYC, Boston, St. Louis, Pearl City, Toyko, Turin, London, Lima, and Rome. I can't wait to plan my summer vacation!
Our club of the month has been "Readers Theatre Club". We've warmed up with some fractured fairy tales and silly poetry. Next, we'll be reading and performing the script "The Day the Crayons Quit".
Finally, congratulations to our 3rd grade math team! They earned 3rd place out of 33 schools in their final math competition and a 5th place overall rating in the state this year! They will be recognized at our upcoming May board of education meeting. Congratulations to: Timmy R., Ethan E., Ross H., Bradley S., Logan S., Brendan F., Julia B., Brielle G., Elie F., and Emma P.!!!
The STEAM Museum is Coming to Reed on May 8th!
What if You Could Bring a Science Museum Right to Your School?
Hands-on learning is one of the most effective ways for students to learn and retain academic material. With 12 STEAM-related hands-on exhibits suitable for students of all ages, you'll find jaw-dropping, mind-blowing activities that will augment your existing science and math curriculum and introduce new topics, fields of study, and technologies they’ve never experienced before. Not only does this program teach and demonstrate STEM topics, but we put the “A” in STEAM by opening up your students' right brains to the wonderful world of creative thought through activities that encourage creative and divergent thinking.
Interactive, Hands-On Learning
The STEAM Museum truly has something for all grade levels and interests! From building with magnets and programming a robot to 3D printing, we bring experiences to your doorstep that your students may have never had—and plenty of them!
Students are encouraged to explore the museum at their own pace and manage their time between exhibits that appeal to their interests.
The STEAM Museum Exhibits
We are committed to keeping the STEAM Museum a cutting-edge experience. Every year, we invest in new exhibits so educators can bring this program back year after year and always experience the latest technologies and most relevant activities. Whether a new exhibit or one of our classics, each exhibit will always help students experience important STEAM principles in the most entertaining and memorable ways.
Mark Your Calendar
Residency Day will be August 2nd from 7:00 am-7:00 pm