"Just as a system of roots supports and nourishes trees as they develop and grow, nurturing relationships with adults provide a foundation for young people’s development by offering them guidance, encouragement, and new opportunities. Cultivating strong roots nourishes young people and supports their development and growth. This podcast provides scientific insights from renowned researchers and experts that will help you build meaningful relationships with young people."

The first episode is a conversation with Dr. Angela Duckworth about her research into grit and work at the Character Lab - insights for parents and educators, based on science.

How do you define character?

We define character as everything we do to help other people as well as ourselves.

As an organizing principle, we separate character strengths into three dimensions. Strengths of heart, such as gratitude, enable harmonious relationships with other people. Strengths of will, such as grit and self-control, enable achievement. Strengths of mind, such as curiosity, enable independent thinking.

Character Lab also recognizes and supports a diversity of frameworks including SEL, whole child, and 21st-century skills.

ZOOM - INTERACTIVE WEBINAR

Speaker: Jessica Minahan, MEd, BCBA

December 1, 2022 | 8:30 am - 3:30 pm Central Time

With up to one in three children struggling with anxiety in this country, overwhelmed adults require a new approach as well as a practical and easy-to-implement toolkit of strategies that work. In the time of COVID19, and the subsequent societal changes, anxiety has become ever-present in students of all ages. It is probable that during a pandemic that heavily impacts everyday life, levels of anxiety in children and teens are even higher, and the possibility of subsequent trauma greater.

Through the use of case studies, humorous stories, and examples of everyday challenging situations, participants will learn easy to implement preventive tools, strategies, and interventions for reducing anxiety, increasing self-regulation, accurate thinking, and self-monitoring in students. Virtual classroom and traditional classroom examples will be shared.

Jessica Minahan, MEd, BCBA, is a licensed and board-certified behavior analyst, special educator, as well as a consultant to schools internationally (www.jessicaminahan.com). Jessica has over seventeen years of experience supporting students who exhibit challenging behavior in urban public school systems. She is the co-author of The Behavior Code: A Practical Guide to Understanding and Teaching the Most Challenging Students (Harvard Education Press, 2012) and author of The Behavior Code Companion: Strategies, Tools, and Interventions for Supporting Students with Anxiety-Related or Oppositional Behaviors (Harvard Education Press, 2014).

Learner Objectives:

1. Describe the relationship between anxiety and working memory

2. Describe why traditional breaks might not be effective for students with anxiety or trauma histories

3. Identify why common interventions may not always work for students with anxiety-related behavior

4. Enumerate strategies for reducing negative thinking toward writing

5. Participants will be able to enumerate strategies to promote initiation skills in students with work avoidance

Registration Cost:

Early Bird (Register on or before November 4th, 2022), $150

Regular Pricing (Register after November 4th, 2022), $175

Brave educators in grades 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7 started piloting new math programs after extensive discussion last school year. During the summer Math Retreat, a review of eight different math programs. We researched each, using EdReports for additional information and ratings. We settled on two programs to pilot:

Eureka Math

The Mascoma CIA is using a Math Program Review Rubric , (thank you to the Massachusetts DOE for this resource as part of their Curate Program - Curriculum Ratings by Teachers), to assess the validity of the pilot programs as well as our current math programs (Everyday Math and SAVVAS).

We will report out results of the pilots and rubric scores at a January faculty meeting.

Teaching Mathematics through Big Ideas in the Middle Years

• Live online: April 25, 2023

Teaching Mathematics through Big Ideas in the Elementary Years

• Live online: November 15, 2022

Please find attached the 2022-2023 MVRSD Assessment Schedule and resources

November 10 - ED (elementary & IRS Parent-Teacher Conference)

January 13 - ED

March 30 - ED

March 31 - Teacher Workshop Day

April 19 - ED (elementary & IRS Parent-Teacher Conference)

May 3 - ED