Gallery PhotosChayna Davis uploaded a great slideshow from our class Halloween party on the Gallery page. Check it out! What a fun day and one for the books...the day third grade set off the fire alarm with their super cool fog machine :) (whoops....no we know!) Thanks to Chayna for the photography and time spent uploading to our website! If you have any pictures to share send them my way and we will upload them to the gallery! Lice ReminderPlease check your child's head daily. Nurse Eileen says that it is easy to have cases of lice pop up after a class has been effected and that you can catch a louse very quickly! She recommends daily checks at home as the best prevention. | Homework ClubWe have started a great new program on the third floor of the Treehouse. Third through fifth graders are welcome to come to "Homework Club" each day after school from 3:45-4:30. The club will rotate between third floor classrooms each day and a teacher will be present to provide light support and a quiet, focused room for work. I highly encourage students to consider trying out this club! It's a great feeling to get work done before you go home- the rest of the evening is then free! This would be a great time for our third graders to complete their 30 minutes of independent reading time and log their responses. It would also serve as time for students to work on school projects! If a student is feeling behind or simply would like to have extra, supported time to work I encourage them to attend! Please let me know if you'd like your child to try out Homework Club. I can help them get settled in and suggest a project to work on. Oh yeah-it's free :) | Blog RespondingUsing a blog for classroom communication, rather than paper newsletters or group emails, allows us a place to share our thinking and interact as a group! It also takes some practice and habit building. -Please make sure you have subscribed to the blog so that you receive all updates directly in your email inbox. -Please read the entire blog carefully, respond to surveys as needed, and check out the resources and links I often provide (related to our studies!) Refer back to archived blogs as needed! -I encourage you to leave a comment! Let us all know what your thoughts are, ask questions about our content or how you can support us at home. Commenting helps to keep us connected and to have conversations about school. *Our students continue to post evidence of their learning on their student websites-check them out! Leave comments to let them know their work is being viewed and valued. (See previous blog for commenting tips and ideas). |
CharacterWorks Parent Talks
This Wednesday Evening from 7:30-9:00PM will be our first of two CharacterWorks Parent Talks. The topic will be "The Hidden Key to Encourage Creativity in our Kids."
In the last Blog post, I talked about the program and posted a Survey. So far, there are only 11 responses. The survey is still open, please click on the survey button to indicate your topic preference for the December talk!
I highly encourage all who can to attend. This will be a great night to learn some new strategies as well as to connect with our parent community.
Last year the 4th grade parents hosted the parent talks in their homes. Everyone brought a light snack or drink to share and they really enjoyed the more intimate setting. We will plan to hold the first talk, this Wednesday, in the classroom unless someone is up for hosting last minute! Please let me know if you would be interested in hosting the December talk in your home!
**Please RSVP for this Wednesday's talk by leaving a comment to this blog post. This will help us with our planning!
Details provided by Beaven Walters:
What is CharacterWorks? CharacterWorks is an educational program which encourages students in their social and emotional growth by utilizing the performing arts as a primary tool. The program was developed by certified teacher, parenting coach, and professional performing artist, Beaven Walters, and is currently in its third year at QAE. It is paid for by the QAE Parent Association and is part of the Social Emotional curriculum being offered at our school. This year is the first time the program is being offered in the 2nd and 3rd grade. For these grades, Beaven has created a custom program geared towards helping the students fully understand and make personal connections with the 5 Pillars of QAE. Additionally, the CharacterWorks program includes a component designed for the students’ parents with facilitated discussions about issues concerning their school-aged child and related to the topics covered in the student portion of the program. In short, CharacterWorks is part performing arts, part personal growth, and part parental support.
What is the purpose of the parent talks? These nights are for the parents to hear current information and research on a topic related to parenting and child development from CharacterWorks teacher, Beaven Walters, and participate in a facilitated discussion with the parents in their classroom community. They will come away feeling encouraged by their community and full of new ideas to use as they see fit in their families. There will be two parent talks on two different topics. A survey was sent out recently for parents to vote on which topics were of highest interest for the talks. All parents are encouraged to attend both parent talk nights if possible.
What is the topic of the parent talk nights? As with the CharacterWorks program the children are participating in, the topics for the parent talks are based around the 5 pillars of Queen Anne Elementary as they relate to parenting. Based on the results of the survey so far, the topic of highest interest is: Boredom- The Hidden Key to Encourage Creativity in our Kids. The topic of the second parent talk is TBD based on the results of the survey which is still active. There is still time to vote!
In the last Blog post, I talked about the program and posted a Survey. So far, there are only 11 responses. The survey is still open, please click on the survey button to indicate your topic preference for the December talk!
I highly encourage all who can to attend. This will be a great night to learn some new strategies as well as to connect with our parent community.
Last year the 4th grade parents hosted the parent talks in their homes. Everyone brought a light snack or drink to share and they really enjoyed the more intimate setting. We will plan to hold the first talk, this Wednesday, in the classroom unless someone is up for hosting last minute! Please let me know if you would be interested in hosting the December talk in your home!
**Please RSVP for this Wednesday's talk by leaving a comment to this blog post. This will help us with our planning!
Details provided by Beaven Walters:
What is CharacterWorks? CharacterWorks is an educational program which encourages students in their social and emotional growth by utilizing the performing arts as a primary tool. The program was developed by certified teacher, parenting coach, and professional performing artist, Beaven Walters, and is currently in its third year at QAE. It is paid for by the QAE Parent Association and is part of the Social Emotional curriculum being offered at our school. This year is the first time the program is being offered in the 2nd and 3rd grade. For these grades, Beaven has created a custom program geared towards helping the students fully understand and make personal connections with the 5 Pillars of QAE. Additionally, the CharacterWorks program includes a component designed for the students’ parents with facilitated discussions about issues concerning their school-aged child and related to the topics covered in the student portion of the program. In short, CharacterWorks is part performing arts, part personal growth, and part parental support.
What is the purpose of the parent talks? These nights are for the parents to hear current information and research on a topic related to parenting and child development from CharacterWorks teacher, Beaven Walters, and participate in a facilitated discussion with the parents in their classroom community. They will come away feeling encouraged by their community and full of new ideas to use as they see fit in their families. There will be two parent talks on two different topics. A survey was sent out recently for parents to vote on which topics were of highest interest for the talks. All parents are encouraged to attend both parent talk nights if possible.
What is the topic of the parent talk nights? As with the CharacterWorks program the children are participating in, the topics for the parent talks are based around the 5 pillars of Queen Anne Elementary as they relate to parenting. Based on the results of the survey so far, the topic of highest interest is: Boredom- The Hidden Key to Encourage Creativity in our Kids. The topic of the second parent talk is TBD based on the results of the survey which is still active. There is still time to vote!