 |
|
|
|
|
“I sustain myself with the love of family.”
― Maya Angelou
Notable notes:
- Monthly Parent Meeting is this Tuesday, 7pm at TKG. As it is a PT Focus, we would like PTs who spend time in the classroom to attend.
- Fri April 11 is a Parent Participation Work Day. We will confirm work time based on teacher’s needs but plan for an early pick up to pick up plants that need watering, collapse classroom, and pack up outdoor plans.
- Spring Break is from April 14-25
This week was interesting for me as I spent much of each day conferencing with students in the hallway. I enjoyed our individual time together, but missed much of the whole group togetherness feeling. Until Friday, when I left for the CCPPNV conference. I offered goodbye hugs in meeting before lunch, but received exponentially more as I made my way to the door. I have to say, I’m teary eyed just writing about this experience. The love and compassion they expressed will remain as a lifetime highlight and reminder of why I became a teacher and the beauty of our TKG family. Little did I know that an hour later I would receive a video via text that compounded what I was already feeling. Your children fill my cup and I’m honored to know, love, and be loved by them. I look forward to meeting with you in the next two weeks to discuss their learning goals and journey at this point in our school year. Meetings
Place markers have seemed to work well with the spouts. Students have discussed among themselves how to trade spots, pillows, or taking turns. Aside from facilitating their card making suggestion I have been minimally involved as they are communicating with each other in positive and productive ways. Some suggested having flat cards to lay on the pillows, so next week we will make new cards and laminate them and give that a try.
Learning Projects
School Area has resurfaced and our learners have been excited to tackle directionality starting with Alice’s calligraphy lesson on the number 5 and letter S.
In math we continue to explore the number 15 (how to spell it, write it, and different ways to compose, decompose, and represent the number. Next week we will compare b and d as well as take a step back and look at number eleven.
Charlotte’s Web
I am thankful to have an environment that is flexible, as lessons do not always go as planned…this week we only read Chapter 9 and hope to read Chapter 10 and 11 next week. For those reading along, we may get to chapter 12, but know that it depends on our conversations and energy. Thank you for checking in with your sprouts on giving information before we read, they seemed less eager to give away information, yet still anticipating what was coming.
Emerging Plans
Walk for water: Based on responses, we will not participate this year — but it is an annual event so we may try again next year with more time to dig into the topic and prepare ourselves for the event.
Have a great week!
|
 |
 |
|
|
Tending the Garden
***Enrichment/After-School
Yoga & Drumming continue until Spring Break. Japanese continues until April 3rd. You can pay online or via credit/atm card at drop off (yoga is paid directly to Michelle).
***Parent/Teacher Conferences
Please contact Michelle immediately if you do not have a confirmed conference time. Thank you. In addition to teachers who are always available for inquiry and discussion, TKG offers 3 parent conference times throughout the year. This is conference 2 of 3.
***Supplies Needed
- Projector (for computer/ipad presentations)
- Open-Ended Dress Up Materials
- Blue Tape
|
|
|
TKG Principals
- CONSTRUCTIVISM, as teachers and parents, we provide the trellis on which students will build on their existing knowledge
- WHOLE CHILD, cognitive, physical and social/emotional are inseparable
- BRAIN SCIENCE, students are sensory learners, we honor each student’s unique developmental map
- CAPACITY BUILDING, nurturing creative thinkers who are encouraged to solve problems that serve our community
- COOPERATIVE LEARNING, small groups, low ratios, mixed ages and generations
|
|
|
|
|
Parent/Teacher Corner
Please contact John to re-schedule missed parent meeting and/or missed work day commitments. Thank you!
MON Mar 17
EL/MS/RD
TUE Mar 18 – Parent Conference Day
LS (8:30-11:15am)/AS(9:30-1:30pm) & MS (1:30-2:30pm)
WED Mar 19 – Parent Conference Day
SW & TV (8:30-11.15am)
THUR Mar 20
EC & TV
FRI Mar 21
SM & TS
Please contact John Schwartz with any questions or scheduling needs. |
|
For girls, friends form the center of their lives. Friends light up girls’ days in preschool, become inseparable in elementary school, and help girls in middle school develop their own, separate lives. As girls grow up, it’s not unusual for them to find best friends, break up, and reform friendships time and again. Looking on from the sidelines, parents (teachers) sometimes agonize over their daughters’ social lives. It’s hard to watch your girl lose friends, get hurt by friends, and even hurt friends herself.
Read on at PBS.org (click through to reach the ‘elementary school’ section)
|
|
|
|
|
From the TKG Office
- TKG OFFICE HOURS – Wednesday Mar 19 from 9:30am to 11:30am We meet at the round table in the courtyard or at Green Roast Coffee (depending on the weather) – we’re at either spot. Office hours where previously announced for Friday…they are confirmed for Wed, not Fri.
- Enrollment INFO Night is scheduled for Thur Mar 27. Please spread the news with your preschool and pick up a flyer if you’d like to post around your ‘hood. Registration is available here.
- New Student Visit – April 8th. New students, interested in enrolling at TKG, will visit us during regular school hours.
Thank you Families! Contact Trish or Monica with any questions. Click here to see our Google Calendar. |
|
The Four Agreements
1. Be Impeccable with your Word
2. Don’t Take Anything Personally
3. Don’t Make Assumptions
4. Always Do Your Best |
|
|
|
Community Resource – Capacity Building
What kids aren’t learning at school
Gwen Dewar, Ph.D.
Are undergraduates actually learning anything? That’s what some people are asking after reading a report by Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa.
Arum and Roska considered performance of U.S. undergraduates on the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), a test designed to measure a student’s skills in critical thinking, complex reasoning, and written communication.
Students took the test during their first semester in college and then repeated the test two years later. The results were disappointing. At least 45% of the students hadn’t shown any real improvements. Even after 4 years of college, about 36% of students failed to show significant change.
This doesn’t really mean the students weren’t learning anything. Presumably, they learned something about specific subject matter—like psychology, biology, English literature, or business administration. That stuff isn’t on the CLA.
But when it came to general analytical skill, students made surprisingly little progress…
Why? Click here to read ParentingScience’s Post |
|
|
|
|
 |
