News for December 2, 2019
Thank you for your innovation to bring gratitude to the forefront of our students' minds. What special opportunities to celebrate our collaborative culture!
This Week at Brown School
12/2 School resumes
Tom visits for walk-throughs 8:30 a.m.
Spelling Club 12:10-12:35 in Media Center
Release Time Bible Class 1:05 - 2:20 p.m.
Yearbook cover art contest begins today Cardio drumming 4:15 in gym
12/3 Kristen @ conference - Denise covering
Access 8:10 in Media Center
4th graders to Kalamazoo Valley Museum 9am-2pm
Holiday Shoppe in Media Center
Y5/K Tech Meeting 4:15 - 5:15 p.m.
12/4 Kristen @ conference - Denise covering
Late start day (team time)
Holiday Shoppe in Media Center
DLC virtual meeting
12/5 Kristen @ conference - Denise covering
Holiday Shoppe in Media Center
1st/2nd grade tech meeting 4:15 - 5:15p.m.
12/6 Kristen @ conference - Denise covering
Class preview for the book fair today
Popcorn Friday!
Coming Up...
12/9 Book Fair begins 8:00 - 4:30 p.m. (runs 12/9-12/13)
Spelling Club meets in M.C. 12:10-12:35 p.m.
Nowicki to CAC 9am-11am Cardio drumming 4:15 in gym
Board of Ed meeting 6 p.m. at Central
12/10 Book Fair 8:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m.
3rd grade tech meeting 4:15-5:15
Family Night at the Book Fair 5:30-7:30 p.m.
The Nutcracker 1:30 p.m. & 5:45 p.m.
12/11 Late Start Day
Book Fair 8am-4:30 p.m.
12/12 Book Fair 8am-4:30 p.m.
4th/5th grade Tech Meeting VIRTUAL - details to come
12/13 Last day of Book Fair 8am-4:00 p.m.
Crazy Hair Day!
12/14 Staff Holiday Party at the LeClear's 6 p.m.
12/16 Spelling Club meets in M.C. 12:10-12:35 p.m.
Yearbook artwork due today!
12/17 Student Council Meeting 12:10 p.m.
12/18 NOT a late start day!
12/20 Holiday Concert @ SJHS for grades 2-5 9-10:30 a.m.
School-wide Movie Celebration 2:30-3:30 p.m.
Winter Break begins at the end of the school day!
1/10 "New Year, New You" parties 2:30-3:30
The Power of Positive Parent Communication
Jen McDonough
The Daily Cafe, Issue #593
It is important to have positive, supportive relationships with the parents of our students. When parents and teachers work together, children grow stronger academically and behaviorally. I always knew that, but a recent email that a friend of mine received solidified this belief for me.
I just wanted to drop you a brief note to tell you how impressed I am with your daughter. She is showing wonderful leadership skills in class. During group work, she keeps her team on task and helps to scaffold the students who need extra assistance. I am continually impressed with the answers and observations that she makes in class, and her involvement in our projects has been stellar. Thank you for being supportive parents who have raised her with an attitude of success!
Now, I agree that this kind of email can make your day, but my friend has been getting emails like this since her daughter started school. So, I decided to investigate.
Her daughter’s teacher had taken over for another teacher midway through the school year. She had just graduated, and this was her first teaching experience in her own classroom. She sent this email after teaching for only two weeks!
Let’s think for a minute about what was going on in this young teacher’s life. She’d just embarked on her first teaching job, taking over an already-established classroom. Yet she took the time to reach out and start a relationship with the parent of one of her students. My friend is now ready to jump in and support this teacher when needed. She said it wasn’t the content of the email as much as this teacher taking the time to get to know her daughter so quickly, and honestly sharing her observations with the family.
It is easy to overlook the value of parent communication during this hectic time of year. But this interaction serves as a good reminder of how important it is. There are many easy and quick ways to connect:
- a brief email about what you’ve noticed or appreciated about the child so far
- a note tucked into a backpack
- stopping the parent at pickup or drop-off to mention something positive that happened with their child recently.
- an encouraging message written on student work
- a quick text or message left on a cell phone
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| Morning Meeting in action! |
Using common language related to our social-emotional learning curriculum is key in helping our students to become more independent problem-solvers. Many of us may not be exposed to the We Thinkers and/or Zones of Regulation vocabulary, however, we are all helping our students to work through emotions throughout the school day. Please refer to the resources that Bri, classroom teachers, and I use when supporting our students. These were shared with families this week and at our recent PTO meeting. Just think about the power of our common approach!
