Let’s Talk Math!

There’s math happening each and every day at East School. Over the past few months, kindergartners have been working to keep track of their counting to be sure they don’t miss any items or double-count.  First and second graders have built a repertoire of number combinations to support addition fact development and they expanded their geometric vocabulary as they learned about features of both two- and three-dimensional shapes. Third graders learned to analyze a set of numerical data using line plots to tell you what’s “typical” or if there are any outliers (and they have been growing in efficiency with addition and subtraction strategies). Fourth graders are continuing to extend their fluency with multiplication and division; they have even begun to solve problems that involve “leftovers” or remainders.

But did you know that parents have been doing math too?

Danielle Legnard, K-5 Mathematics Coordinator for New Canaan Public Schools, and our own Laura Main, East School math specialist, joined the math specialists from South and West this fall to host a K-5 Parent Math Workshop. Elementary parents from across the district were engaged in doing math together through interactive number talks and performance tasks. Parents learned about the Common Core State Standards in mathematics and were provided an overview of the shifts and implications for the NCPS math curriculum. Key shifts were highlighted and the new state assessment timeline was shared. The session provided an opportunity for parents to engage in mathematical discourse and learn how to support their children at home. The audience was given resources for practicing facts, problem solving and making math a family event.

If you would like to read the entire Parent Math Workshop presentations please visit our website:www.newcanaan.k12.ct.us/k5math

Click on Parent Math Workshop

Take a look and try some of the math yourself! Please let us know if you have any questions …

Hope all enjoyed a terrific Thanksgiving with family – looking forward to a wonderful winter now!

Take care,

Kris

A Celebration of Learning!

We know this has been a difficult stretch of time for many families. We hope all are warm and safe, and we look forward to moving forward with the year together just as soon as we can. In the meantime, we thought this would be an especially important time to celebrate the learning and growing over these past few months at East. Read on to hear more about the Celebration of Learning held recently to do just that. Our East students are amazing!

In October, we held our first Celebration of Learning of the year at East. Celebrations of Learning (COL) are held throughout the year – six times this year – to spotlight and celebrate as a school community the wonderful learning of East. Each fourth grade class has an opportunity to host a COL during the year. They run it all – from the powerpoint and announcements to crowd management (yes, we have fourth graders who can quiet an entire Galley of students in a matter of seconds with a simple signal). Thanks to Mrs. Shouvlin’s fourth graders for all their work to make our first COL a huge success.

All aspects of learning are celebrated at COLs, from academics to the arts to social-emotional learning. In October’s COL, second graders treated us to a Spanish song learned in their FLES lessons. Fourth graders from Mrs. Vandall’s class rocked on stage to a Halloween song that was perfect for the season, and fourth graders from Ms. Gesualdi’s class shared what they had learned about peer conferencing techniques in writing class. Our kindergarteners got the entire school up and singing to the favorite “Bubble Gum” song that seems to be a rite of passage at East. Ask your child to tell you about Molly Awards and of course the East School song too!

We also celebrated the Artist Spotlight that is a feature of every COL.  Take a look below at the kindergarten and first grade artwork featured in this October’s COL - certainly, there is much to celebrate!

It is wonderful to be able to celebrate as a school community both the effort that our students give to their learning and also the staff members that support and grow them. We are already looking forward to our next Celebration of Learning!

East School Mileage Club

Have you heard about the East School Mileage Club?

It's the latest recess craze at East School! Organized by our East School guidance counselor, Ms. Beall-Gomes, the Mileage Club is open to all students at East School during lunch-recess. The field has been lined to mark a 1/8th mile lap. Students can spend part of their recess time walking, running, skipping, or hopping the loop, counting their laps along the way. Eight laps total one mile - East students of all ages will tell you that now! And for every mile, students receive a colorful foot charm for their Mileage Club chain so they can watch their miles accumulate over the year. Each Friday, students are invited to wear their Mileage Club chains and feet  at school to celebrate their miles and our Mileage Club community at East. 

(Please note that Mileage Club chains and feet should remain safe at home on all other school days – this is for safety, to avoid distractions in the classroom, and to prevent hurt feelings from lost chains.)

In just our first few weeks of Mileage Club, the data is impressive - 85 out of 125 fourth graders were tallied doing laps on the field one day last week! The miles are adding up already. Teaching assistants are lending a hand with supervision and we have a class of students that will be tallying the totals each Friday. It is a school-wide effort.

Why the Mileage Club? It continues our attention this year to School Climate initiatives. Recess can be an overwhelming time of day for some children; it's a busy time on the playground, yet an unstructured time. While it is wonderful for young children to have the open time, for some students, navigating the social environment can be challenging. The Mileage Club offers an experience that offers children an activity that they can join as an individual, with a partner, or with a group of friends. As a Mileage Club participant at recess, one child can walk alongside another and make a new friend. And with so many children happily engaged in their laps, fewer recess altercations or behavioral issues have been noted. All with health and physical fitness benefits as well.

This fall weather is a perfect time to get started (if we could just keep the rainy days away) - encourage your child to head on out to the Mileage Club for a few laps each day!

Introducing …

 … the East Library Media Center!

You might have noticed (or heard from your child) that we have had some “trading spaces” activity at East over the summer to maximize learning opportunities for students. One of those changes was the move of our Computer Lab into the Library – creating the East Library Media Center.

The Library Media Center is an active learning environment each and every day. As grade levels attend their specials, there can be more more than 40 students at work in the library media center. Some might be seated at our new circular tables with Netbooks while our technology integrator, Mr. Polley, facilitates their learning. At the same time, across the room others might be meeting with Mrs. Stone, our library media specialist, to be introduced to the organization of the library shelves, to search for that perfect book to read, or to prepare a Google presentation about a topic of study.

The students have transitioned well to the adjusted space and they see the library has a place to grow and learn. Over the course of the year, the lines between computer lab and library will continue to blur … for instance grade 3 students can research social studies topics using Netbooks to find a wide range of resources. In the East Library Media Center, students are involved in lessons but they also have time for meaningful book discussions and independent reading as well!

Ask your child to tell you more . . .

Take care,

Kris

P.S. Thanks to Ms. Capone, our library secretary, for all her behind-the-scenes work in the library, and to Miss Foley, an East teaching assistant who supports our youngest students – kindergarteners and first graders – when they arrive. But that’s not all … we also have Martha Andronaco, East technology assistant, and a fabulous crew of parent volunteers who help keep the LMC running smoothly. Thank you to all!

East Writers At Work

All across East School, teachers are launching Writer’s Workshop and you might be hearing about Writer’s Notebooks from your child. What does that mean?

The Writer’s Notebook is a tool used across the grades to support developing writers in New Canaan. As we launch Writer’s Workshop, the Writer’s Notebook provides one vehicle for children to “live the writerly life” – that is, to do the work of writers, to live and think like a writer. It’s a place where writers brainstorm topics, draft, revise, edit, return to “old” pieces, and begin “new” seeds. In some grades, these Writer’s Notebooks are black-and-white composition journals. In some grades, these Writer’s Notebooks are actually folders for writing pieces that grow over time.

Students decorate their Writer’s Notebooks with photos, drawings, stickers, and other clippings that capture who they are, their families and friends, and their hobbies and interests. Why? Because one place young writers get their ideas – their seeds – for writing is from the world they live in and what they know best. A glance at a family photo can spark a wonderful memoir piece for a writer or a sticker of a favorite animal might launch a nonfiction chapter book.

One visit into a first grade classroom during Writer’s Workshop this past week brought to life the power and versatility of the Writer’s Notebook as a tool for students in our writing curriculum. One young writer had been busy drafting a story for several days that week, but on this day, he was frustrated. He hadn’t finished his original story, but he had a new idea for another story that he was eager to get down on paper for fear that he might forget it. He requested a conference with his teacher and shared his dilemma with her. She described to him how the Writer’s Notebook offered a perfect solution for him. He could pause his original story, turn forward a page or two and note his new story idea there. Having two stories in progress is one example of doing the work of a writer and it is possible with a Writer’s Notebook.

Here’s to more writing at East!

Kris

It's Monday Morning!

This Monday morning there was a buzz of excitement and anticipation as students and staff began their day at East. Why such excitement on a Monday morning? It was our first school-wide Morning Meeting of the year!

These school-wide Morning Meetings are new at East. They will be held each Monday throughout the year from 9:05-9:30AM as part of our ongoing school climate initiatives. Across East School children in every classroom will spend time in their Monday Morning Meeting greeting one another by name, undertaking an activity to build social emotional learning, and sharing thoughts or experiences with one another as classroom teachers foster a sense of community. As the year moves on, the Morning Meeting will also provide a time for the explicit teaching of behavioral expectations and social emotional curriculum; research points to the importance of explicitly teaching and practicing these expectations so we wanted to be sure there would be time for that instruction each week. Fostering an environment that is socially and emotionally safe and predictable in turn allows students to focus energy on academic learning and to take intellectual risks.

 Every adult in the building will be paired with a classroom for these Monday Morning Meetings ... yes, EVERY adult. This morning, our physical education teacher, Ms. Cassens, joined a fourth grade classroom for Morning Meeting.  Our custodian, Mr. Wils, joined a third grade class. Our FLES teacher, Senora Roth, joined a first grade class. Even our school nurse, Mrs. Accinno, and our secretaries, Mrs. Vallely and Mrs. Aponte, will take turns in classrooms too!  Why? Not only does this build community in our school, but it is intended to allow our children to form connections and trusting relationships with multiple adults in the building. These relationships are meaningful to children and become all the more important to them at times when they might need to reach out for support or compassion.

Ask your child to tell you about these Monday Morning Meetings … Who is your classroom’s Morning Meeting partner? What kind of greeting did your class do today? There will be more and more to share as the year moves along. (Your feedback is welcome too!) 

Have a good week!

Kris

Welcome to East School!

Welcome to East School!

Welcome to the 2012-2013 school year! We are excited to see familiar faces back at East (it seems everyone has grown a few inches taller over the summer!) and we welcome many new children and their families too. We have new families from New Canaan and new families from across the U.S. and the world  (New Jersey, Florida, Kansas, Washington, Venezuela, and more). We can’t wait to get to know everyone.

With so many new faces and families, we wanted to share a bit about “What Makes East School Great”. Last spring, our East fourth graders shared their reflections on East School in letters to some prospective new students and then captured the highlights in a “Wordle” (that’s the piece of word art you see posted above). It communicates the essence of our school – from our “Awesome Teachers” to “Fun playground equipment” and plenty in between. If you are a new family, be ready to hear more from your child not only about computer, gym, and other “fun specials”, but also about Celebrations of Learning, Molly Awards, and Golden Tickets. It will unfold as the year moves along!

As you can see, Bunny and I are venturing into the world of “blogs” this year … we hope to use this blog as a place to share snippets of “what’s happening” at East School across the grades. Each blog post will capture the learning at a particular grade or a school-wide endeavor to celebrate that learning as a community. We hope you enjoy and celebrate it too!

Take care,

Kris