Teacher Margaret's "View From My Window" - September 11th

Dear Westfield,

The ice cream social was a resounding success. Thank you for coming to this first of many community events. As I write this, the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th-grade students are walking in from their Pinelands Adventure field trip. They are bouncing on their toes as they talk about kayaking on the Mullica River, hiking in the woods, and seeing a black fishing spider. For a few of our students, this was their first time in a kayak; they were nervous and then reported it was “Awesome”!!!! Leaning into discomfort can lead to discovering that something is fun, and gaining a sense of accomplishment and joy are the best parts of learning on any day.

pinelands adventure

On Tuesday, we had our first Lower School Gathering. Students in Pre-K through 4th grades came together to celebrate birthdays, talk about events at school, listen to a story, play trivia games, and of course, sing. Our Fourth-grade students are the leaders for this. They take turns standing up to talk about the weather, read off the birthday names, and call on students to answer questions related to the books or current events they share. This week, they introduced our SPARK program. SPARK stands for Spirit, Pride, Academics, Respect, and Kindness. Any student or adult can give another person in our community a SPARK. In our next Gathering, the fourth-grade students will announce who has received SPARKs and give them out to the recipients. Here are the first SPARKs on the SPARK bulletin board.

SPARK

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of reading with your children. For our youngest students, there is nothing better than snuggling up and reading to them. Whether it's a first-time book or a much-read favorite, this is a way to be together and talk about the book, the pictures, the story. Read widely. We live in a time of wonderful books on all topics and genres.

For early readers, take time to listen to your child read to you and continue to read to them. For more established readers all the way through high school, I believe in co-reading. Go to the library with your child, have them pick out books, and if possible, borrow two copies. Read them alongside each other; you can even take turns reading to each other. If your child doesn’t like the book after several pages, set it aside. This may mean you find yourself re-reading Goosebumps or discovering The Last Kids on Earth series. Your child may hate fiction, and you end up reading lots of biographies. The important thing is that you are reading with them and talking together.

I look forward to seeing you at our Back-to-School Nights.

If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions, please let me know.

In the Light,

Margaret

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