Teacher Margaret's "View From My Window" - October 30th

Dear Westfield,

A few weeks ago, Greater Good Magazine shared an article on the importance of bringing joy into classrooms. You already know this. I believe you chose Westfield for our commitment to a joyful learning community. I have heard from several of you about your children’s eagerness to come to school and the excitement they share with you about their day.

We know that joy comes from service. In our recent faculty meeting, we discussed ways to support families experiencing food insecurity. Look for more information soon as we talk with students about how to engage as a community in this important work for our neighbors.  

Our middle school social studies and history program is grounded in our Quaker values. 5th-grade students just finished their first unit on world geography, globalization, and social justice. Now they are looking at the creation of the United Nations. At the same time, they each pursue an everyday history topic like sports medicine, the rules of football, the telephone, or children’s fashion to examine how it has changed over time.

6th-grade students are demonstrating what they have learned about ancient India with a mapping project focusing on the five themes of geography. 7th-grade students are exploring the West African kingdom of Songhay. A part of their study is African religions and literature, leading to one of the most anticipated projects in 7th-grade - the creation of folktale masks.

Finally, 8th-grade students are focusing on immigration. They are in the middle of understanding the push and pull factors in the 19th and 20th waves of Russian Jewish immigrants to the United States. You will see all of this work on display on November 20th at our Celebration of Learning evening.

Our reading program leads to our writing program. Second-grade students have been reading Cinderella stories from around the world. Now they are writing their own Cinderella story. Third-grade students just finished their realistic fiction novel, Dyamonde Daniel (I hope all their parents enjoyed reading it, too!) Now, students are writing a personal narrative. They are using a story mountain model to help guide their writing - an introduction, building to a conflict or problem, and finding a resolution.

I want to thank all of you who have contributed to the Strategic Fund. We are well on our way to meeting the match. For those of you with children in the main building, I hope you have had a chance to see our new hallway floors and can imagine what our classrooms will look like when they too have this beautiful flooring. We have an Admissions Open House coming up in a few weeks. You are our best promoters. Please encourage your family and friends with children to come and see this school you love. 

In the Light,

Margaret

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November Query: What are you grateful for? How do you express gratitude?

Announcements:

• 10/31 Halloween Parades and Halloween Guessing
• 11/5 Meeting for Worship at 8:30 AM, come worship with your Prek-8th-grade children. 
• 11/8 Preschool Playdate - BYOC 10:00-11:00 AM
• 11/14 Admissions Open House - 9:00 AM
• 11/19 Family Council Meeting - everyone is invited
• 11/20 Celebration of Learning Evening