All around Mark's Meadow १०/२६/07

All around Mark’s Meadow:
The Principal’s view
Last week I had the opportunity to present the progress on our School Improvement Plan goals to the Amherst School Committee. I was joined by parent/guardian representatives from our School Governance Council and John Keins, our reading/language arts teacher. This update was included in the Family Handbooks that we sent home recently. I hope that you have an opportunity to look over the description of all of the collective efforts of the Mark’s Meadow staff.
As I reflected on our work of the past year I was reminded of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development’s (ASCD) recent call for a new compact to educate the whole child by putting “students at the center of the educational system and aligning resources to their multiple needs to ensure a balanced education for all”. The ASCD encourages schools to maintain their focus on all of the conditions that have been proven to be necessary for learning. These include a feeling of connectedness to the school community, a sense of safety and trust, and a broad, challenging and engaging curriculum. At Mark’s Meadow we strive to get to know each child as an individual with unique strengths and interests. As we work to ensure that each child has a solid foundation in the core academic skills, we also teach our students ‘habits of mind’ that will help them face new learning challenges throughout their lives. We want to make sure that our definition of a successful learner continues to be an expansive one. Our goals for our students are to not only be knowledgeable, but emotionally healthy, with empathy for others and the ability to express themselves creatively. As parents/guardians your insights are essential to our understanding of your ‘whole child’. Please continue to share them with us.
Nick

Important Events in November
You can call our special events line at 362-1308
for updates and cancellations.
November 6 - Parent Guardian Group 6:30 p.m.
November 8 – School Governance Council, 3:30 pm
November 12 – No school, Veterans’ Day
November 13 –School Committee, High School 7 pm.
November 20 – Diversity Committee, 3:30 p.m.
November 22-25 – Thanksgiving Vacation
November 30 – No School, Curriculum Day

Thank-you!
Thank-you to our PGG for buying mini-soccer goals for our playground! Seeing a ball go into a real net is very satisfying for the children and sure does cut down on arguments at recess।

Parent/Guardian Involvement
Our Parent Guardian Group (PGG) is sending home today a volunteer ‘sign-up’ describing the many different ways that families can support our school। Please take the time to consider one or more ways that you can help. Thanks.

Welcome Sarah!
Welcome to our new recess monitor, Sarah Tutun! She is a graduate student at UMass। Sarah has worked in a variety of programs for children including summer camps in Northampton, a third grade classroom at the Whately Elementary School and as a ‘big sister’ for teenage girls in the Boston area.

Treating everyone respectfully
The drawing at the top of the page was one of many that were done by Kirsten Lindblom’s fourth grade students to illustrate the Mark’s Meadow Code of Conduct.