DECEMBER 4, 2015
Monday, December 7
School Committee Meeting- 6:00pm
Thursday, December 10
PTO Meeting- 5:30pm
Monday, December 14
Winter Chorus Concert- 7:00pm
~~~~~~~~~~
IN THE SCHOOLHOUSE
How old are you?
Last week I was eating lunch with the preschoolers, and the very sweet little girl sitting next to me looked at me with a big smile. “You look just like my great-grandma,” she commented. “Her hair is kind of white, like yours.” I had all I could do to contain my amusement, because this definitely set askew any notions I might have been harboring about eternal youth!
The schoolhouse is a place where we are confronted every day with the concept of age, and what a child is supposed to be able to do at a certain age. There is hardly a parent around who hasn’t paid attention to the developmental milestones that mark a baby and toddler’s progress in the early years, and who haven’t had a bit of angst when the milestones didn’t appear at the so-called ‘typical’ time.
The Common Core standards demand a great deal of very young children. I certainly do not recall being asked to write stories or to read even simple books as a kindergartener as children do now. Yet, when I was introduced to reading and writing as a first grader, I zoomed along, both because I lived in a house full of books and because I was developmentally ready to engage in reading and writing. When I watch our youngest students, I often wonder how I would have fared learning all of this as a kindergartner. I probably would have been able to manage it, but am not completely sure, because I was also the somewhat overactive little girl who was known as ‘chatterwalker’ (in other words, did not sit still) and who loved to take a nap when she arrived home from half-day kindergarten! On the other hand, my father learned to read at the age of three, taught by his doting grandmother, and almost immediately started to create poems. So is there a ‘right’ age for learning?
Until the mid-nineteenth century, most American children attended ungraded schools. When a graded system was introduced and became the ‘status quo’ of public education, it brought with it the dilemma of children not always fitting neatly into a particular grade. Sometimes a child has particular academic strengths or challenges, and children develop physically and emotionally at widely variable rates.
This is something we think about and discuss virtually every day at LES. We recognize that some children need just a little more time, and we work to make sure that appropriate emotional and academic supports are in place to help them along the way. In the same vein, we are rethinking how to provide continually challenging math extensions for students who show strong math aptitude. It is a constantly changing discussion as children’s needs evolve, not just every year, but every week!
So, while a bit of gray in my hair may have led a four-year old down a certain path, it only reminded me that the concept of age can be equally as subjective for us as educators. It is the moment when we need to put aside the straight-jacketed aspect of modern education, and focus all of our energy on the child before us. And that is the essence of teaching and learning at LES.
- Margot Lacey
Winter Clothing for Kids
Now that colder weather has arrived, please send your child/children to school dressed warmly for outdoor recess. This includes wearing socks, closed-toe shoes, and a heavier jacket.
If your family is having financial difficulty keeping up with the clothing needs of growing children, the Kimball Trust Fund is available to help you buy basic winter clothing for your children. The Fund was established in 1909 by Catherine Kimball to help purchase warm clothing for low-income Leverett families with children under the age of 18. Please contact Nurse Jill at 548-9144 ext. 3 to apply for financial assistance through the Kimball Trust to purchase winter clothing and boots for school aged Leverett children.
SPOTLIGHT ON . . .
REGIONALIZATION EARLY MORNING FORUM FOR PARENTS
Wednesday, December 9, from 7:45 to 8:30 a.m. in the LES Parent Room. Coffee and light refreshments will be served.
Did you know that TWO very important votes on this question will be part of the spring Town Meeting? This is an important issue that will affect all Leverett citizens, but especially families with school-aged children - like YOU!
Knowing that evening meetings can be difficult for parents to attend, we have arranged for an early morning meeting, so that more members of the LES community can become informed. Please come with questions, comments, and concerns. Childcare will be available for school age children.
Sarah Dolven, Chair of the Leverett School Committee, and Kip Fonsh, Leverett representative on the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee, will be there to give a brief overview of the status of potential regionalization of grades Pre-K through 12 in Leverett, Shutesbury, Amherst and Pelham.
WHAT IS REGIONALIZATION?
For the past sixty-plus years, the towns of Leverett, Shutesbury, Pelham and Amherst have operated under a Regional Agreement whereby the children from all four towns attend a Regional Middle and High School, both located in Amherst. Over the past four years, representatives from the four towns have been exploring the possibility to expanding the current regional district to include pre-K through grade 12.
The motivation for considering this expansion was the concern for the towns' ability to maintain continued high-quality education for all students in the face of declining enrollments and level-funded budgets. Many of you know that the sustainability of our schools has become increasingly challenging on many fronts.
In January 2015, representatives from the four towns, known as the Regional Agreement Working Group (RAWG), submitted a proposal to expand the regional district to the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee in the form of a revised Regional Agreement. The Committee is expected to vote on whether to approve this revised Agreement early next year, and if the Committee approves it, the matter will go to each of the four towns to be voted on at our annual Town Meeting in the spring. Leverett citizens need to be able to make well-informed decisions when it comes time to vote on this important question. Please contact Kip Fonsh at [email protected] or Sarah Dolven at [email protected] for more information. Also, you can find information about Regionalization at the Amherst-Pelham Regional School's website: arps.org. Click on the "Revisioning Our Schools" link, and then on the "Pre-k through 12 Regionalization" link.
Instrumental Music
The second trimester of instrumental music lessons will begin the week of December 14. Brian Bender offers private and group instruction (available to students in grades 3-6) on piano, trumpet, trombone, flute, clarinet, saxophone, drums, recorder, and world percussion. If you have any questions, feel free to contact him at [email protected]. Please register by Friday, December 11. Kate can send a registration form by email or home from school with your child
The Electronics Dilemma
A recent field trip presented a dilemma that has not been discussed very much here at LES, and we are at a point where we will need to establish some guidelines for use of electronics on field trip buses, as well as in venues such as our afterschool program. In the case of the recent second grade field trip, I received emails and phone calls from parents on both sides of the argument, particularly because this was one of our longer trips, and it became clear that we need to have a consistent plan.
The impact that screen time is having on children’s social interactions is something that educators are encountering with increasing frequency. Many parents feel that electronic devices are fine, especially if they reduce noise and restlessness in a situation such as a long bus ride. Concerns about ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ have also been raised, since not all children have access to different kinds of electronic devices. The monitoring of appropriate use of these personal devices is quite difficult for staff when several children use them simultaneously. There is a lot to think about!
I will be discussing student use of personal electronics with the PTO and the LES staff. It is important that parents participate in the conversation as we develop a plan for use (or non-use) of personal electronic devices here at LES, so I hope parents will share their thoughts, either through email or in person.
- Margot Lacey
COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD
(Items listed here are not school sponsored
Make & Take Craft Day: Montague Common Hall, Saturday, December 12, 9am-2pm. People of all ages can make and take home lovely gifts, enjoy homemade breakfast and lunch, and weather permitting, hang out by the outdoor fire pit. This year’s crafts include:
- Colored beeswax candles with unique wrappers
- Jewelry
- Lavender sachets
- Spin art
- Glass refrigerator magnets
- Shrinky Dinks for zipper pulls
- Window charms
- And more
Admission is free. Crafts cost between 1-10 tickets to make; tickets are $1 each or 25 for $20.
The Montague Common Hall, (formerly the Grange), is a community resource that houses the Historical Society, yoga classes, dances, concerts, weddings, birthday parties, theater rehearsals, workshops, and much more. Your gift-making at the Annual Make-and-Take Craft Fair helps raise funds that help maintain and restore this historic Hall - and you can have fun, avoid holiday shopping, and eat treats all at the same time. The Hall is located at 34 Main Street in Montague Center across from the town common.
Visit montaguecommonhall.org for more information.
I'm looking for a young person who could help with shoveling this winter - I have a plow service but, due to a neck injury, will likely need some help shoveling out my car, walkway, and mailbox - location is Long Plain Road between Montague Road and Long Hill Road. If you like being outside in the winter and want to earn some cash, this could be the job for you! Please call Lisa at 548-9691 if interested.
Free Guinea Pig + supplies (cage, house, water bottle, food dispenser, etc....). He's about 3 years old, healthy. Needs a new family who can offer him more time and attention. His current family is distracted by a new, crazy dog. If interested call Sarah (413) 540-3839
HAPPY VALLEY CHILDREN”S CHORUS CONCERT: “Funny Friendly Songs”
Sunday, December 6th, 1:30, at the First Congregational Church of Amherst
For children 4 and up!
contact Dorothy Cresswell: [email protected], 413-668-4189
Project WILD
Professional Development Workshop For Educators of Students in Grades K-12
Presented by: Dawn Marvin Ward & Kathy Richards
Date: Saturday December 5, 2015 Time: 9:00 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Location: Millers River Environmental Center 100 Main St. Athol, MA
Phone: (978) 248-9491 Website: atholbirdclub.org
Cost of Workshop: $15 per person
Pre-registration required: Dawn Marvin Ward [email protected] or (413) 367-9562
Registration deadline: November 24, 2015
Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to receive training in this award winning, interdisciplinary nationally recognized program! It is one of the most widely-used conservation and environmental education programs among educators of students in kindergarten through high school. The program emphasizes terrestrial and aquatic wildlife because of their intrinsic, ecological value, as well as their role in teaching how ecosystems function. Through the use of balanced curriculum materials and professional training workshops, Project WILD accomplishes its goal of developing awareness, knowledge, skills and commitment.
Workshop participants will receive a copy of the guide and a certificate of completion. This hands-on workshop has applications for school teachers, scout leaders, camp counselors, nature center staff, home educators, after care teachers, etc.
Project WILD is sponsored in the state by The Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife www.masswildlife.org
