Staff PD Round Up: Last week we got together as a staff to continue our equity work.
For the first part of our session we asked Amira El Amri, and inclusion assistant in Kindergarten, to talk about her experiences as a Syrian refugee. Amira talked openly about how war came to her neighborhood outside of Damascus, how she and her family escaped, and how she eventually came to the United States. As educators, we use her story as a powerful reminder of the day-to-day struggles that many of our families face. The more we can understand the experiences and perspectives that students bring to school each day, the better chance we have to help them overcome obstacles that get in the way of feeling connected and ready to learn.
For the second part of our workshop, Mike Feldstein led us through an exercise aimed at pointing out the unseen privileges that many of us enjoy without even realizing it. I share the following resources to give you a better sense of what this conversation was all about.
https://nationalseedproject.org/white-privilege-unpacking-the-invisible-knapsack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wf9QBnPK6Yg
Our hope and expectation is that teachers will continue to reflect about their practice. In this instance, we asked teachers to look for those places where unseen privilege may be taking hold so that we can begin to counteract the impact.
Title 1 Parent Night - On March 1st, we will be offering families a chance to learn more about the equity work we are doing this year. The focus of this workshop will be on sharing our diverse family experiences while helping parents to engage in potentially difficult conversations with our children about a variety of topics, including race, gender identity, family structure, and more. We will have pizza and childcare available. More details will be coming out this week. Please save the date.
CAS roundup - We had several presentations this week…here are a few highlights:
- Talking Cello - 1st grade - Cellist Nancy Hair demonstrates how music and words connect by telling a story using the special sound effects of the cello. The words of the story are then eliminated and only the sound effects remain, allowing children to trace the story by listening. Next, students write their own story as a group, which Sandy performs on the cello. During this interactive program, students use finger math, writing, and drawing skills.
- Shaw Pong Liu presents “Exploring China, The Middle Kingdom” - 2nd grade - Through song and amazing skill with the violin, Shaw Pong Liu shared several stories from different parts of China. The presentation was interactive and engaging for students.
- David Biedrzycki - 3rd grade - This creative and unique author and illustrator shared how he generates ideas and writes books exclusively using the computer. He uses humor to talk about writing, illustrating, the design process, symmetry, details about beetles, and more. Check out any of his titles, including: Ace Lacewing Bug Detective and Me and My Dragon
Progress Reports - Progress reports will be published electronically on Monday, February 6th. If you haven’t received an email already, you should be contacted by the district at some point on Monday with information that will allow you to log onto our Skyward system to see your child’s progress report. If you don’t get the email by later Monday, or if you have any trouble accessing the report, please contact me at mark_nardelli@newton.k12.ma.us or call the school.
Slide Recall - This is long overdue, but I wanted to officially inform the community that two of our slides on the older playground equipment have been recalled by the company. I don’t have a lot of information to share about when and how they will be repaired, but we are in touch with the city and the company to figure out next steps.
From the PTO
Horace Mann's PTO presents:
STAND BY YOUR MANN - a Country Hoedown
*An evening full of stompin' good times*
Round up: Saturday, March 11th - 7pm
at the Newton North High School Corral
Saddle up and put on yer' boots for a night of barn dancin', drinkin' & donatin'
SAVE THE DATE AND BOOK YER SITTERS
SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING NIGHT—A SUCCESS!
Thanks to everyone’s hard work, we had about 60 students in 45 teams show up for Science & Engineering Night -- projects included: the DAD Science of Lego Robotics, Borax Crystals, the Power of Air Pressure and Circuit Beats (electric circuits + fruit = music) – the creativity was inspiring! We had a visit from MIT ClubChem and they did some interesting demonstrations including: The Blue Bottle Experiment, Creating Glow-in-the-Dark Solution, and Elephant Toothpaste. All in all, a great turnout—special thanks to Kari Jensen and all the teachers who work to make this happen!
SPRING DATES to put on your calendars (before we all head out for Winter Break):
April 1: Horace Mann Talent Show
April 30: Newton Serves
Details to come!
