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Winter 2009
Dear Atkinson Families,
As the calendar changes to a new year, I want to express to you how excited I continue to be for the future of your children and the Atkinson School. In a very short time, we have enhanced our school culture by taking to heart the values of RAISE: Respect, Achievement, Inclusion, Service and Empathy. Student, Staff and school families have practiced what we’re “preaching” on the importance of citizenship and contribution. We will remain steady with our efforts to RAISE the bar in order to help you RAISE your all-star youngsters.
Looking ahead, we will have many more opportunities to grow together as a community. At the end of the month, parents and loved-ones will take part in the Snow Ball, organized by members of the PTO as an enjoyable, adult-only activity that will allow for new friendships to develop and for older ones to strengthen.
In February, just before the vacation, our 5th graders will try to repeat as champions in the 3rd annual student vs. staff basketball game. It was a last minute win last winter for the young leaders of the schools. I hope this year’s crew will put in the same energy and effort. Regardless of the game’s outcome, I expect a great show of appreciation reciprocated for demonstrations of good sportsmanship and achievement. It’s an amazing thing to see and hear the students and adults from K-4 so involved in cheering on their favorite players.
In March, we are looking forward to another eventful Read Across America Week. We will again invite community members into the classrooms to read to our students. The kids love this! A number of other activities are being planned. One of the main attractions will be Marty Kelley, a local artist and children’s book author, who will spend a day in the school sharing his energy and his craft with the student body. We are able to bring Mr. Kelley to the school because of a very generous donation from the Atkinson PTO, so I thank them for once again for showing us so much support!
These are a few of the respectful community building activities that will be promoted with the students over the next few months. I cannot overlook the academic side of elementary school that will be presented and developed over the same time period.
Students in K-5 continue to be led toward experiences in all subject areas that pique their interests and that develop an array of skills, including their critical thinking. In my recent observations in classrooms, I have seen children challenged to make connections to previous learning in order to incorporate new knowledge and skills. In kindergarten, students are practicing phonics, letter formation, the manipulation of patterns and general number sense. In first grade, I have observed students engrossed in science activities on the properties of liquids and in math coursework that relates to addition and subtraction fact families. Second graders are learning about parts of speech and are incorporating them into paragraph writing. In third grade, children are studying the State of Massachusetts through different project-based work. I saw fourth graders finding the averages among numbers in a set. They were challenged to link the basic procedure to lessons on addition, division, fractions and decimals. Fifth graders were recently involved in the dissection of squid and in an active simulation that defined the concept of inflation for the youngsters. Of course, this is a quick snapshot of the teaching and learning happening at each level.
The new winter report card will be able to detail for you how your child is meeting the established grade level standards.
I encourage you to question your children each afternoon and evening about their school day. I know my own children aren’t very forthcoming with information, but I usually set a low limit of two things they learned at school, outside of their art, music or physical education classes. Usually, I am able to ask a few clarifying or probing questions before they shut down... :-) Of course, their homework is always a good indicator of what is being covered in a particular subject. Please keep in mind, when it comes to homework, the district policy mirrors what is accepted as best practice for take home assignments. If a child is in first grade, he/she should have about 10 minutes of work to complete. If your child is in third grade, he/she should be expected to work for approximately 30 minutes. Fifth graders should not have more than 50 minutes of work to do at home per night. If it takes more than that amount of time and your child is becoming frustrated, please make a quick note on the top of the work and the teacher will surely understand and will use that information to provide extra time and support to your child in school.
I hope you all have enjoyed the holiday season and have been able to relax a bit together. 2008 was a really wonderful year for the Atkinson School. With your support, I can’t see saying anything less about what’s to come in 2009. On behalf of the Atkinson School faculty and staff, I would like to wish you all the happiness and good health in the new year!
With appreciation,
Mr. Landry
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