Year-to-Date: 1,431; October 2023: 66.7; Last Week: 42.6
Putting in effort is so often the one factor of reaching goals or not. I think about how much more comfortable lazily playing a game or scrolling through my social media feeds or taking a nap would be than simply putting in the work to reach my goals. Part of perseverance is overcoming that inertia and getting to work. In the end, I keep in mind that any goal worth setting and achieving takes a lot of grit.
Setting goals, following routines, reflecting on progress, and achieving goals takes grit no matter if you’re training to climb a big mountain–like me–or you’re learning to understand and express yourself (and your learning)–like your child(ren). It’s these daily reminders that we give each other to boost our confidence and to show that, in our own ways, we are there for one another as a supportive community. On most days, making progress takes simply showing up and putting in as much effort as possible.
School is hard. School after a pandemic when learning and teaching was toggling back and forth between modalities is hard. School within the continuum of IB programs is hard, especially considering how expectations are not modified. Participating in workshops: Minds-On Math, Reader’s, and Writer’s with Unit of Inquiry learning engagements builds on goal setting, routines, reflections, and achievement. We had a great fourth week and please use the following link for details: G6 in Pictures W4.
Home Learning – aka Homework
Thank you for taking the time to check in and sign your child’s home learning engagements. This is a great way to partner at home with your child by encouraging them to talk about their approach to learning. This is also an important routine that helps them to be accountable for their learning with their family.
SMART Goals
Students set SMART Goals and revised their thinking and/or expectations through a SeeSaw post. Please take some time to speak about what SMART Goals are, how important they are, and why this routine creates a growth mindset. SeeSaw posts are on a developmental continuum and are a work in progress however once I have approved these posts they will be live.
Social-Emotional Learning
This week students gave a speech to each other as a front loading exercise preparing for Exhibition. Students had a set time–last week–to prepare and, then, a set time–this week–to speak on a topic of their choice whether they chose to work as an individual or within a group. This learning engagement was designed to model how students use their AtL skills and to provide a learning experience that students can reflect on. It’s our hope that by the time Exhibition actually happens, students will have developed many strategies to cope with the anxiety, nervousness, and worry that they feel now.
School Events – Important Dates
G6 WIDA assessments will take place from mid to late September. Please be reminded that all students must have a functioning set of headphones or earbuds and a fully charged iPad for the dates listed below.
- Speaking: Sunday, September 17 – Wednesday, September 20, 2023
- Listening: Sunday, September 24, 2023
- Writing: Monday, September 25 2023
- Reading: Tuesday, September 26, 2023