Dear Sexton Mt. Families:
Traffic was a
bit slower this morning because so many kids were wrestling science display
boards from the backseats or trunks of cars.
Children were certainly enthusiastic about their projects. I can’t wait to see what questions our
scientists investigated and what they discovered through the process. My most memorable discussions with kids so
far this week have been about what they have learned from failure. When things didn’t turn out as planned, our
young scientists have learned important lessons. I know the positive responses from
potentially frustrating situations are the result of family. Kids learn by example and when we point what
has been gained by the unexpected we build a growth mindset in our kids. Thanks
for helping kids analyze success and failure so that they can learn from both.
I hope to see
you Thursday for Family Science Night between 6:30 and 8:00pm. If your child didn’t complete a project this
year, know that they will be expected to do so someday. Checking out the projects now plant the seeds
for future projects so I hope you’ll come and get some great ideas!
Students may set
up projects in the gym on Wednesday, April 23 between 3:05-4:30pm. Student can also set up projects before
school on Thursday starting at 8:05am.
There will be a work party at 2:30pm on Wednesday in the gym so if you
are able to help set up tables between 2:30 and 3:00, many hands make the job
easier for all.
Friday is a
Staff Development Day so while there will be no school for students, teachers
will spend the day learning. Our focus
this time will be developing a deeper understanding of Common Core State
Standards in mathematics. Our teachers
will work with teams from four other elementary schools to develop a better understanding
of what kids need to know and be able to do in order to master a standard, how
to assess the standard and how to teach it.
Because the Common Core State Standards are a set of expectations we
want ALL students to master, teachers will also discuss strategies for reaching
100% success and what to do if students have already mastered a standard. This is a complex task that teachers spend
time daily working on but it’s a special treat when they have several hours at
a time to focus on the work with other teachers with similar positions from
around the district. Teams will continue
to work on this later in the spring and math standards will be our focus next
year too.
We continue to
have many things to celebrate at Sexton Mountain.
- § Esme represented our school last week in the District Spelling Bee and she won first place! She also received an honorable mention award for her essay for “Letters About Literature”, an Oregon State Library writing contest.
- § Our school had many semi-finalists for Letters About Literature, an Oregon State Library writing contest. Connor H., Will Z., Maire C., Julia V., Abbie P., Alayna J., Emma K., and Rachael O were amount the top writers in the 4th-6th grade group.
- § Jackson T., Elizabeth O., and Brendan C. will represent our school at the Oregon Writing Festival at PSU this spring.
Great things are
happening at Sexton Mountain School.
Thank you for sharing your children with us!
Fondly,
Dr.
Teresa Clemens-Brower
a.k.a. Mrs. C.-B.
Principal
THANK YOU-We are so lucky to have an active and
involved community willing to do special things for our kids. When we work together, our kids benefit.
- § Thanks to the Jaber family for a generous donation of hand sanitizer to our computer lab.
- § Thanks to the Neely and Naseem family for the donation of teacher snacks for our meetings Friday.
- § Thanks to the Murray-Scholls Starbucks for providing our staff with highly discounted coffee for our meeting Friday.
- § Thanks to Tiffany Hellum for organizing The Music Workshop experience for our students.
- § Thanks to Cheryl Contreras for organizing a Fire Safety visit for our students.
Wish List-These are things or jobs that make a
difference to our kids, teachers or school. Send in items or let Mrs. CB know
if you can volunteer.
• We will host a
meeting for 100 teachers on April 25. If
you can donate any of the items below, please let Mrs. Z. or Mrs. CB know. They will be very much appreciated!!!
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