March Principal Newsletter
Women's History Month is an annual declared month that highlights the contributions of women to events in history and contemporary society. The United States has observed it annually throughout the month of March since 1987.
Please share with our children famous women that they may not recognize as icons in American and world history like Nefertiti, Cleopatra, Nzingha, Loaiza Aldea, Elizabeth I, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Shirley Chisholm, Geraldine Ferraro, Sandra Day O’Conner, Mae Jemison, Sally Ride, Sonia Sotomayor, Mary McLeod Bethune, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Michelle Obama, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Thatcher, Oprah Winfrey, Emma Lazarus, Gabby Douglass, Gabrielle Giffords, Angela Merkel, Indira Gandhi, Madame C.J. Walker, C. Virginia Fields, Betsy Ross, Molly Pritchard, Ruby Dee, Maya Angelou, Harriet Tubman, Toni Morrison, Nikki Giovanni, Sandra Cisneros, Julia Alavarez, Celia Cruz, Antonia Novella, Dolores Huerta, Marie Curie, Winnie Mandela, Elizabeth Blackwell, Misty Copeland and the Mirabel Sisters.
Many times parents (and guardians) are asked by faculty, "What can they do at home to help their child be successful at school?" My answer is quite simple, "Get involved in what is taking place in your child’s classroom and school community.” You must share a passion for thinking, learning and being curious about the world we live in. Allow your child to see this infectious spirit to learn and question more about our world. Read with your child every day. Before, during, and after the reading, praise your child, direct a discussion about the story, ask questions, visualize the story, offer information, share personal reactions, and relate the story to life experiences. Most of all enjoy the story together and let your child see that reading is fun. Cherish this special time together!
Spring Parent-Caregiver Teacher Conference will take place on Thursday, March 15th. Please make an effort to attend either the day or evening session. Below are some suggested questions you can use to inform your meeting:
§ What academic standards do you use, and what do I need to know about them?
§ How is my child doing socially?
§ What are my child’s strengths… challenges?
§ What can I do at home to support what you’re doing in the class?
§ How will you respond if or when my child struggles in class?
§ What are the most important and complex (content-related) ideas my child needs to understand by the end of the year?
§ Do you focus on strengths or weaknesses?
§ How are creativity and innovative thinking used on a daily basis in your classroom?
§ How is critical thinking used on a daily basis in your classroom?
§ How are assessments designed to promote learning rather than simple measurement?
§ What can I do to support literacy in my home?
§ What kinds of questions do you suggest that I ask my children on a daily basis about your class?
§ How exactly is learning personalized in your classroom? In the school?
§ How do you measure academic progress?
§ What are the most common instructional or literacy strategies you will use this year?
§ What learning models do you use (e.g., project-based learning, mobile learning, game-based learning, etc.), and what do you see as the primary benefits of that approach?
§ What are the best school or district resources that we should consider using as a family to support our child in the classroom?
§ Is there technology you'd recommend that can help support my child in self-directed learning?
§ What are the most common barriers you see to academic progress in your classroom?
§ How is education changing?
§ How do you see the role of the teacher in the learning process?
§ What am I not asking but should be?
Educationally yours,
Reggie Higgins, Principal