Dear PS 107 Families,
Yesterday, we had 30 principals from our district visiting PS 107 in order to learn more about our new English language arts curriculum, Wit and Wisdom. The principals, along with our district superintendent and deputy superintendent, toured nine of our classrooms and then attended a panel discussion with several of our teachers to learn best practices for introducing this new curriculum to staff, which they will be doing next school year. They were beyond impressed with what they saw and eager to have their teachers come to visit our classrooms as well.
I share this with all of you because I am just so proud of the hard work our teachers have been engaged in this year, learning and implementing a new curriculum ahead of the rest of our district. It has been no easy task, shifting the way that we teach reading and writing so dramatically, and I am truly in awe of the countless hours of thoughtful planning that our teachers have been doing. (ICYMI, read more about how we’re teaching reading and writing at PS 107 now that we’ve made the shift from balanced to structured literacy.)
Our teachers are also putting their own spin on our new curriculum, by building in meaningful, hands-on projects that allow students to be creative at the same time that they are solidifying the content they’ve learned. Check out the giant squid that Ms Shannon and Mr Brian’s class made out of papier-mâché as they are wrapping up their module on the sea, as well as the cityscape collage that Ms Sheri’s class made as part of their module on the five senses. Spectacular!
Our new English language arts curriculum is considered a “knowledge building” curriculum, and researchers are now understanding the critical role that content knowledge plays as children work to comprehend text. To learn more about this, check out Building Knowledge: What an Elementary School Curriculum Should Do by Natalie Wexler. (For a deeper dive, Wexler’s Knowledge Matters podcast is well worth a listen.)
Kindness Month
December is Kindness Month at PS 107! Stay tuned for some kindness tips from the PS 107 Kindness Club in next week’s letter. Our wonderful Kindness Club also left messages for the visiting principals and district staff yesterday. Today and everyday, try to do one kind thing for someone you don’t know very well. It can make all the difference for them — and for you!
Does Your Child Need a Remote Learning Device?
Finally, if you haven’t yet done so, please let us know if your child needs a device to participate in remote learning (should it become necessary because of a large snowstorm or other event making it hazardous to travel). We have limited devices available for distribution at school, but are committed to ensuring that all of our students can engage in remote learning. Please complete this survey if you need a device for your child to use at home. (If you received a school-owned device in previous years, please be sure that it works, and if it doesn’t, please return it to the school building ASAP so that we can repair it.)
Have a wonderful week!
Warmly,
Ms Joanna