THIS Thursday, October 5th, PPCS WILL BE IN SCHOOL. However there will be no buses and no lunch. Please make sure to send your student with a lunch! Any questions? Please call 208-882-3684.
There will be no school on Friday, October 6th.
A Word from our Director:
Martha Martin, our EL School Designer and I conducted classroom walkthroughs last week. We visited several classrooms and there seems to be a magical transformation since the first day of school. Kindergarteners gathered at the rug quickly and started their day with a greeting, they used eye contact, greeted each other by name and gave a high five. In the third grade classroom, students were conducting a “chalk talk” where they seamlessly went from poster to poster and added their thinking or responded to another students’ thinking answering specific questions without talking. Fourth grade students were working independently while a small group was engaged in an in-depth conversation. This transformation however, is not magic. This type of learning is the result of weeks of building relationships, setting classroom norms for behavior with each other, teachers sharing responsibility with the students and practicing routines and protocols, over and over again. If you visit the lunchroom, you will also notice students are learning the skills to take care of their space and act responsibly, while enjoying conversation with their peers. Our goals are grounded in the principles of building a culture of respect, responsibility, courage and kindness. This foundation is essential for positive collaboration, ethical interaction, appropriate participation and personal responsibility for one’s actions - skills which are necessary to be successful in life.
No matter how hard teachers work to nurture a positive classroom culture - building norms, setting up routines, engaging in communication and group work, and developing strong instructional practices - there will be times when things get a little messy or particularly difficult. Students bring their own experiences, stressors and quirks into the classroom with them every day, and interact in dynamic and unpredictable ways. It can feel like a pressure cooker and things can explode on occasion. There is no magic bullet for these situations. We embed foundational practices in our school to support all students so we can make the landing a little softer and the rebuilding a little easier. As a staff, we have focused on digging deeper into the research of Dr. Ross Greene and Heather Forbes to be more equipped on supporting students that have challenging behaviors in the classroom.
If you would like to read more about our approach to classroom management in the active classroom, check out this Ed Leadership article, where EL Education is highlighted. There are also great videos to see our approach in action too! Please let us know if you would be interested in attending a parent workshop, on our approach to discipline and supporting all students behaviorally, by taking this two question survey.
Development Committee will be reaching out:
Parent volunteers working in conjunction with our Development Committee will be reaching out to all families in an effort to have 100% family investment in our school’s future. If you would like us to refrain from providing the Development Committee with your contact information, please contact the office at office@palouseprairieschool.org.
Student Lunch Account Balances:
Student Lunch Account Balance emails were sent out last week. They are generated through our database vendor, SchoolDex. The email will come from SchoolDex <jbranen@schooldexa.com>, and office@palouseprairieschoo.org was copied on the email. Please make sure to check your spam folder and make sure these emails are not being filtered. If you have questions about your student's lunch balance, please send us an email at office@palouseprairieschoo.org or give us a call, 208-882-3684. Thank you!
UI CALS Fall Festival:
The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences is hosting a community wide event from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on both October 14th and October 15th with a pumpkin patch, straw bale maze, and family fun for everyone! Please email the office for more information.
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