Dear GCS Families,
Happy fall and what a fabulous start to the school year it has been. It is so nice to see how settled the classes have become and all the wonderful fun and learning that is going on around the school. I hope families are enjoying classroom Curriculum Nights and beginning to learn more about the offerings, routines, and special features of your child’s classroom. We are all here to help ensure that the school year is the best it can be for all of you. Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us at the front desk with questions, worries, or concerns. We want this to be the best, most positive early childhood experience possible for all of you.
Each year, the school selects a theme that staff can highlight in our classrooms and curriculum. This year, our theme is “It All Adds Up,” with math as a special focus. While the school continues to embrace its philosophy of play and hands-on learning, and while math is always naturally integrated into each day, we will focus our attention with special events, activities and staff development in early math skills. The school is also adopting components of a new math program, “Eureka Math,” particularly for the Kindergarten and Pre-Kindergarten Programs. Eureka Math was designed by a team of teachers and mathematicians to expose children to math concepts to gain a deeper understanding, not only for solving problems, but of how the process works. Our goals are to help keep current with public schools and math trends, and also to introduce children to a program designed to build on what they already know and understand through a logical progression. The other attraction is that this program was created to align with state standards, rather than many other math programs which try to retrofit to them. A reminder is that we are just getting our toes wet with this math program and are still very much in keeping with our philosophy of touching, manipulating, trying and experimenting.
Fall and the beginning of the school year is a very busy time. Please enjoy this start to your child’s early education and embrace the many magical moments. We have many exciting events in store for you in the coming months, so please select ones that are meaningful to you and have fun!
Looking forward to a great school year!
Linda Kosinski, Director, Groton Community School
