Packing Lots of Fun into this Fall!

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Director Kitelet November 2017

Dear Families,

Well, the temperatures sure did take a sharp turn over these past few days.  We were getting spoiled with all of the bright sunshine and warmer temperatures so late into the fall.  The leaves are starting to change color and fall from the trees, and the darkness is descending on us much earlier in the afternoon.   The children don’t seem to mind and are just as excited to spend time outside on our Playscape. The turn of the season reminds us of the circle of life and all of the many lessons that we are able to teach young children during this change in our environment.

Breakfast Drive

A huge thank you to all of our families for helping and guiding young children to participate in the fall collection of breakfast items for Loaves & Fishes Pantry in the neighboring town of Devens.  Most children here at GCS celebrate and collect treats on Halloween, but the fact is many families surrounding us lack the most basic needs of healthy food items to start their day.  Can you believe that our small school collected 266.5 pounds of food to share?  That is just amazing!  Thank you for your kindness and the role you play that helps to instill empathy, kindness, and care in your children.

 Growth Mindset

As you read in my September Kitelet, we are continuing to embrace the school-wide theme, “Watch me grow!”, throughout the year.  In the spirit of our commitment to always helping our teachers grow, we are excited to be sending two staff this year to the national conference hosted by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) later this week.  Heidi May from the Aqua Room and Shelley Grove from the Blue Room will travel with over twenty thousand teachers, administrators, and early childhood education students to Atlanta, Georgia and choose from hundreds of presentations and exhibits and explore the latest in curriculum, trends, and research in the field.  They will then come back and share all that they have learned with the rest of their colleagues at our December Curriculum Day.  We continue to explore the “Growth Mindset” in our classroom interactions, activities, and language.  Please enjoy the attached poem, “YET” by Heidi Harrel, that clearly illustrates the messages that we are fostering in classrooms each day.  I am reminded of a story that a grandfather recently shared with me about when his grandson came home from school with the concern that he couldn’t spell like his friends.  After learning about the Growth Mindset concept, he was empowered to go home and reply to his grandson with the words, “you can’t spell YET”!!

The Power of YET Poem

Home Tour

And finally, the much-anticipated event of the year is finally here!  The 13th Annual Groton Community Home Tour is only 3 days away.  The lobby is hustling and bustling with grand chance baskets and items, ticket buyers, and the suspense of getting inside those beautiful homes that are displayed in the front hallway.  We hope you can come share in this exciting day, and we thank you for the amazing support of baked items, classroom chance basket contributions, and participation.  Even if you are not able to attend the tour, the school is open on Saturday morning beginning at 9am, so you can still come by for a complimentary cup of coffee and donuts, look through the chance items, and visit classroom vendors and artisans.    We even have a GCS Gourmet Bake Shop and an artisan who creates caricatures.   Chip Charlebois draws custom caricatures, and you can have one done for you or your child “on the spot.”  Come and enjoy in the fun and festivities while benefiting Groton Community School.

Thank You!

Thank you to Donna Haggerty for the beautiful plantings in our barrel at the entrance of the school.  It will be very welcoming to all of our Home Tour visitors this Saturday.

Thanks to the following GCS “bakers” who contributed refreshments for the Trustee Meeting last week:  Denielle Babey, Katie Bach, Donna Haggerty, Raquel Majeski & Katie Quinn.

We’d also like to thank families for their contributions to GCS last month:  The Haggerty family for staff snacks, the Keydel family for a large parachute, and to the Kuczer family for recyclables.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

Linda Kosinski, Director

 

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