Happy New Year! I trust that the holiday season was peaceful and relaxing for you and your family. As we turn the page on this New Year, we look forward to these next few months with great anticipation. Having successfully completed the first trimester, our students are now ready to make even greater strides. The pace at each grade level has intensified, and the students are stepping up to meet new challenges. Our staff is engaged in professional development designed to help us meet our school goals in Math Fluency and Social-Emotional Learning, along with our ongoing literacy initiatives. As a school and as a district, we are providing many opportunities for parents to receive valuable information and training in many of these areas as well. Please read on for important dates and programming information regarding our Parent Academy. We hope to see you at an event in the near future!
Parent Academy/Second Cup of Coffee Upcoming Workshops:
A popular feature at Washington School over the years, Second Cup of Coffee is a series of teacher/parent workshops focused on strategies that you can employ at home to help your child.
January 8 – 8:45 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Reading Specialist Mrs. Rachel Mejias and Grade 1 teacher Ms. Jennifer Krawiec will present Practical Strategies for Strengthening Emergent Reading Skills. This is recommended for parents/guardians of students in grades K-1.
February 5 – 8:45 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Reading Specialist Mrs. Rachel Mejias will present Tackling Non-Fiction Text. This is recommended for parent/guardians of students in grades 2-3.
March 4 – 8:45 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Student Assistance Counselor Ms. Emily Bregman and Mr. Mulcahy will present the second installment of Developing Resiliency and Independence in K-3 Children. The first session was very well-attended. It supports the school and district initiative related to Social-Emotional Learning.
March 18 – 8:45 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
Math Support Teacher Ms. Robyn Peck and Mr. Mulcahy will present a workshop on Math Fluency. This is recommended for parents/guardians in grades 1-3.
Washington School Partnership With Teacher’s College, Columbia University
We have continued our partnership with the Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project (TCRWP) for the
2019-2020 school year. As a partner school, a Senior Staff Developer from TCRWP is visiting Washington School for five days of on-site, classroom-based professional development. Our training is focused on the Writer’s Workshop Units of Study writing program. The staff developer provides staff coaching, demonstration teaching lessons, and overall curricular development and support. Modeled demonstration lessons are conducted in classrooms at each grade level. We have had training days in September, November, and December. Others are planned for March and May.
Classroom Yoga/Mindfulness
Throughout the school year, our Pre-K 3 through Grade 3 students and staff are participating in classroom yoga and mindfulness exercises under the direction of the team from Core Yoga for Youth. In all, each class will have eight training sessions. In addition to this activity, all classes participate in daily/weekly exercises that promote mindfulness and stress reduction.
REA/REF Denim Days
You may have seen/will see our staff members donning denim on select Fridays. Staff members make a contribution on these “casual Fridays” to raise money for two important causes in our school district. The Rutherford Education Association (REA) Denim Days are held to fund scholarships awarded to graduating seniors. The Rutherford Education Foundation (REF) Denim Days were held to raise money for gift baskets that were auctioned off at the REF Wine-Tasting event held this fall.