Literacy NIght SUCCESS!!

Walnut Street would like to extend a BIG thank you to all families who participated last night in our Literacy Night focusing on journal writing!  We had many wonderful conversations and saw so many great moments of family learning!  At the end of the evening we had an exit slip asking for 3 things you would do with journal writing at home.  A compiliation of those exit slips is below.  There are MANY excellent family literacy opportunities in the list - pick one activity today to do with your child over the weekend!

Family Journaling Opportunities/Purposes

1. Draw pictures.
2. Make lists: grocery lists, Christmas lists, shopping lists
3. Ask questions.
4. Answer questions.
5. Share your feelings.
6. Share about your day.
7. Practice homework.
8. Write a recipe.
9. Remember a special time, trip, or memory.
10. Share you dreams.
11. Record previous events.
12. Be creative!
13. Plan future events.
14. Write a story.
15. Write something good that happened that day.
16. Keep a list of things you've read.
17. Record ideas.
18. To calm down
19. Prayers
20. Things that are going well in your life.
21. Things that are not going well in your life.
22. Birthday present ideas!
23. To practice writing numbers.
24. To think through a problem.
25. To give a note like "there is no more milk"
26. Record my achievements/awards/certificates
27. Record my adventures or plan adventures I want to have.
28. Keep my "to do's" in order.
29. To think through a problem.
30. To put my feelings on paper and understand myself.
31. To help with bad dreams.
32. To share what you learned that day.

What an AMAZING list of journaling opportunities!  Kudos to the families and students who participated in Literacy Night last night.  Your critical thinking has supported so many other in writing that families can engage in together!

Last but certainly not least take a look below at what some of our youngest writers have to say about journaling.  I think that they have articulated the essence of journaling very concisely!

1.  It is fun and simple! (too right my young friend!!)
2. You can write on a piece of paper.  (we don't need to get fancy folks:))
3. Get a journal and take a pencil and write. (in other words ... JUST DO IT!)
4. #1 Take it home and write about your day. #2 Write a question #3 (my favorite) Write important stuff!
5. Write on paper. (short, sweet, and to the point!)

Apologies

I would like to take a moment to apologize for some silly errors in the survey link that went out to families.  I obviously was not at my best after a full day and I'm embarrassed by my silly errors.  While I did review what was written I was paying more attention to content than spelling. 

Thank you for your honest feedback related to both the Mandarin Chinese program and the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programming.  We will use the data collected to continue moving our practice forward.

Amy Taylor

Thinker Thursday

It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men. ~ Fredrick Douglass

OPEN HOUSE

Calling all WSS families!!  If you know someone who is looking for a rigorous, exciting, unique educational experience for their elementary student we are hosting our fall open house for prospective families Thursday, October 20th from 5:00-6:00.  We will be hosting school tours and staff will be on hand to answer questions and talk about the great things that are happening at Walnut Street!

Thank you!!

We want to thank everyone for a wonderful fall conference turn out!  We heard from you and your learners that student led conferences were a great success!  It is so exciting to see students take such ownership of their learning!  Whether nervous or excited, unsure or confident, shy or bold ALL of our student's did a wonderful job of presenting their learning to the grown ups that care about them!!  We are looking forward to spring conferences and hope you are too!

Family Feedback Survey

Please take a moment to complete this brief survey.  The information provided will support our reflection on school wide systems and practices.  At Walnut Street we believe that all stakeholders should have a voice and we look forward to your feedback!
Click here to complete the survey

Conferences

Walnut Street School students and teachers are gearing up for 2011 fall conferences!  We are excited to transition to three way student led conferences this year.  Classes have been talking about and practicing to share their learning with their families during conferences.  Each grade level has given much thought to how conferencing will look and feel in their room this year and no two teachers will facilitate conferencing in exactly the same way. 

We are looking forward to feedback from families to support us in evolving our student led conferences for the future. 

Welcome!

As 21st century learners, Walnut Street School is embarking on a new journey to support our WSS family!  With the creation of this blog we hope to share learning resources in the areas of Mandarin Chinese, Literacy, Math, and International Baccalaureate with our families and school community.  Future posts will include supports in the areas listed above as well as links highlighted on the page to further your inquiries!