Moretown School Update - August 28, 2015

August 28, 2015 School Update

Hello Moretown School Families,

Not long ago (four years to be exact) on this day our school and the greater community of Moretown experienced the wrath of Tropical Storm Irene.  It was an event that will continue to be present with as a reminder of how important the word "community"  is.  During that time we pulled together as a community to keep our school going and our shared spirit strong and alive.  It is that enduring spiritof connectedness and hope that continues this week as we welcome our students to the 2015-2016 school year.    We hope that your first days ofMoretown helped your children feel like they are a part of a greater learning community.  We hope your  stories from your children were filled with excitement, some relief and hopeful anticipation that this school year will hold opportunities for them to grow as individuals and as a connected community.  Thank you for sharing them with us!


A few notes about our school's Responsive Classroom initiative.

Responsive Classroom... 

The Moretown School is on its way to utilizing a Responsive Classroom School approach to create a positive environment for all members of our community. Responsive Classroom is a research-based approach to education that is associated with greater teacher effectiveness, higher student achievement, and improved school climate. One element of RC that we would like to share with you is Morning Meeting.

What Is Morning Meeting?  

Responsive Classroom Morning Meeting is an engaging way to start each day, build a strong sense of community, and set children up for success socially and academically. Each morning, students and teachers gather together in a circle for twenty minutes and interact with one another during four purposeful components:

1. Greeting Students and teachers greet one another by name and practice offering hospitality.

2. Sharing Students share information about important events in their lives. Listeners often offer empathetic comments or ask clarifying questions.

3. Group Activity Everyone participates in a brief, lively activity that fosters group cohesion and helps students practice social and academic skills (for example, reciting a poem, dancing, singing, or playing a game that reinforces social or academic skills).

4. Morning Message Students read and interact with a short message written by their teacher. The message is crafted to help students focus on the work they'll do in school that day.

What are Buddy Classrooms? 

We have started to utilize a buddy classroom system where staff partner with other staff to assist work together to help students learn about themselves and how their actions effect others. Teachers worked together to set up this system to support a positive and healthy school climate. Here is a blurb from the Responsive Classroom Website;

“Buddy teacher time-out can stop a negative cycle of behavior,” says Gail Sperling, first and third grade teacher at Yavneh Day School in Cincinnati, Ohio. “Some children continue to be stimulated by the other students in the room when they’re in time-out, even if the teacher has taught children to focus only on themselves during this time,” she says. “A change of scenery can help those children settle down.” Other children might continue to act out with regular time-out as a way of testing the system. In these cases, says Gail, buddy teacher time-out shows them that the expectations for behavior are firm.

Another important benefit of buddy teacher time-out is that it allows the teacher to continue working with the class. With the buddy teacher taking care of the child for the moment, the teacher can continue with the lesson as planned. This shows the child and the rest of the class that disruptive behavior isn’t going to cause issues for learning.  

Finally, buddy teacher time-out can help the teacher stay calm as well. “When you’re at the end of your rope,” says Gail, “having a buddy take the child gives you some distance.” Later, when the teacher and child are both calmer, they can talk more constructively about the incident. (The Responsive Classroom) 

First Day Pictures

Important school notes

1.  Notes from the Bus Barn 

Moretown Bus Changes - (Note no AM Route changes)

PM Bus #19 and #20

 Overview: 

1) All of Jones Brook and River Road students (MES and Harwood) in the PM ONLY will ride Bus #20.  Bus #19 has been doing Jones Brook and River Road and will no longer do this.

Please check Bus Route Changes by clicking below to view updated routes

http://www.wwsu.org/bus-routes.php

With these changes, Bus #19 is estimated to be completed at 3:15PM and Bus #20 (River Road/Jones Brook) will be empty at 3:30PM; a significant improvement.  We will be monitoring the route times next week to see if additional changes needed.

2.  Picture Day Scheduled 

for the Moretown School is scheduled for October 15, 2015.  We will once again utilize Ember Photography.  More information to follow. 

3.  Taking Pictures at School 

We are very happy for parents to take pictures of their children's experiences at our school.  Please be mindful that there are families who have asked that their children not be photographed at school and that they do not want any photographs placed on the internet.  Thanks for remembering this.  

4.  Ice Cream Social Scheduled 

Our annual PTN ice cream social will be held on Tuesday evening, September 1st from 6 - 7pm.  Come on out to meet neighbors and friends to welcome in the new school year.  Ice cream social will be held in the cafeteria.  (We may use the cafeteria window system...) 

5.  School Board Meeting Change

The School Board Meeting for September has been changed from September 14 to the 21st. The Agenda will posted on our website and the school blog for review.