More Snow?!

Kids are likely pleased with our snow day, and usually the staff likes a day off too.  But at this point, we’re really ready for spring weather, and we’re especially ready for a series of full days of school.  Time is the best resource a teacher has.  So since the snow has been robbing us of it, please have your children read A LOT this weekend.  Don’t stop there – use the educational websites on the Providence website to practice some skills.  Your child’s teacher may have even more goodies on their Blackboard site.

And…we suppose it’s a good idea to let them play in the snow too.

-JK

PS, Should inclement weather persist next week, please watch your email.  We’ll use Keep In Touch to let you know if any school events need to be rescheduled.  Obviously, if FCPS cancels classes, then evening events such as concerts and meetings would be canceled too.

This Monday Night

This Monday tune into local channel 12 to watch the Fairfax City School Board Meeting at 7:30 PM.  I’ll be there with Assistant Principals Mary Miller & Patti Brown as well as our Focus Teachers Larry Cook, Danielle Bruno, & Diana Schmiesing to share some our great work with the City Board.  We’d love for you to tune in and learn about the many things teachers are doing to make a difference at Providence! 

Tuesday marks the beginning of the third quarter and the second half of the school year.  As you know, time will fly and we have so much more to accomplish.  Stay with us – talk to your child’s teacher if you need new ways to support school at home, keep asking your child what s/he’s learning in school, and know that we always welcome the opportunity to work together. 

The best dressed guy at Providence and me

Our second session of Parent ESOL classes began this week and we could not have been more pleased with the turnout.  Over 40 parents came out to take advantage of this opportunity to improve their English skills, sending a strong message to their kids about commitment and having a great attitude toward learning.  We love it!

-JK

Stay Informed

Parents, my intention in using this blog is to highlight the great, cute, and inspirational.  To highlight your kids and our staff, and I have fun doing that each Friday.

This week, I’m going to use the blog to piggyback on the Principal’s Message in last week’s Panther Press.  Please make sure you’re staying informed on the FCPS Budget process for next year.  All information, including Dr. Dale’s proposal is on the FCPS website at http://www.fcps.edu/news/fy2011.htm.  It’s also linked to the Providence website.  Staying informed and getting involved is very important.  Though we are a school in the city of Fairfax, we are a Fairfax County Public School so this does affect us. 

Have a great weekend.

JK

Fun Teachers

This is a late posting because I’ve just returned from the PTA’s Bingo Night.  If you’re reading this, chances are you were there too – the turnout was AMAZING!  Thanks for coming out to support each other, the PTA and our school.  And for those of you who signed up for 30 minutes of volunteer time at the PTA’s Fun Fair on March 19, we can’t thank you enough.  That event won’t happen without volunteers to run it!  Look for more info from the PTA about it in the near future.

I love this picture:

That’s Mr. Bawarski and Ms. Raube calling numbers at Bingo, but they weren’t the only teachers on hand to support the event.  In fact, when Mrs. Jaekle (organizer of the event) asked for teachers to call numbers, we had more volunteers than were needed.  Typical around here.

More insight into Providence Teachers:

That’s our Social Committee’s annual “Tailgate Party.”  Coffee, hot chocolate, donuts, treats.  In the parking lot before school.  In the cold.  Most people tailgate before a sporting event.  We tailgate before we teach!  And yes, it was fun.

We’re Back!

First, something fun!  Go to the site below to see a short video highlighting a Writers Celebration that some of our 2nd graders participated in prior to Winter Break.  We’re so proud of them!  Thank you Mrs. Kheradmand, Mrs. Fallas, Ms. Dick & Mrs. McKeown.

http://animoto.com/play/olP2yVzAdSakzHIQselaow?utm_campaign=share_email&utm_medium=email&utm_source=share_email

After a very long break, which I think both kids and teachers were happy about, we entered 2010.  I’m pleased to say that we hit the ground running with great learning activities.  I spied 5th graders editing video using MovieMaker in the computer lab, all upper grade students beginning their gymnastics unit in P.E., and sixth graders creating brochures advertising the advantages of living in the original 13 colonies.  Another great week!

As you know, Dr. Dale presented his budget proposal for next year to the School Board on Thursday evening.  All information related to this, including his presentation is located on the FCPS website (www.fcps.edu).  Please stay informed as there are changes coming.

-JK

What a Week!

Pretty amazing week:

Friday’s Winter Music Festivals – I hope you liked our new format of having grade levels come together rather than the entire school.  This allowed us to both protect instructional time (these sing-a-longs were scheduled during regular “specials” classes: PE, Music, Art) and give enough space to dance, really see the song lyrics, and connect with parents.  Great job, music department!

Tuesday’s 5th & 6th Grade Winter Chorus Concert – Again, great job to Stacy Shraa and Debbie Key, our wonderful music teachers.  The kids really showed their vocal skills and gave a fun and skillful performance.  On a related note: Parents who attended this concert were by far the best parent audience for a school event that I’d seen in a very long while!  No cell phones went off, younger siblings were kept quiet, everyone helped stack chairs at the end, and picture taking was respectful in that you didn’t linger in the aisle and obscure other parents’ view. I know, you’re probably thinking Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be? The answer’s yes.  But I see a need to really celebrate things like polite behaviors.  Thanks for setting this example.

And of course, there’s some VERY BIG NEWS to report: One of Providence’s Finest, 6th grade teacher Sara Farmer, has been promoted to Assistant Principal at Laurel Ridge Elementary School.  Ms. Farmer begins her new assignment when school resumes after Winter Break.  She has done a tremendous job as a teacher and leader of several programs and initiatives at Providence over the last seven years, and we will truly miss her.  Of course, we’re also so happy for her as she begins a new chapter in her career.  Laurel Ridge is lucky to get her!

Before I sign off, I just want to say thank you to our amazing PTA for making our entire staff feel special and valued this week.

JK

Learning Walks

This week the staff did something great.  Every teacher of reading went on a “Learning Walk,” visiting other teachers’ classrooms and observing how they teach reading.  It’s a great way to get ideas from each other and ensure that we’re all trying to get on the same page with quality instruction.

Classroom teachers meet together and share ideas all of the time.  But their job is so intense that it’s very difficult to find time to actually observe their colleagues in action and really see them apply the teaching strategies that they’re always talking about.  We’re glad to say that we made that happened this week.

Have a great weekend!

JK

More “What Are You Learning?”

Today in a 4th grade classroom during science:

Me: What are you working on?

Student: A book.

Me: What’s in the book?

Student: Science.

Me: What are you learning in science.

Student: Well, yesterday we just went to the computer lab and that’s it.

Me:  So what have you been learning about science in the lab?

(NOTE:  Parents, are you keeping track?  That’s 4 questions from me so far, and I still haven’t gotten an answer!  Like you, I will not give up!)

Student:  (Smiles)  We learned about the sun and moon.

Me: What about the sun and moon?

Student:  (Smiles again.  She knows I’m not going away…)  Well, the sun is a huge ball of gas with high temperatures, but the moon has very rocky and dusty conditions.  The Earth has a hard surface and has an atmosphere that makes it have the perfect conditions for us to live there.

Me:  Good job.

Phew!  That was a lot of work, but well worth it.  Let’s agree to never give up!

What Did You Learn?

Back at Open House I requested that you always ask your child “what did you learn today?” and that you never accept the “nothing” response.  I hope you stay with that.  I stopped in the cafe on Tuesday to ask some kids about their learning.  This was the most entertaining exchange between me and a table of 5th graders:

Me:  Hello, girls.  Tell me what you’re learning in class.  You can’t say “nothing.”

5th grader #1:  We’re writing friendly letters.  The normal stuff in science, math, and social studies.

5th grader #2:  I learned something about Mesopotamia.

Me:  What was that?

5th grader #2:  We learned about this guy, his name begins with a G, and we learned why the Fertile Crescent is called the Fertile Cresent, and the two main rivers were the Tigres and Euphrates Rivers, and…

Me:  Hold up.  Who’s the guy whose name starts with a G?

5th grader #3:  I think it was Gibberish.

Me:  !

5th grader #3:  (Laughing) Well, his name might as well be!

5th grader #4:  It was Gilgamesh.

They then went on to tell me a little about the story of Gibberish Gilgamesh.

Thanks for sending your kids to us everyday.  They’re a lot of fun!  Happy Thanksgiving.

JK

Thank You

Thanks to the many parents who came to the Principal’s Coffee on Tuesday with me and City Superintendent Ann Monday to learn more about the City-Providence connection.  I think the best part was our tour of the computer and science labs.  As usual, thanks for spreading the word about the great (and unique) things that go on at Providence.