Providence Principal's Blog

You have to break a few eggs to make a cake!

jessekraft — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:11:46 +0000

Cake Recipe (from one of our first grade writers)

First you crack the egg.
Next you put the frosting in a bowl and the eggs with a mixer.
Enjoy!

Our first graders have been writing “How To” stories recently, and one of the activities included writing their version of a recipe. This afternoon, they shared their recipes with each other and with many parents who were able to join us. Students and family members also enjoyed making and eating a few snacks together from the recipes. A few photos…

Click to view slideshow.

Thanks to our wonderful first grade teachers for planning the activity, other teachers and staff members who helped us set up and clean up, and to our students and their families for a fun time together on a sunny Friday afternoon. What a nice way to start the weekend!

Mr. P

Cartwheels and Consumers

jessekraft — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:50:17 +0000

After being away from the building this week several days for a professional conference in NC, I returned to Providence today excited to be back with students and staff. There is always something meaningful going on around here, but today, our students went beyond what mere mortals are used to observing on what seemed to them to be just another ordinary day in their world.

In the morning, I went to our PE classes in the gym to find what seemed like an Olympic gym with participants preparing for world class events. Assessments, practice, and feats of great strength and balance were occurring everywhere.

In the afternoon, I got word that the 2nd grade team was descending upon the cafeteria for their “Market Day”. Students, both producers and consumers, displayed their goods that they proudly made by hand as other students shopped with their school money to pick out items that caught their eye. You would not have believed the hum of excitement and focus as students used their math and economic skills to reinforce their social studies content.

Much hard work done by students and teachers alike…I was doing cartwheels to be back at PES consuming the great learning that was going on!

-Mr. E

Back to school, back to work!

jessekraft — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:24:20 +0000

Welcome back!

I know that many of us are a little uneasy when it is time to return to work after an extended break, and I have certainly felt this way myself at times. It is sometimes difficult to get back in the swing of things for both children and adults. I am pleased to report that we are up to full speed already at Providence Elementary! Mr. Kraft often encourages us to, “Finish strong.” In this case, I know he, Mr. Erbrecht and I are all proud to see us starting strong again as we get back to work after our winter break. Our staff and students picked up where we left off and hit the ground running. Some photos of our people in action…

As a parent and administrator, I really appreciate the enthusiasm for learning that I have seen this week, and really every day at Providence. We all know our mission, we understand our responsibilities, and are glad to be back together and working hard this week!

-DP

Think Share!

jessekraft — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 15:17:14 +0000

For the Facebook users out there, you may have already seen this. If you’re not into FB, here it is – The WPES Special Report on Providence’s 1st Ever THINK SHARE! Enjoy & Happy New Year!

-JK

Kids helping kids at Providence

jessekraft — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 22:34:05 +0000

Students at Providence have a few different opportunities to help others in our community. Our safety patrols help every day. They patiently walk our kindergartners to and from the buses, and they help our bus riders follow the rules between school and home. They greet our students and parents every morning and afternoon at Kiss and Ride, rain or shine, hot or cold. They raise the flag to start the day, monitor the halls to prevent accidents, and provide excellent role models for our entire student body. We are very proud of them, and appreciate their dedication and extra effort in our school. Just another awesome group of kids here at Providence…

D.P.

Always Watching!

jessekraft — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 22:24:55 +0000

See above. That’s a little decoration that Mrs. Murphy put up in the library. Looks good, right?

Well, kids are funny. Here’s an actual quote from one 5th grader to another:

“See that. Those are Mr. Kraft’s eyes. He’s always watching.”

Related: I had gone on WPES (morning news show) to talk about the Think Share this past Tuesday. Later that day I saw a first grader who said this to me:

Student: “I saw you on the TV today. I tried to ask you a question.”

Me: “Did I answer?”

Student: (totally serious) “No!”

Kids, I’d like to think supervision is good here at PES, but it’s not that good!

-JK

Typical Day

jessekraft — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:58:39 +0000

Folks, no big events to report this week so let’s share some observations from a thirty-minute walk on Friday afternoon. Keep in mind, this is a just a few stops in our big school. I saw Kindergarteners using technology to show their understanding of animals’ basic needs. I saw 2nd graders learning about opportunity cost (that’s an economics term!), working together on projects, and writing up a storm (Thanksgiving is still on some of their minds). Teachers met to analyze eCART data, and I had a great time.

Click to view slideshow.

Mr. Phillips, Mr. Erbrecht and I take walks through the school all of the time and we see things like this constantly. Happy kids, hard work, and dedicated teachers. A typical day.

Family Heritage Night

jessekraft — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 01:34:22 +0000

If you were here tonight, you know how great it was! Family Heritage Night was celebrated at PES, and it was better than ever. As I told the audience for the cultural talent share, this is one of the best things we do as a school. PES has 940 students representing 49 countries of birth. Many different languages are spoken in our homes, yet at school, your kids are close friends with children who look nothing like them. It doesn’t matter to them though. In fact, they notice more similarities than differences. It often takes events like Family Heritage Night to highlight the specialness of each other’s cultures. And this only makes us tighter as a community. Families, thank you for trusting each other, opening up and educating others about your heritage, feeding each other, and celebrating with us.

No blog next week. Happy Thanksgiving! Next post will be on 12/2.

-JK

Thankful for PES families and our Veterans

jessekraft — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:30:07 +0000

Being a new member of the Providence family, I was amazed to see the way our school community came together as a family this week. Whether it was conferences where parents came out to show support for their child’s education and the teachers. Or if it was the way families enjoyed spending time with their children and each other at the Thanksgiving luncheon, the strong bonds and relationships that are evident here are what makes our school so special. We served over 1,500 meals as staff members, parent volunteers, and 4th-6th grade hosts provided hospitality to our guests. And weren’t those 10 foot tall turkeys amazing?!

Click to view slideshow.

Today at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of the eleventh year, our school paused for a moment of silence to recognize and honor the veterans of the U.S. armed forces. While this Remembrance day began in 1918 to mark the ending of World War I, we now have multiple generations of veterans to whom we owe our thanks. Our students at PES had the opportunity today to gain a greater understanding of the sacrifices others have made on their behalf so that they might enjoy the freedoms of our country.

So from all of us here, we say THANK YOU to our veterans near and far for their service to country and for the sacrifices they have made for each of us.

Providence Goes Green!

jessekraft — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:01:35 +0000

As a science focus school, we’re always looking for ways to increase our “green power” at Providence. Last week, students helped collect some eye-opening information about the amount of trash produced each day in our school café. In a single day, we collected ten gallons of unfinished milk and 260 pounds of trash!

Providence Panthers are on their way to becoming “Recycling Rangers.” In the science lab, students have been learning about how to recycle cafeteria trash.

Part of our recycling program will include “Terra-Cycling.” TerraCycle is a company whose mission is to find new uses for hard-to-recycle waste. They turn the collected waste into a variety of products, including backpacks and lunchboxes. The best part? Every piece of trash we collect and send to TerraCycle earns money for our school. We’ll be collecting:

Drink Pouches (ex: Capri Sun, KoolAid Jammers)

Candy Wrappers

Cookie Packaging

Chip Bags

Lunchables Containers

Kashi Packaging (any Kashi product)

We’ll have a TerraCycle collection spot outside the Science Lab starting next week for kids to bring in any of these items from home. (Yes, we want your trash!)

It’s wonderful to see how excited our students are about making Providence a “green” school.

D.B.