Guest Blogger: Librarian: Jen Sanders
Caldecott WInners!
For the third year, Brookline Public School libraries have facilitated a Mock Caldecott for the district. The librarians chose eight potential Caldecott winners -- an award which honors the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children published in the past year. This year, the librarians chose books such as Kick Push by Frank Morrison and Berry Song by Michaela Goade.
Guest Blogger
Vice Principal-Domnique Ferdinand
Here comes February! It is the shortest month of the year, but not the least short in events and
holidays. First and foremost, it is Black History Month. Lawrence staff and students work together to decorate their classroom doors with a theme related to this side of American history. Talk to your children about whom they chose, what theme they picked, and how they contributed to the activity.
Next, there’s Groundhog Day to remind us
whether spring will be here soon. Did the Punxsutawney groundhog see his shadow? Will there be 6 or 8 weeks till spring?
There’s also Valentine’s Day! A day for friends, loved ones, and possibly some chocolate? Are you making a card for someone?
The 100th day of school will cement that we are past the halfway mark for this school year! Is there something you can do 100 times? Can you count to 100? Can you read for 100 minutes?
Why not join the PTO play? It is so much fun for parents and teachers to act in an original play for the enjoyment of the community! This month will go fast! Make sure you take the time to enjoy it!
There is no school during February break, which is during the week of February 19th.
Happy February!
Welcome November
Guest Blogger: Vice Principal, Dominique Ferdinand
As soon as Diwali, the Japanese Fun Fair, and the Halloween parade occur, we know November is around the corner! November welcomes many opportunities for the community to acknowledge and celebrate holidays that gather families and friends together. It is in such spirit that we at Lawrence announce that the week of Thanksgiving to be a tech-free (almost tech free) week. Can your family engage in a screen-free week with board games and greater face-to-face interactions? We are working on it at school. It is quite a challenge, and if you stick to it, you’ll notice how much creativity and enjoyment may come out of it, and how priceless the time spent together truly is.
We are also gearing up for the season of giving by showing our gratitude for all that we have, especially acknowledging and appreciating the Indigenous land that we are living on.
At Lawrence, we donate our time and skills to others by preparing delicious apple pies to sell to our community and to give to those who cannot afford them.
Also, November is also the month when families are invited to check in with teachers on the progress that students have made thus far. Interim progress Reports (IPR) come out early in November for students in grades 6-8, while teachers in grade K-5 offer times for parents and guardians to meet with them. It is a great time to set school goals for the year and to plan how to achieve them.
Sincerely,
Dominique
Welcome to October!
We always look forward to this month because school starts to really feel like school. We have afterschool activities and extramural sports kicking off, first field trips, picture day, and classrooms and peers that feel more familiar. There’s so much coming to look forward to.
All of what October brings would not be possible without the work that the Lawrence community has done throughout September. Our classes have been team-building, creating routines, and introducing skills and habits for a great year.
We’ve been fortunate to see Lawrence families at our first Principal/PTO gathering, as well as at our PTO’s fall picnic, and this month, we’re excited to welcome families into Lawrence for our Open House (October 12 for grades K-5, October 13 for grades 6-8).
We can’t wait to open our doors and show you all our students have been working on. Keep an eye out for details on the evening from your child’s teachers.
In the meantime, here’s a quick photo tour of our year so far.
“Todo sobre me” (All About Me) in Spanish
7th grade getting hands on with worm compost bins
Ms. Sanders visiting 3rd grade for a reading
3K repurposing leaves for art
5th grade: observing and drawing birds
Putting Lawrence values front and center in the main lobby
Kindergarten getting into the sand
Dear Lawrence Families,
We are off to a great start to the school year!
I hope your child/ren is/are enjoying the start of school and feels excited to be back in the building. The energy has been so joyful and uplifting. Their smiles and desire to learn have made each day a delight and so rewarding. Every classroom has been focused on learning about each child and valuing what they bring to their learning environment.
In addition to the many community building activities that have taken place and will continue to take place in every space, students in kindergarten were learning how to draw people with “Mr Mat Man”. In grade 1, they were designing and writing their own name tags and in second grade they were creating “All About Me” posters to showcase how special every student’s name is and that they are important members of their learning community.
In third grade, students selected “Just Right” books and wrote about their school and out of school goals for the year. Fourth and fifth graders were engaged in robust math lessons about writing equations and problem solving.
The middle school students were getting used to their new team of teachers while navigating from one classroom to the next over the course of each day. They have been engaged in lessons about geography, understanding the difference between quantitative and qualitative observations, using accurate math vocabulary like translation, rotation and reflection, executing science labs on surface tension, engaging in reading and writing reflections and more.
You can learn more by attending the upcoming open houses. Grades K-5 will be on Wednesday, October 12th from 6-7pm and grades 6-8 on Thursday, October 13th, 6-8pm. Open houses this year will be in person, so you will be able to see your child’s classroom and more. More information will be shared with families as we get closer to the open house dates.
Also, the PTO presidents and I will host the first PTO/Principal Forum on Wednesday, September 28th at 8:15am via Zoom. The link will be shared closer to the forum.
So happy to have everyone back!
Lawrence Loyalty,
Monica
