It finally feels like Autumn!

Finally, a crisp autumn day!

Your children have settled into their school routines already and so many wonderful activities are going on in the classrooms. Many of the classes have started their writer's workshops by asking students to list things that they love, favorite memories, or ideas that interest them. These lists are often put into heart shapes and kept within the child's writing folder as a reference for those days when a child just isn't sure what to write about. Our students are filled with so many wonderful ideas - I can't wait to hear the stories that these ideas generate.

As a staff, we have talked quite a bit about achievement and high expectations for all. In fact, this topic was a major focus of our professional development last year. As adults, we can all probably recall that one special teacher who had faith that we could do it and pushed us to be our best. Unfortunately, many of us also recall those experiences when an adult's words or actions made us feel that we weren't good at something. I know that I avoided singing in public for the longest time because a choral teacher told me in 6th grade that I wasn't a strong enough singer to join my friends in the after school chorus program! I still remember it! (and I will not tell you how long ago that was!!)

At Goodwin we believe that every child is capable and competent. In fact we think they are each exceptional! Here's a link to a video from Research for Better Teaching that we watched last year that explains how achievement is based on effective effort. Every child, without exception, can do well with the right effort and attitude. We are working hard to make sure your children know that we believe in them. We know they can do anything they work hard at and we can't wait to see the great things they will do this year! Let me know what you think of the video...
 http://www.rbteach.com/rbteach2/Flash/VideoPlayer/Streamer/EBA/eba_video.asp