Friday
Sept. 19
Erin’s 2nd Grade Coffee
Movie Night
(see article)
Monday
Sept. 22
Nancy’s PS/PK Coffee
Tuesday
Sept. 23
Stuart’s K Coffee
Wednesday
Sept. 24
Marsha’s K Coffee
Thursday
September 25
Claudia’s PK Coffee
3rd Grade Salish Living Experience
Friday
September 26
Spirit/Pizza Day
Saturday
September 27
Wine Social
5-8pm in the
admin house
Adults only!
Thursday
October 2
1st to Camp Sealth
September 18, 2008
Upcoming Events - Movie Night & Wine Social
Halloween Fest is Coming!
From Jo Ann, The History of Education Part 2
Chinese Update
October Hot Lunch Menu Online
Support Your Room Parents
Roots of Empathy Family Needed
Extended Day
Care
Upcoming Events!
Family Movie Night Tomorrow!
Mini-Double Feature: You’re Not Elected Charlie Brown
(only 25 minutes, rated G) and Nim’s Island (rated PG)
Doors Open 5:45
Charlie Brown starts at 6pm, Nim’s Island starts at 6:25pm
Pizza, popcorn and snacks will be available for sale, along with some spiritwear. (For this evening only, our pizza is coming from a different company, Pizza Gallery in Burien. For allergy information, please contact them at 244.5025.) Overflow parking is available in the Explorer West lot off 30th Ave SW.
Wine Social
Saturday, Sept. 27
at the admin house
Drop in between 5 and 8pm and connect with friends and families from all grades! (Adults Only!)
Halloween Fest is coming!!!
Halloween Fest is coming!!!
By Halloween Chairs Tracy Beck and Angie Graves
It’s hard to believe the ghastly tale but yes, it’s just about time for the Boil, Boil, Toil and Trouble of Westside’s Halloween Fest! Mark your calendars now for Saturday, October 25th from Noon until 4PM to enjoy a most horrifying afternoon of ghastly activities, spine-chilling games and slithers of pizza and gooey snacks for our little (or not so little) ghouls and monsters... To make this year’s Halloween Fest the most dreadful one yet, we’ll need the efforts of nearly all the Westside Community! So start conjuring up ideas about being a terrifying Tombstone Golf sentinel or perhaps you magically create shockingly fantastic Ghost Cookies… Be warned – your talents are wanted!
Keep your eyes peeled for online volunteer opportunities in next week’s update so you can choose the mysterious activity that suits your bones the best. Also stay tuned for how Halloween Fest is going from Orange and Black to GREEN this year.
Questions or Suggestions? Please contact either: Angie Graves at add113@clearwire.net or Tracy Beck at tracy@beckstailoring.com.
From Jo Ann
History Of Education, Part 2
Alternate Approaches
While there are many alternate approaches to education, there were two educators that changed the face of education by influencing educational thought in the United States: Maria Montessori and John Dewey.
Maria Montessori (1870-1952) was the first woman in Italy to receive a medical degree, graduating from the University of Rome. Working with mentally retarded children, she discovered that certain simple materials and objects could arouse interest and mental activity in young children and greatly helped their cognitive development. In 1907, she founded the Casa Dei Bambini (The Children’s House) where she applied her educational methods with great success. Her pupils, all disadvantaged children, learned to read and write by age five. It was not until after her death in 1952 that Montessori’s methods took root in the United States.
Montessori believed that children by nature want to develop their potential, assume an independent identity and discover their role in the world. Because children have absorbent minds and take in everything from their surroundings, the learning environment should be beautiful and inviting. Montessori believed that the children’s interactions with adults in that environment are equally crucial.
The child is a being of sense organs, says Montessori. Thus to deal with abstractions there must be “manipulatives,” tangible equipment to assist in the comprehension of abstract ideas. The use of each manipulative involves a specific physical movement, so that the child learns through experiencing bodily activity. There are specific moments when the child is ready to learn certain skills. In each case, a particular type of sensory experience can expedite this readiness. It is the teacher’s role to sense when the child should receive that particular enabling experience.
In the United States, John Dewey (1859-1952) believed that education in the Traditional School was too adult-centered, formal, authoritarian, theoretical, abstract and socially and politically conservative. His approach differed radically from mainstream public and private education of his time. He proposed that schools should:
• Assume children are curious, want to learn and need primarily to be directed in their learning; the teacher is a facilitator and guide in learning
• Provide children with both natural and manufactured objects to handle, to observe and wonder about.
• Have a curriculum based on the interests of children and on the realities of the environment in which the children live.
• Teach reading, writing, arithmetic and other academic skills, but not to the exclusion of life skills.
• Emphasize experiential learning, or learning-by-doing, in concrete, meaningful situations.
• Provide many, varied opportunities for artistic expression.
• Prepare children for life in a democratic society by having a democratic classroom in which group decision-making and problem-solving play an important role.
• Have the children study a few things deeply rather than many things superficially.
• Provide opportunities for children to go into the community and learn from it.
In the 1980s there was a renaissance of Dewey’s humanistic-education when Columbia University’s Teachers’ College, a strong advocate of Dewey’s ideals, influenced teacher education throughout the nation. It is interesting that this was time that Westside School was founded, 1982.
Chinese Update
By Steven Whiting, Chinese Teacher
The 2008-09 school year has gotten off to a rapid start. With second grade having two classes this year, we have about 160 kids learning Chinese. It is very exciting for me. Our kindergarteners are learning the proverbial ropes in Chinese, greetings and classroom routine. Next it’s “please and thank you” and “My name is______.” All the other classes are moving along in the Chinese program while helping some new students blend in. I plan to also incorporate some additional songs and ideas that I picked up in China during the summer.
The fourth and fifth grades will stress mastery of the pinyin system this year which will allow them to read (or sound out) Chinese childrens’ books even if they don’t recognize the characters. I have a box of books coming from China that include books to put in the library for the kids to check out and read on their own. The books all have pinyin as well as characters.
This being the season of the Moon Festival we have been learning Chinese moon legends and doing activities touching on this theme such as paper cutting and paper folding. And, of course, the kids have been able to taste a variety of moon cakes. I’d like to thank Teresa McNally for supplying mooncakes for the kids, and Uwajimaya for giving us a discount on other mooncakes that I bought for our celebrations. Chinese acrobats will also come to Westside to perform at the beginning of November so we have lots of China-related things going on. I hope the kids will enjoy a new year of Chinese at Westside School.
October Menu's Online
The October Menus are posted on line and ready to order. Remember our order deadlines are 8:00 Sunday when ordering via computer and 4:00 Friday by phone for the following week. Go to www.blueplateseattle.com to order---get your orders in early.
Support Your Local Room Parent
By Sue Winter, WPO Room Parent Coordinator
In the next few weeks, our hard-working Westside room parents will be contacting you for help. Watch for email from them with information on volunteer opportunities and upcoming class and school-wide events, as well as the opportunity to make a one-time contribution toward class expenses such as teacher gifts. The room parents also need your help to create the class Emergency Phone Tree, as outlined in the Westside Parent Handbook, found here.
In an effort to cut down on paper usage, most all communication will be done by email this year so please be sure your room parents have a current email address for your family. Check your email often and let your room parents know how you can help out!
Roots of Empathy Family Needed
Roots of Empathy was a huge success last year, and a favorite part of class for our second grade students. We’d like to welcome the program back this year, but part of the curriculum includes working with a baby (2-4 months old) and his or her mother. Please email Jo Ann (joanny@westsideschool.org) if you are acquainted with a mom and child that might be interested in this fun activity.
Extended Day Information
We are required to have signed childcare contracts for our extended day program. These contracts need to be filled out each new school year and taken or mailed to the school office. In addition, if you have signed up for Drop-in care, you must register for each day/time required through the link on the Westside School website. This year, space is extremely limited. For the safety of the children we need to be able to provide the proper adult/student ratio as required by state regulations. Please let us know if you have any questions.