Grand Oak Families,

We have had another wonderful week in the “Owls Nest”. I continue to see students getting more comfortable, learning our routines and procedures and learn habits that will help them be more independent. I also hear our kids talking about our “personalized learning traits” in their conversations. Make sure you ask them about them! We also are continuing to work as grade levels to monitor homework, make sure that it is not excessive (or too light) and focus only on what we feel is important practice. Many grade levels are also making some items available as optional practice. We hope that parents will work to extend their children if they have time. This time working together can be great “family time” exploring and learning new things. It also reinforces the importance of continual learning. I hope you are also hearing about the use of technology regularly in the classrooms as we are focusing on using different tools to help students learn and create. Our goal is to move outside the computer lab and build skills that our children can use for the rest of their lives. If you haven’t heard anything please ask your teacher and child how the tools are being used to differentiate learning and give students choices to create in the classroom. Our goal will be to continue to expand the use of a variety of tools as the year progresses. These processes may also be new for many of you, so it is ok to ask teachers if you need clarity. We also will have our 2nd Parent Technology Tour on Monday at 8:30 AM if you would like to learn more about our personalized learning focus. This will be in our media center. We also have a Coffee Chat this week on Thursday at 8:30 and Principal Presley (Bradley) and Principal Richardson (JM Alexander) will be presenting and answering questions.

This week I also wanted to personally thank our PTA again for our wonderful Fall Book Fair. I am amazed at the dedication and time that they put in to this wonderful event. We had a great turnout at our Family Fun Night event and it was fantastic to see our kids excited to purchase a new books. This is also a great opportunity to talk about money with your children (authentic math learning ). I thank the PTA for supporting our efforts and making learning a focus for our school.

Enjoy a wonderful “cool” weekend.

Respectfully,

Mr. Giovanelli

Here are 2 great suggestions from the book “The Essential 55” by Ron Clark. I hope you discuss them with your family and are able to use them each day.

  1. If you are asked a question, always ask one in return- This is a wonderful skill that we must teach all of our children. To truly be engaged in conversations with people. As we try to get our students more prepared for the 21st century we must think about good communication skills. As a society we tend to ask and engage students more than them reciprocating. As adults we are often times not good at this either. Model this behavior for your kids regularly.
  2. When you receive something never insult the gift giver- Our students are so used to constantly “getting” things that they want. One habit we have to teach them is to be thankful for gifts they get, whether they completely like them or not. Children should never disrespect those that have taken the time to get them a gift. Teaching our children to be gracious will go a long way! If they don’t act gracious it is ok to take the gift back .

General PTA and Holiday Concert- December 3rd (PTA meeting will begin at 6:00/Concert at 6:30)

Last day of School before Thanksgiving- November 24th

2nd Quarter Mid Quarter Reports- December 4

Last Day of School for 2015- December 18th