Wednesday, December 6th, 2017
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Reminder: There is no school Dec. 22nd - Jan. 2nd. Enjoy Winter Break!
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A Greeting from the Principal
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Dear EHSI Families,
As our MN temps continue to fall I wish you warmth and cheer during this festive season! We've recently had a "changing of the guard" here in our front office and wanted our families to be kept in the loop! Sra. Gayla Jensen officially retired at the end of November after having been with EP Schools for over 18 years (and with EHSI since our doors opened in 2005); she will be greatly missed but we are thankful she promises to visit! We welcomed back Sra. Sophea Schaffer this past week from her maternity leave; baby George (and her other two boys) are doing great and we're thrilled to have Sophea back among our ranks!
As I promised last month, I'd like to share helpful tidbits around how you can extend your child's learning around math at home. The second of my six-part sharing series is, "What Does It Mean to Be a Mathematician?"
Understanding the habits of mind of mathematicians has the potential to build our children’s capacity for math in remarkable ways. As children build their own personal math identities, they begin to understand math in rich, open-ended ways. When we begin to help our children move from the world of math focused on speed and correctness to a world full of exploration, wonder, reasoning, and puzzles we help them better understand the habits of mind of research mathematicians.
At the foundation of understanding the power of math identity, it is essential to consider the work of Dr. Jo Boaler, professor of mathematics education at Stanford University. Her groundbreaking work reveals that all of our children have the power to engage in mathematics at the highest levels. During this
video
, she explains that a growth mindset helps us see how all of our children have the potential to become powerful mathematicians, I hope you enjoy!
Sincerely,
Sr. Moncada
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Immersion Education: How Long Does it Take to Learn a New Language?
by Jennifer Bowers
EHSI Q Comp Coach/Observer
When people are learning a new language there are two types of language that they can learn: social language and academic language. Basic Interpersonal Communication Skills (known in research as BICS) are the conversational grammar, vocabulary and language structures that a person needs to be able to have a conversation in a new language. They rely heavily on clues such as gestures, conversational responses, and physical interactions to boost understanding between the speakers.
If you imagine yourself as a tourist going to another country, these basic skills will help you communicate with the people of that country to get your needs met, and get to know some people socially. In a school setting like Eagle Heights, these communication skills are what our students use when they share their interests with classmates, talk about their plans for the weekend, or play a community-building game. They are the glue that holds the classroom community together. According to research on language acquisition, a person typically takes 6 months to 2 years in to acquire proficiency in these basic skills.
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Cognitive-Academic Language Proficiency (CALP) is the type of language needed to fully perform academic tasks without support. Eagle Heights students are working towards this level of proficiency every day at school as they read and interpret fiction and non-fiction texts, use their growing Spanish skills to explain their strategy for solving a math problem, and write a paragraph to compare and contrast the experiences of two groups of people living in Minnesota in the 1800s. In the younger grades our students receive lots of supports (or scaffolding) to help them understand and use the language they are learning. As students get older, they are asked to understand and apply language that is more and more complex. Research on language acquisition shows that people need 5-7 years of learning in order to reach this level of proficiency with a new language (Cummins, 1981). This is why we continue to push our students to higher and higher levels of proficiency each year they are with us at EHSI.
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Sock Drive Update
Thank you all so much for making our November Sock Drive a success! We were able to donate a total of 426 pairs of socks to kids and adults in need. We delivered some to Simpson Housing Services in Minneapolis, serving homeless men and women, as well as our very own PROP Shop in Eden Prairie. Because of your generous donations, we will be able to keep some toes warm and toasty this season.
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A Huge Thank You to EHSI Parents
Maratón de Lectura was a huge success and we are so thankful for all of the contributions and support of EHSI parents. Although we didn’t reach our goal of reading one million minutes, the Celebration Assembly was full of excitement, pride and big smiles from EHSI students. There was much to celebrate and next year we will try even harder to reach our goal! Most importantly, students were motivated to read every day and we raised an impressive amount of money for EHSI PTO, which goes right back to the students and staff at our school! A special thank you to our amazing Maratón Committee (Kristin Olson, Jen Jiovanazzo, Seaneen Gengler, Sarah Kelly, and Beth Yeh) for going above and beyond with all aspects of this undertaking, including seeking
sponsors
who donated fabulous prizes!
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Did you Know?
Did you know that over 60% of your generous donations go toward our teachers and classrooms? Each year funds raised from Maratón are used in a variety of ways including Teacher Grants allowing for teachers to submit for funds to enrich their classroom and/or teaching team curriculum. Last year teacher grants included coding software for Kinder, STEM learning stations, stand-up desks, additional Physical Education equipment and more!
We'd love for you to get involved with our EHSI PTO!
To stay current please feel free to:
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Spanish Education Fund (SEF) Update
The Fall Intern Fest was a huge success! Thank you for coming out to support the interns, SEF Program, and EHSI. This year's fest included mask-making at the Spain booth, sack-races at the Chilean booth, un
camino
(walk) through the
paisajes
(landscapes) of Colombia at the Colombian booth, and a spread of cultural games at the El Salvadorian group. There was Mexican food for sale by Aurelia’s and the TTR Drawing took place at the end of the night. There was also a little musical entertainment from some members of our Chilean group. The interns are already looking forward to the Spring Intern Fest as well!
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Kinder Registration is Now Open
for the 2018-19 School Year
Do you have a child that will be five years old on or before September 1st, 2018? Eagle Heights will host a Kindergarten Registration night on January 11th from 4:30 - 6:00pm in the PAL (lower level).You may also check out
upcoming kindergarten events
throughout the school year. In order to make sure you receive the necessary enrollment information, please complete the
contact form
or
Register online for Kindergarten now.
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Farm to Table at EHSI
Did you know we're serving fresh turkey from a local farm in our EHSI cafeteria during November & December?
Learn more
about EP schools' partnership with Ferndale Market in Rochester, MN.
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EHSI Choir to Perform Downtown December 12th
The Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion Choir has been invited to perform at the “Holidays Under Glass” Concert Series at the IDS Center. The concert series features a diverse line-up of our community’s performing artists, musicians, choirs and orchestras. Our scholars will perform in the concert between
noon - 1:00 pm
in the beautiful Crystal Court of the IDS Center in the heart of downtown Minneapolis.
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The performance will be video recorded and shared with all EHSI students during school later this month.
The 130 member choir is comprised of Eagle Heights students from grades 4-6, under the instruction of Director Molly Aalfs and Assistant Director, Diane Worwa. Please join us for this remarkable opportunity to showcase the quality performing arts programs in the Eden Prairie Schools.
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Calendar of Upcoming Events
Dec.11th - 14th -- Square 1 Art Products Arrive and will be Distributed
Dec. 10th --- PTO Board Meeting 5:30pm, SEF Board Meeting 7:00pm
Dec. 12th --- 4th-6th Grade Choir Performs at IDS Center, 1:00pm
Dec. 11th --- Orchestra Concert at EPHS Auditorium, 7:30pm
Dec. 18th --- EHSI Choir Concert in the PAL, 6:30pm
Dec. 22nd - Jan. 2nd --- No School - Winter Break
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Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion
13400 Staring Lake Parkway
Eden Prairie, MN 55347
952-975-7700
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