 |
|
Happy holidays!
We hope you enjoy the next two weeks with family and friends. Thank you to everyone for a wonderful fall, and we're looking forward to starting the new year filled with excitement and energy for more discoveries at school.
Thanks and happy new year --
Your VePA Executive Team
|
IN THIS ISSUE
- Update from Julie Stanford
- In the Classroom: A Place in the Choir
- Chapel Curriculum: December & January
- Volunteer Spotlight: Jenny Mailhot
- Is Kindergarten the New First Grade?
- Your Brain on Curiosity
- Please Give to the Ventana Annual Fund
- Upcoming Events
|
|
|
Update from VePA President Julie Stanford
Dear parents,
It's almost the holidays and I'm officially ready for a break from work and school! Happy Christmahannukwanzaanewyear!
In VePA, we have been busy trying to come up with new ways to engage the parent population. Last week we hosted a
bring your own brown bag lunch at 11:30 for parents to get together and schmooze.
We are planning to host this lunch on the first Friday of each month and will invite a preschool or elementary teacher to drop in and answer questions. We are hoping it is a great opportunity for preschool and elementary parents to get to know each other.
Also, mark your calendars for January 26 when Ventana has its annual All School Meeting (it's like a mid-year back to school night). Sneak peek:
we will be revealing details of an upcoming wine tasting event with a sommelier that is going to be fabulous! Stay tuned.
Finally,
I want to encourage people who have concerns or questions about the tuition increase to go see Marcy. She is happy to discuss the reasons behind the decision and financial aid options - this isn't government financial aid so the rules are not the same and you may qualify. We love our community and want to try to make it work for everyone even as we are faced with the reality of how much money it costs to run a school while paying our teachers what they deserve.
Love and holidays kisses,
Julie Stanford
|
In the Classroom:
A Place in the Choir
If you were able to attend last month's concert during the Stone Soup celebration or the Holiday Sing-Along, you probably have a sense of how busy our music teacher Kathy has been. She's introduced several new instruments to the children, including the triangle, glockenspiel, and xylophone, and of course they've been singing and dancing throughout.
Many of Kathy's lessons relate to the seasons and holidays, and last month she also tied music into our November Ventana Value, Relationships.
Kathy notes: "A Place in the Choir is a song that reiterates this idea that no matter who you are -- whether you sing low, high, in the middle, or, in the possum's case, not at all, you have a place here. Whether you croak like a bullfrog, groan like a hippopotamus, hum like a honeybee, fiddle like a cricket, howl like a coyote, disagree like a jaybird, or talk to yourself like the porcupine, we value you. I think this message is especially important during times when adults and children alike may feel strong differences and divisions. Here at Ventana, we are reminded that we do indeed belong."
|
Chapel Lessons:
Valuing Others & Well Being
The kids just wrapped up their chapel lessons for the month of December, which was focused on Valuing Others Through Caring, Sharing & Giving. This Ventana Value emphasizes that our community "
is comprised of willing and loyal participants who share common understandings about their responsibility to the individuals and groups that comprise our community."
The lessons began with the children singing "Joyful Round" and closed with "Now Go in Peace." The elementary students read a wonderful book called
The Quiltmaker's Gift, and the preschool students read two books:
Albert the Fix-It Man and
Miles of Smiles. All of these books demonstrated ways people can help those around them.
In January the children will turn their focus to our Ventana Value of Well Being. Here's that value in full:
We value well-being for ourselves and for our community. The health, safety, and stability of the entire community figures in every decision and prioritizes every action. Engaging the body with healthy food, the mind with knowledge and ideas, and the spirit with understanding and compassion provides the balanced conditions that stimulate self confidence, self-esteem, respect for each other, and acceptance of differences. At Ventana we eschew materialism, venerate the natural world, and emphasize human welfare as the bridge to happiness.
Both of these topics could provide for some great discussion at home over the holiday break and into the new year!
|
|
Volunteer Spotlight: Jenny Mailhot
This month we'd like to introduce you to Jenny Mailhot, who heads our Hospitality Committee. Her son is a preschooler with the four- and five-year-olds in the Dove room.
Jenny first began helping out in the classroom, washing towels and bringing flowers, and on Ventana work weekends. For the last two years she was a room parent too. But then, she says, "I wanted to try a
school-wide volunteer position and hospitality sounded fun. I learned what to do from Julie Stanford and other experienced parents like Seda Becer, Annette Munkbey, and Evita Twerdahl." This is actually the first year that Hospitality Chair is an official VePA role, Jenny notes, but lots of parents had already been doing hospitality for Ventana events.
Jenny really likes the flexibility of this particular role. "I like that I can help with planning and coordination in the evenings, when it's convenient for me. Hospitality is an easy way to help out with school events, setting up snacks and drinks." The variety of volunteer roles is also a plus, she finds. "There are many ways to volunteer at Ventana. You can find a good fit your schedule and mix it up from year to year."
|
|
Parenting Education Articles
|
|
Is Kindergarten the New First Grade?
No question, say researchers from the University of Virginia. They tracked the level of academic instruction in traditional kindergartens from 1998 to 2010 and were surprised by how much it's changed.
"
Academic skill-building has really taken center stage in today's kindergarten classrooms in a way that just wasn't the case" in the late 1990s, says researcher Daphne Bassok.
And while increased expectations ushered in the with No Child Left Behind law aren't necessarily bad, they're problematic when academics come at the expense of play, social-emotional learning, or time spent with music and art, which has decreased dramatically since 1998.
What's more, many teachers are feeling a need to focus on assessments and learning milestones like reading. "People are pressured to show good test scores and the standards are being re-interpreted to fit this idea that if we want students at a certain lexile level at the end of high school then they have to be reading in kindergarten," explained one of the researchers. "This doesn't align with how kindergarteners' brains are wired or how they learn."
|
|
Your Brain on Curiosity
Many teachers (and parents) instinctively recognize that when children are curious, they're more likely to stay engaged with a subject. But why? What is curiosity and how does it affect the brain?
Recent studies have revealed more about this impulse. As described in the article
"What's Going on Inside the Brain of a Curious Child," when someone's curiosity is piqued, the parts of the brain that regulate pleasure and reward light up. And there's more activity in the hippocampus, where memories are created.
Researchers studying this phenomenon "
were surprised to learn that curious brains are better at learning not only about the subject at hand, but also other stuff -- even incidental, boring information."
Teachers can use this trait in their classrooms. Children who are fascinated by space travel, for example, might better remember a math word problem that has to do with astronauts. One teacher notes, "They feel especially good if they discover something, if they construct knowledge themselves."
(Thank you to our Ventana teachers, who help our kids make discoveries like these every day.)
|
|
Please
Give to the Ventana Annual Fund
We want to take a moment to thank all those Ventana families who have given so generously to the Annual Giving Campaign. It is beautiful to see those leaves of support popping up on the trees outside each classroom! The kids have designed beautiful wooden trees and can't wait to see them "grow" in our forest once each class reaches 100% participation, at any giving level.
Will you join other families in making a
donation to Ventana?
|
|
Holiday Break: NO SCHOOL
December 19 - January 2
|
|
Coffee & Conversation: Tuition Talk
January 5
8:45 - 10:00 a.m.
Please join Marcy and Ventana Board representatives to discuss next year's tuition increase. And as a reminder, you're welcome to visit Marcy one-on-one as well if you have any questions or concerns.
|
|
Charlotte Diamond in Concert
January 15
3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
R
enowned children's recording artist Charlotte Diamond will be performing in the Christ Church Sanctuary for a one-time only Los Altos appearance. This is a performance the whole family can enjoy. Ventana children are already learning many of the songs Charlotte will be performing and they will be invited to join her on stage to sing.
The concert will be open to the public and seating will be limited. Special discount tickets for Ventana families can be purchased now at
http://tinyurl.com/slipperyfish.
|
|
Education Connection: Kindergarten Readiness Panel
January 19
6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
Stephanie Agnew, from
Parent's Place
, will host a panel of teaching experts, including Ventana's own Julie Kelsey and Sonali Silva, who will answer your questions
about kindergarten placement for 2017-18. Kindergarten-eligible children are those who are five years old on or before September 1
st
, 2017.
|
|
All School Meeting + Family Game Night & Toy Hack-a-Thon
January 26
6:00 - 8:30 p.m.
Immediately following our All School Meeting at 6:00 p.m., please stay to enjoy our annual Family Game Night ... this year also featuring a Toy Hack-a-Thon hosted by our math and science teachers Harfijah and Rick! Bring the whole family along with your favorite board game and any used or broken toys. You won't want to miss this
evening of laughter, strategy, creativity, and innovation.
|
|
Elementary Parent Conferences
January 27
NO SCHOOL for elementary students
Parents and students will attend individually scheduled conferences on this Friday.
|
|
Preschool Parent Conferences
January 30 - February 3
Individually scheduled conferences will occur throughout the week.
|
Have something you'd like to submit for our next newsletter? Send your completed content to [email protected] by the 20th of each month to be included.
|
|
|
Ventana School | Nurturing Minds and Hearts
|
|
|
|
|
|
