Dear Friends,
“Lucy Stone was an abolitionist and a suffragette.” Is this an answer you would expect from a second grader when asked to write some interesting things she learned about her character on a post-Chicago World’s Fair survey? Words such as this roll off the lips of even our youngest students. They understand their meaning and use them effortlessly in conversation. Did her teacher beat them into her brain, make her write them 100 times each, use flashcards…no, no, no!
She simply used and explained them for an entire term as together they learned about the people, life and times around the Chicago World’s Fair. The student knew about Lucy Stone because she
WAS Lucy Stone at the fair and had done research on herself!
Once again, the Chicago World’s Fair was worth all the time and effort we spent on it. Here are a few comments from the teachers’ post fair surveys.
- The kids were invested and excited.
- The students knew more information on their people and buildings than expected.
- The students were able to “learn in action” and see all their work, “work together".
- It was a joyful celebration, where students shared and used two terms worth of learning that was meaningful to all! Wow!
- I loved the excitement and watching my students use their engineering skills to construct a camera.
- The event felt calm and organized even though there was a lot going on.
- Each building was unique but appropriate and students were knowledgeable participants.
- I was happily surprised by how well my 3rd graders did with researching and memorizing their facts about their characters
- I’ll be able to use the CWF for the rest of the year by referencing the time period and the people present and well as the inventions and “firsts”. It will provide a helpful reference point.
- I’ve been pointing towards and alluding to the CWF since the beginning of the year. Now it will serve as a touchstone for what would come afterwards - the drama (both for good and ill) of the 20th century.
Naturally, a project of this magnitude requires an army of help! We thank you all for contributing in whatever way you participated. From flipping burgers and pancakes to supplying interesting artifacts for buildings, to decorating and setting up and tearing down, to chaperoning groups of fairgoers, we thank you!!!!
We are also
grateful for the Corner Shop at the First Congregational Church for saving and donating a huge bag of hats! We
thank the Wachusett Recycle Center for their helpful, enthusiastic support as well as providing a huge number of “artifacts” for the buildings.
RE-ACCREDITATION
Please pray for the committee members who are preparing an extremely long and intensive report for the reaccreditation team that will visit in April. We are also looking for
parents who would like to serve on a Focus Group before the visit and again during the visit. It will basically provide feedback from your perspective on the school as a whole. We’ll be looking for areas of commendation as well as recommendations.
Please call the office if you would like to serve in this way. Dates and times of the meeting will then be determined by the needs of the participants. Thank you!!
Many Blessings,
Susan Hayward, Principal
