Mindfulness In The Classroom

Mindfulness in the classroom
 This year, we are excited to bring a new resource, Inner Explorer, to our classrooms to help our students develop focus, self-awareness and self-control, all critical skills for success in school. Each day, classes can participate in the 5-8 minute program in the classroom. The sessions will take place during normal transition times without changing the regular curriculum and routines. Students will be encouraged to participate in the sessions, but will not be required to do so. The sessions focus on breathing and relaxation as well as awareness of the senses.

We are excited to engage in a program that has shown benefits across a wide spectrum of applications, especially in education. We know that many students struggle to maintain attention and awareness throughout the day, and that some also grapple with stress and anxiety regularly. It is our hope that helping students to become more aware of the moment they are in will help them problem solve throughout their day. Please visit innerexplorer.org to learn more about the program, and do not hesitate to contact Jenn Clifford with questions.

Healthy Snacks and Sharing Our Favorite Books

My thanks to everyone who contributed to our healthy Halloween snacks. The children enjoyed the special treat and some even used everyday bravery and tried a sunflower seed (harvested from Gavin's 1st grade sunflower plant), hummus or a new vegetable. As always, snuggling in with a great book is a wonderful way to end our week of learning.

All School Meeting-Acts Of Kindness

On Wednesday morning, we participated in our first All School Meeting of the year. The focus of the meeting was on kindness to ourselves, our school community and our families.  The children will be reading Have You Filled Your Bucket Today? A Guide to Daily Happiness For Kids by Carol McCloud and will commit to an act of kindness. Our acts of kindness will be displayed on a rainbow in the dining hall. The kindergarteners sang a song about peace. The assembly ended with a song by the string jam.

The Halloween Parade

We had a wonderful time sharing our Halloween costumes with the Cutler community.  After, the parade, we participated in Drop Everything And Move.  The 5th graders did a wonderful job leading us in routines to The Monster Mash and Thriller.

IXL-These are the concepts we are currently studying

Please encourage your child to choose from these sections in IXL for part of their practice session.  

Geometry

1. T.1Identify 2-dimensional shapes
2. T.2Identify 3-dimensional shapes
3. T.3Identify 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional shapes
4. T.4Count sides and angles
5. T.5Count edges, vertices, and faces
6. T.6Compare sides and angles
7. T.7Compare edges, vertices, and faces

RAZ kids and IXL

 Just a reminder that the children have access to IXL (for math practice) and RAZ Kids for reading/comprehension practice at home. Please let me know if you have difficulty accessing either site or have questions about the two programs.  Please encourage the children to read/listen to each story carefully and to complete the comprehension questions for the stories.

Here are the two links:

https://www.ixl.com/signin/hwrsd

https://www.kidsa-z.com

Geometry- Creating Scenes with Pattern Blocks and googly eyes!!