Happy 2013
Welcome Back!
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| Members of the Lower School Chorus photo by Michael Rodenbush |
Technology Bringing Us Together
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| Third- and seventh-grade partners photo by Michael Rodenbush |
Since Lower School Notes moved to a blog format in September of 2011, it is possible to keep track of how many times it has been opened (with this post it will top 20,000 - over 400 per post), on what devices it is read (34% each on Windows PCs and iPhones, 14% on Macs, 7% on iPads and 6% on Android devices...), and most interestingly that it has been opened in 39 countries (Andorra, Antigua, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Columbia, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, France, Gabon, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Phillipines, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela)! |
| A third grader and her dad work on a holiday project. photo by Michael Rodenbush |
I imagine that most of the "reads" from the other 38 countries come from family and friends who have had the URL shared with them by proud Lower School parents. It is perhaps a measure of our diversity that our students have family and friends from so many countries around the world.
One of the reasons that Lower School Notes gets shared around the world is that it is possible to see videos like the December chorus concert below, and the photos and stories above and below.
On a smaller scale, our family celebrated our Christmas "together," separated by thousands of miles. We used Google+ hangout video chat (allows up to 15 people to video conference simultaneously). Melissa and I were visiting one daughter and her husband in Fairbanks, Alaska, our oldest daughter and her husband were at home in California, our youngest son and his wife were at home in Massachusetts, while our oldest son, my sister, her husband and my 98 year-old mother were in Rhode Island. We were able not only to "be" together at Christmas, but also for our oldest daughter to share her news about becoming a mother, and for us, first-time grandparents!
It is clear to me that technology can bring us all closer!
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There are two new posts on the
with sample math team problems and student solutions.
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Back-to-School Nights 2
Save the date:
Grades 2-5: Tuesday, February 5th at 7:00 pm
Preschool - First Grade: Thursday February 7th at 7:00 p.m.
Teachers are planning activities that they have done with students that will engage parents in the types of learning that their children are involved in every day. Some teachers are planning to work together as a grade-level team, others will involve specialist teachers. Parents will probably be surprised, and we hope, pleased by what they learn about how learning might be different than what they experienced as they were growing up; how it can be truly engaging; and why their children look forward to being at school everyday. There will be the opportunity for discussion and bonding amongst parents and teachers. It was wonderful last year to hear how much laughter there was during these events and to hear the positive feed back from parents and teachers alike.
We hope that every parent will take advantage of this enlightening opportunity.
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The Pringle Challenge
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| Individual success |
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| Team success |
Several weeks before the break, fifth graders were given an optional engineering challenge. Briefly, it was to send an intact Pringle chip to me through the U.S. mail. They were given my address and the size of the mail slot in my door. For packaging, they could only use paper and tape. There were 13 packages that made it, but only 5 survived intact when we opened them up. One was an unofficial entry from a parent who just had to give it a try.
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| Individual success |
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| Almost a winner - note small chip at the top |
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| A note from a dad |
 Another successful team |
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