Dear Sprague Community, Even with the cold, we had 232 students participate in today’s Walk to School Day! Sprague students are a hearty bunch! I hate to sound like a broken record, but it is very important that students have warm clothes, jackets, hats, and mittens for outdoor recess each day. We go outside as much as we can. It is also a good idea to write your child’s name in his/her belongings. The Lost and Found area is growing again! As a faculty, we reflect on best practices for teaching and learning regularly. The work of Carol Dweck on mindsets is particularly relevant in thinking about how our kids learn best and how the adults in school learn and improve their teaching practices. She talks about a ‘growth mindset’ or a ‘fixed mindset,’ meaning that those with a growth mindset believe that their effort is key when they experience success while those with a fixed mindset tend to believe that ‘smart’ people are successful and success is based more on a fixed level of skill or intelligence that each one of us possesses. Clearly, we would like to foster a “growth mindset” in our students and help them see that struggling to figure out an answer can be more rewarding than just being told the correct answer. In short, effort matters. In school, teachers do provide guidance and support, and hopefully these are the tools to enable students to get to the answers with effort and sometimes collaboration. There is nothing that builds confidence more than having figured something out, or done something on your own. As I walk around the school each day, I hear teachers providing the kind of questions, instruction, and guidance that will foster student learning, increased independence, and confidence. Our second graders are currently learning about sea creatures in the classroom. They have touch tanks in the classrooms for 4 weeks with different creatures each week. They began with sea stars, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins. Students observe what they look like and feel like and engage in hands on learning. Later in the year, they will take a Tide Pool field trip to Marshfield to see these creatures in their natural environment! This is all part of our wonderful science curriculum in Wellesley. Mr. Hagar-McKee is excited to present our Winter Concert on Friday, January 16th at 9:00 a.m. in the Sprague Gym. The concert will feature performances by the band, orchestra, and 5th grade chorus. We hope to see many of you there. Global Child after school language classes will begin again on February 3rd. Please be sure to register if your child is interested. Those who registered for the entire year back in the fall need not fill out a form again. Kindergarten Registration If you have an incoming kindergarten student for the 2015-2016 school year, you should receive a packet in the mail with registration information in the next two weeks. The mailing list is based on census results, so if you are new to town, you can also access the forms on the district website in the next week or so. There will be 2 dates for the Kindergarten Roundup: Wednesday, February 11th from 3:00-6:00 p.m. or Saturday, March 7th from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Both Roundups will take place in the Sprague library. Children must be 5 years old on or before August 31, 2015 to be eligible. Bring registration information and required documents to the Round Up. Giddy Up! Progress Reports will be sent home with students on Friday, January 30th. Dates to remember: January 16: Winter Concert at 9:00 a.m. January 19: No school-Martin Luther King Day January 30: Progress Reports are sent home February 16-20: February School Vacation Week
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