Dear Sprague Community,
We had a great first week of school last week. The heat is still with us and we are so grateful for our air conditioning at Sprague! We have welcomed many new staff members and many new families to Sprague this fall. We hope to see you all at the Ice Cream Social on Thursday, weather permitting. It is sponsored by our AMAZING PTO and they will serve both Pizza and Ice Cream starting at 6 PM on the playground.
Summer Reading
I read some great books this summer. I also read a couple that I wouldn’t recommend, but that’s OK. I would recommend “Hillbilly Elegy” and “Re Jane, A Novel.” I hope you and your children found some good titles as well!
It is not too late to turn in those summer reading logs or Book Buzz papers! Our librarian, Ms. J is collecting them still. You can also still send her a photo of your child reading this summer. Students who return forms will be entered into a raffle and receive a bookmark. We will celebrate Summer Reading at a school gathering on Sept. 7th.
Growth Mindset
You will notice that many classrooms begin the year by teaching classroom routines and procedures. Teachers also pay close attention to how they set the positive tone for learning in the classroom. One way they do this is to promote a ‘growth mindset.’ For those who have been at Sprague, this is a familiar term. Our students know that it is OK to make mistakes and that we all learn more from mistakes than from not taking the chance we might be wrong. Carol Dweck, a professor at Stanford University has done a great deal of research on the success levels of students who have a ‘growth mindset’ and believe that they can get ‘smarter’ with effective effort. These students are not afraid to make a mistake and view intelligence as something that they can grow. Students with a ‘fixed mindset’ are more apt to believe that some students are just smarter than they are and there is nothing they can do about it. Many Sprague teachers begin the year with a set of math lessons designed at Stanford University for elementary students. These lessons were designed by Professor Jo Boaler and promote a ‘growth mindset’ about math. You may hear adults you know say things like, “I’m just not a math person.” That kind of fixed mindset doesn’t fly in our classrooms and we work hard to promote a ‘growth mindset’ about all learning. The set of math lessons is called, “Week of Inspirational Math.” You may hear your child talk about the challenges in the lessons. Ask them to tell you about them!
Technology Links
I am attaching the links to Wellesley Public Schools Acceptable Technology Use for elementary grades. You would have signed off on this agreement in the Parent Portal in order to see your child’s classroom assignment. Each classroom in grades 3-5 has a cart with iPads so that each student has an iPad to use in school. You may have skimmed it, so here are the resources again so you can have a discussion with your child:
WPS Acceptable Use Guidelines for K-5
iPads and Laptops in our School K-5
For Parents of students in Grades 3-5 from Performing Arts Director, Mike LaCava:
Dear Sprague Grade 3-5 Families,
This Friday, September 7th we will have our annual Instrument Demonstration Assembly where our students in Grades 3-5 will have an opportunity to hear and see a variety of band and orchestra instruments available for our after school lesson program this year. This is a great opportunity for the students to listen to the instruments as well as ask teachers questions about each instrument.
This year, we would like to invite family members of our students to attend the assembly as well. We know as a parent or guardian you may have questions about the program or would like to see and hear what our program is like. This will also give you an opportunity to talk directly with our lesson teachers and ask specific questions about the Sprague band, orchestra and lesson program.
We hope you can join us this Friday, September 7th at 9:00 a.m. in the Sprague gymnasium for this assembly. If you are unable to attend but would like more information or have any questions, please feel free to contact our lesson program coordinator Russell Wilson (wilsonr@wellesleyps.org) or K-12 Director of Performing Arts Michael LaCava (lacavam@wellesleyps.org) at any time.
Sincerely,
Michael LaCava
K-12 Director of Performing Arts
Dates to remember
Sept. 6: Ice Cream Social and Pizza at 6 PM
Sept. 7: Instrumental Music Demo at 8:45 AM for grades 2-5 (Parents welcome)
Sept. 10: No school—Rosh Hashanah
Sept. 11: First full day for kindergarten
Sept. 12: Back to School Night
Sept. 13: School Picture Day
Sept. 13: PTO Meeting at 9:00 AM
Sept. 14: Walk to School Day
Sept. 14: Summer Reading Celebration Assembly
Sept. 19: No school—Yom Kippur
Sept. 27: Grade 5 Leadership Retreat—rescheduled from Sept. 14
Two messages from our 5th Grade Committee:
Sprague Night out at THE COTTAGE, Monday, September 17. Details to follow. Proceeds benefit the 5th Grade Activities Fund.
NEED LABELS FOR BACK TO SCHOOL, SPORTING GEAR??? Order now and help out the 5th Graders.
THE SPRAGUE 5th GRADERS have teamed up with the Mabel’s Labels Fundraising Program!
Click the link below, choose SPRAGUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (WELLESLEY) from the SELECT YOUR SCHOOL/ORGANIZATION dropdown menu on the left and order away!
We will get a percentage of every order placed.
Many thanks for supporting the SPRAGUE CLASS OF 2019 and enjoy your fall.