Welcome to Our Classroom Webpage!

Welcome to Our Classroom Webpage!

Thursday, September 1, 2016

School Family Board

Dear Families, September 1, 2016
This year the St.Johnsbury School is taking on a book study around Conscious Discipline. Conscious Discipline is a mindset change within you the adult and your perception of interactions with children. It is completely student centered. It views behavior as an opportunity to teach skills that are not present. Conscious Discipline focuses on fostering and building empathy, social emotional development and relationships among peers and adults.
Currently I am completing my masters program at Lyndon State College as a reading specialist. I will be graduating in December of 2016. As my final thesis, I have chosen to research and implement a safe place in my classroom as defined in Conscious Discipline. A safe place is not a punishment, but is a space in the classroom that is private and quiet for students to go to in order to calm down or regulate when they are feeling a strong emotion. The safe place asks students to identify how they are feeling when they enter the space, take deep breaths and choose a strategy to support them. Some strategies include fidgets, resting, looking at a book, coloring or counting. After 5 minutes, students will determine how they are feeling. Research supports that the safe place allows students some space to regain their emotions and refocus for the task ahead. I will be collecting data on student emotions in order to show the effects of the safe place, but i will not be using anything with your child’s name attached to it.
In addition to the safe place, I have also chosen to implement a school family board in our classroom. The school family board is located in the safe place and allows students to see the people that love and care for them/ or that they love and care for. This board will bring comfort to students knowing that they always have love and family with them. In order to complete this board, I need your help! Please send in 1-3 photos of the people or things that your child really cares about. We will post the photos on the school family board and your child can visit the pictures to remind them that they are loved. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!!!

Miss Bailey :)
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Classroom Information

.::Academic Structures::.

First and foremost, I believe that students learn best through play. My kindergarteners get at least 45 minutes/day of free play in the classroom. This does not include recess or U-Arts. In addition, I try my best to make learning fun, engaging and interactive. I also believe that students need to talk and share and communicate their ideas and thinking. Their voices matter!

Literacy
In kindergarten, your students will be participating in a literacy structure called the Daily 5. In this structure students gain access to many important skills such as:
* Independence
* Routines
* Choice over learning
* Stamina
* Engagement in hands on learning
* Reading, writing and working with words
Students will also participate in daily phonics lessons that support students learning around letters, sounds and making words. As the year progresses and foundational skills and routines have been established, students will participate in guided reading groups.

Math
In math, students will participate in hands on learning through the support of the Engage NY/Eureka curriculum. Students will begin with numbers 0-5 to build a foundation of structures and routines that will support their work with larger numbers and more complex concepts.


Writing
Students will take part in writing each and every day through the structure of the writing workshop. Writing is critical in early development. It allows students to express themselves, communicate ideas and thinking, and make connections with their learning throughout the other practices.

Science/Social Studies
Students will also learn about and explore several hands on engaging concepts in science and social studies based on the Vermont Early Learning Standards. These activities will include expansion of vocabulary and understanding, projects, field-trips and a lot of fun! Some topics include:
* Apples and Pumpkins
* Classroom Community
* Friendship and Kindness
* Community Helpers
* Maps
* Animals in Winter
* Seasons/Weather
* Force and Motion
* Earth Day
* Plants

.:: Classroom Management::.

Responsive Classroom
The St. Johnsbury School is working under a consistent structure called Responsive Classroom. Responsive Classroom supports natural/logical consequences (ie. something spills, you clean it up). We work to build trust and relationships with one another. We do not all need to be friends, but we do all need to be friendly and respectful. Responsive Classroom supports a proactive approach of understanding children and their development, making learning fun, taking body/mind breaks, movement, singing, dancing and putting children first. It believes in explicitly teaching skills and expectations so students understand what is expected of them and there are no surprises. This model can be described as a "go slow, to go fast". I have been using this structure for 4 years now and I believe that it supports the needs of students.

"Safe Space"
This year, I will be implementing a "safe space" in the classroom. This safe space will be a designated place in the classroom students can use for several purposes. Students may use it to calm down if they are having a strong emotion, or if they are having a hard time focusing. It is a proactive, sensory based space that supports students needs. It is not a punishment and will be accessible to all students. Stay tuned for more information later on this year!