A Note from Principal Tony Byers
And just like that, it’s October! The first month of school is behind us and we’re heading into fall. Like the start of anything, the first month of school is a tremendous amount of work, for both teachers and families. A productive school day and a productive home life both depend on routines, and September is all about learning and relearning the routines that set up a successful school year. Hear more from Tony >>

Get Connected 
There are many ways to stay in touch with the G&P Community!
ParentLink: Everyone should be getting emails directly from the school (usually from Tony or Lauren) with school updates. If you are not, please call or stop by the Main Office to verify your contact information.
GP21: Get messages from G&P families and staff and post messages to other family members! To sign up: 
–If you don’t have a yahoo account, sign up for one for free: www.yahoo.com/email 
–Send an email to [email protected] from your REGULAR email, explaining your connection to G&P (i.e. parent of a 2nd grader) 
–Once approved, set your preferences to receive each post or a daily or weekly update!
Facebook: Like us on Facebook to get updates from the School! And tell your G&P FB friends. www.facebook.com/grahamandparks 
Backpack Express: Flyers sent home in your child’s backpack from school or local organizations to keep families up to date. Don’t forget to check your child’s backpack every night!
Newsletter: We send out a monthly email and hard copy.
Room Parents: Room Parents send class specific or school-wide emails to families in each class.
G&P Web Site: Grahamandparks.cpsd.us. Great resource for teacher contact info, school calendars and Family Handbook.

Welcome Back G&P
By Jodie Darnell, School Operations Manager
There is never as much laughter during a school assembly as in the first one of the school year. This might have something to do with the "Meet the Teachers and Staff" video, which has now become a G&P tradition. If you haven't already heard about it, ask your children about Tony's headstand or Mr. K and Ms. Harris' karaoke bit. As a community, we practiced morning greetings in Amharic, Arabic, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish - which is just a few of the dozens of languages spoken throughout the school! And for the second time (also now a tradition), we assembled our Reading Dragon, displaying the hundreds of books read by the students and staff over the summer. And of course, students in every grade showed off their math facts. As always, it was a great way to kick off a year of monthly assemblies. Some of the themes for assemblies include G&P's C.A.R.E.S. values, diversity, poetry, and dance. Look out for a summarizing article of the monthly assembly in every newsletter!

Potluck
By Lauren Morse, Family Liaison
Thanks for a wonderfully delicious Back to School Potluck! The G&P Back-to-School Potluck is one of my favorite G&P traditions. Nowhere else can I walk around and fill my plate with dumplings, Injera (delicious Ethiopian bread and dip), quinoa salad, pasta and more. While many of the kids swarmed every pizza that arrived, others were able to stroll around, check out food from around the world and enjoy getting to know each other and exploring our amazing courtyard. Families were able to mark where they are from on a world map and let others know how to say hello in their home language. It is always a wonderful night to celebrate our international school, welcome everyone back to school and catch up after a long summer. Thanks to those who cooked, brought pizza and desserts, volunteered, and everyone who attended and helped to make it a great night! And thanks to Tony for doing the dishes!

Staff Spotlight: Jodie & Tony!
Get to know our School Operations Manager and Principal a bit more with this Q&A. Read more >>



Math Corner
Tips for Helping Your Child's Mathematical Development
By Claire Dahill, G&P Math Coach
–The first step to success in math is a positive attitude!
–Play math puzzles and games with your child, this will help them become better strategizers and problem-solvers. They will begin to see mathematical thinking and reasoning as something that can be fun. It is the parent-child interaction that promotes learning.
–When your child is struggling with a math problem ask them to explain what they’re thinking. Try asking, “What have you tried so far?” Try not to show them the way you learned to compute – it is often different than they way they’re learning in class and can confuse the child. If they’re really stuck on a homework problem write a note to his/her teacher. This is important feedback for teachers.
–Never share that you hate math or you were bad at it – especially mothers. Researchers found that as soon as mothers shared that idea with their daughters, their daughter’s achievement went down.
–Encourage number sense and working flexibly with numbers. For example, when working out 29 + 56, if you take one from the 56 and add it to the 29, now you have 30 + 55, which is much easier to work out.
–Encourage a “growth mindset” and the idea that making mistakes and working through them helps our brains to grow stronger. Praise persistence and problem-solving, not being “smart.” Stay tuned for more math news next month.

A New 4th Grade SEI Class and a Change to Our Technology Instruction
By Tony Byers, Principal
Due to a large growth in our SEI population, we are opening another 4th grade SEI class. We have hired Inbal Alon as the additional 4th grade SEI teacher, who will spend some time in Rm 221 before moving into a new classroom with half of the current 31 students. We are thrilled to have Inbal in this new role – she has been at G&P as a 1st grade SEI para and as an ESL teacher, and she is excited to now have her own classroom. Please join us in welcoming her to this new role!

Unfortunately, this means we need a new classroom, and there is only one non-classroom left in the building: the computer lab. It’s important for you to know that the district is moving away from the computer lab model and ours had a rapidly approaching expiration date. Shifting it to a classroom now is simply moving up the timeline and ensures that we get to do it in a way that supports our SEI students (and teachers!). Jen Lavalle, our Instructional Technology Specialist, will use a mobile set of iPads to bring technology into the classrooms and will be based in the library with Ann Neiderkorn. They already work closely together and are excited to now be roommates as well. If you have any questions, feel free to come talk to me, Jen, or your classroom teacher.



G&P Market and Cradles to Crayons! 
By Lauren Morse, Family Liaison
Please join us for our first G&P Market of the year on Thursday, October 13th from 2:15-4:30PM in the Main Lobby. The G&P Market is open to ALL families and is a great way to get free, fresh vegetables and fruit, as well as important staples like pasta, cereal, rice and beans, and more! Thanks to the support of Food for Free and the Mayor’s office, we are thrilled to have the G&P Market again this year. If you’d like to participate, please bring a shopping bag with you! If you’d like to help before or during the Market, please email Lauren at [email protected].

Thanks to a new partnership between Food for Free and Cradles to Crayons, G&P families will also be able to request free clothes and school supplies from Cradles to Crayons! Cradles to Crayons provides KidPacks with everyday essentials--such as clothing, shoes, jackets, hats and gloves, and more--for children in need from birth through age 12. Each KidPack is uniquely ordered for an individual child to match their sizes and needs. Cradles to Crayons will be on site to take KidPack requests at the G&P Market on October 13th from 2-4:30PM. Families are also able to request KidPacks for G&P siblings who do not attend our school. If you’d like to donate like-new clothes, shoes or winter gear, please bring them the G&P Market. Many thanks to Cradles to Crayons for bringing this additional resource to our school!



Get Involved at G&P!
There are so many ways to get involved at G&P, from the Steering Committee to the Food Assistance Committee to Friends of G&P and more.
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In Our Community
Find out what's going on in our Cambridge community!
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