What's Up @ G&P: November 2018
Published on Nov 5, 2018 10:22

  November 2018
Need this newsletter translated? Please contact the Bilingual/World Languages Dept. at 617.349.6468. Questions about the G&P newsletter? Please contact [email protected].
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A Note from Principal Tony Byers
Your child’s teacher should be contacting you soon to schedule a family-teacher conference during the month of November. We have two conferences a year; the first one is in November and the second one is in the spring. Both conferences are critically important for you to attend. It’s your chance to hear directly from your child’s teacher (and sometimes your child) about his or her progress in school. But more importantly, it’s also a time for conversation.
Hear more >>

Garden Update 
Cider Pressing in the G&P Courtyard - Nov. 5, 7 & 8
During CitySprouts' Annual Cider Pressing we introduce children and teachers to the school garden by setting up an apple press and teaching kids how to make cider. We would love parent/guardian volunteers to help set up, do a little crowd control, and clean up afterwards. Come enjoy fresh cider and see how much the kids love being outside in the garden. We will press cider at Graham & Parks on November 5, 7, 8. If interested, contact Andrea Locke at [email protected] or G&P parent garden coordinator Kris Dickson at [email protected].

Friends of G&P 
A big THANK YOU to all of the G&P families and staff members who participated in our Bertucci's fundraiser in October. Thanks to your support and the support of our local community, we raised $684 - money that will go back into our school to support our children's education.

Please mark your calendars for our November Pop-Up Shop - the week of November 26th - when we will sell G&P merchandise like t-shirts and hats. They make the perfect gifts for the upcoming holidays! The Pop-Up Shop will be open in the mornings before school and in the afternoons after school in the Main Lobby for the entire week of November 26th. If you aren't able to come in and are interested in purchasing G&P merchandise, please send an email to make alternate arrangements.

Grants that have been approved in October:
–Providing partial funding at $990 for the 4th Grade Tsongas Industrial History Center field trip.
–Providing full funding at $465 for the 1st Grade Wingmasters in-school presentation and owl pellets for in-class investigations.
–Providing full funding at $30 for materials for the 5th Grade Thompson Island duct tape wallet fundraiser.

Upcoming events:
G&P Movie Night - December 7th. Come join other G&P families for a fun evening watching a kid-friendly movie in the G&P cafeteria. Pizza and baked good will also be sold at this event, with all of the funds raised by this event going to support next year's (2019-2020) 5th Grade Thompson Island Overnight Trip.

And, as always, please come to our monthly meetings if you are able. Meetings are held on the 1st Friday of each month from 8:30-10AM in the G&P Main Lobby. Come for part or all of the meeting as your schedule allows. We are always interested in new ideas and feedback from G&P families.

October's Assembly: Diversity of the Human Brain Part I 
Graham & Parks celebrated the diversity of the human brain and different learning styles during October's all-school morning meeting. Students learned that there are many different ways of learning, including auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. This means learning by seeing, hearing, or doing with our hands and bodies. Some of us learn best when we get information all three ways! Several 5th graders shared a book, written by an 8th grader, to bring more awareness and understanding of students with diverse learning styles.  We did a movement activity using visual, auditory, and kinesthetic supports and encouraged students to notice which supports helped them the most. The assembly ended with a morning message from staff to students (see below). November's assembly will be Part II of celebrating the diversity of the human brain. Stay tuned! 

Dear Students,

Today we talked together about how our brains all learn differently. The best thing we can do is to learn more about how our brains learn best AND respect and show kindness to classmates, teachers, friends, and family when they are learning.  Whether a person’s brain learns similarly or differently from yours, it is important that everyone get what they need because at G&P we are all doing our best to be curious and engaged learners. If you notice something about how your brain works best, be sure to talk to your teachers about it!

Now go put those brains to work and have a great day!

Much love,

The grown-ups at G&P


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G&P Kids News Flash 
Welcome back to another Kids News Flash!
Read it here >>


sc members
Steering Committee 
Please welcome the 5 elected Parent Representatives on the Steering Committee! Kris Dickson, Nicole Meehan, Mercedes Soto, Christian Henry and Vivian Pales (pictured above). Our next Steering Committee Meeting is on Thursday, November 8th from 5:30-7:30PM. We will be reviewing our School Improvement Plan, providing an overview of the feedback we received from families in the 2018 Family Survey and using that feedback to inform the Family Engagement section of the School Improvement Plan. All Steering Committee meetings are open to anyone in the G&P community so please join us! The Steering Committee had an interesting meeting in October that included an impressive presentation by G&P 5th graders about a proposal to create a Student Council at G&P. The Steering Committee voted unanimously to approve the proposal to form a student council pending follow up with Tony and 5th grade teachers team to address questions about structure, adult support and fair process for selection of student council members. Tony also gave a detailed overview of the school-wide MCAS results from last year, including G&P’s unique demographics, how our performance compares to previous years and to other schools in the district, and our overall approach to MCAS testing. 

potluck
Thank You for a Wonderful International Potluck and Dance Festival! 
 
Notes from the Nurse
Head lice, a common occurrence in preschools and elementary schools has been present at Graham & Parks this year. Head lice are tiny insects that live on people's heads. Lice and nits (eggs) are found on or near the scalp, most often at the neckline and behind the ears. Hear more >> 
 

artwork
What's Up in the Art Room? 
Find out what our young artists have been up to lately.
Read more >> 


family dance
Music Notes 
At the beginning of the school year students had the opportunity to practice folk dancing during music class. This prepared them for the International Potluck and Dance Festival on October 3rd. Many families enjoyed dancing in the gym and then shared food from around the world. A great time was had by all!

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Library News 
Our new cozy reading corner is proving to be very popular with students of all ages! Special thanks to my 5th grade helpers who got it set up and looking so nice.


Seen Around G&P! 

kids reading
Some classrooms at Graham and Parks participate in buddy activities with another classroom. K105 and Room 213 (Jocelyn’s class) are paired up this year. In this partnership, each JK/K child is matched up with 1 or 2 students from Grade 4. Throughout the year they will have opportunities to engage in literacy, math, art, science, and social studies activities all while fostering a special relationship between the students in each class. During their first meeting, students loved meeting their buddies and interviewing each other to learn about their similarities and differences. They can’t wait for their next buddy experience!

cares tree
G&P students and staff contributed to this tree to celebrate our C.A.R.E.S values. It is on the wall past the Main Office - please check it out! Thank you to Liana, the Art Teacher and some of her students, they were kind enough to build the tree for us. Each hand represents one CARES value and it means to the person, for example, for Aim High, a student wrote SUCCESS. Our CARES Values are: 
C - Be Curious
A - Aim High
R - Respect everyone
E - Be an engaged learner
S - Show kindness


leaves
During our 5 senses unit, my kindergarten students had such a joyful experience in the school garden. It was such a pleasure watching them raking and jumping on the leaves. Their excitement, really, exceeded my expectations. It was a wonderful language experience that prompted them to speak and write. This experience also informed my instruction about the importance of joy in our teaching and learning journey.

In Our District & Community 
Hear about opportunities throughout our district and community. Learn more >>

G&P CALENDAR
School calendar >> 
District calendar >>

Tuesday, Nov. 6
Friends of G&P Election Day Bake Sale

Wednesday, Nov. 7, 2-4PM (NOTE CHANGE OF DATE)
G&P Market

Thursday, Nov. 8, 5:30-7:30PM 
G&P Steering Committee Meeting

Friday, Nov. 9, 8:30AM 
Family Cultural Exchange Program

Monday, Nov. 12 
NO SCHOOL - Veterans Day

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 5:30-7:30PM 
MATH NIGHT!

Wednesday, Nov. 21 
Early Release Day

Thursday & Friday, Nov. 22 and 23 
NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving

Monday, Nov. 26 - Friday, Nov. 30 
Friend of G&P Pop-Up Shop

Friday, Nov. 30 
Parent Coffee Talk

 
5TH GRADE ELECTION DAY BAKE SALE
Calling all bakers and volunteers to help support the 5th Grade Thompson Island Election Day Bake Sale! Every year, all 5th grade classrooms go to Thompson Island - one of the Boston Harbor Islands - for two days and one night. This overnight field trip is expensive, costing $220 per student. Please help us raise the needed funding. We need donated baked goods like: Muffins (sweet or savory), scones, cookies, brownies, banana bread, gluten-free items, etc. We need volunteers to staff the tables on Tuesday, November 6th: Please sign up for a shift or two on the Doodle Poll OR email Ena at [email protected] to sign up. Hours are between 6AM to 8PM in the gym. Food donations can be dropped off Monday, Nov 5th in the afternoon in the front lobby (there will be a cart). On Tuesday, Nov 8th, go directly to the gym to drop-off your donations. If possible, please place your items in their own packaging, indicate what it is and if it contains NUTS. All containers you want back should have your name on them and will be placed in the front lobby for pick-up.

SAVE THE DATE! G&P FAMILY MATH NIGHT COMING UP SOON!
Wednesday, November 14
Pizza from 5:45-6:15PM
Activities from 6:15-7:30PM
Meet in the G&P cafeteria for a light supper. Stay tuned for more information. If you’re interested in helping out, please contact Claire Dahill, Math Coach: [email protected]

FAMILY CULTURAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM (FCEP) 
We will be having our next monthly coffee at Bourbon Coffee on Friday, November 9th. We welcome all parents and caregivers to gather together for a chat and a warm drink at 1815 Mass Ave. This is a great opportunity to make new friends from Cambridge and around the world. You can meet us in the school lobby after drop-off at 8:30AM to walk over together, or you can meet us directly at Bourbon Coffee at 8:45AM.

LOST & FOUND
Did you know that Graham & Parks has a growing pile of Lost and Found clothes right outside the Gym? If you can stop by and take a look we would love for some of these items to be returned to their rightful owners!

SPANISH-SPEAKING GROUP – GRUPO DE PERSONAS QUE HABLAN ESPANOL 
Miércoles, el 7 de Noviembre a las 1 en la tarde
Hola, me encantaria que formaramos un grupo de personas que hablan español para que se sientan como en casa, para conocernos, ayudarnos en la transición en nuestra nueva vida. Hablaremos sobre los servicios de la escuela y los que brinda la ciudad de Cambridge. Unidos podemos lograr más. Están invitados todos los países pero será enfocados en los personas que hablan español.
Gracias,
Vivian, madre de Louis en Rm 222

LESSONS FROM THE 2018 FAMILY SURVEY
On October 2, CPS presented district-level results from the 2018 Family Survey. School leaders are in the midst of sharing survey data with their own school communities, and responses from families are helping to shape ongoing improvement efforts at the school and district level. Please join us on Thursday, Nov. 8th at the Steering Committee meeting to hear about the feedback that G&P families gave us and how we plan to incorporate that feedback into our School Improvement Plan!
Read about district-level findings >> 
Watch the presentation to School Committee >>
 


connect

GET CONNECTED
Stay in the loop by joining our social media communities! 
G&P Facebook >>
District Social Media >> 


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CPS MOBILE APP
 
Keep informed via our FREE mobile app! 
Details >>  
 

find it

FIND IT CAMBRIDGE 
Looking for things to do in Cambridge? Then take a peek at Find It Cambridge!
www.finditcambridge.org 

Baldwin

Graham & Parks School
44 Linnaean St.
Cambridge, MA 02138
School's Website
Main Office: 617.349.6577
School Cancellation Line:
617.349.6513
Tardy/Late Line:
617.349.6577 x125

Contacting G&P Staff
For time sensitive messages, call the main office at 617.349.6577. While staff cannot take phone calls during the day, you can leave a voice message by calling 617.349.6577 and using the classroom number as the extension. Staff members have email addresses as follows: First initial and last name as one word, followed by @cpsd.us. For example, Jane Smith would be [email protected]. Staff members also have mailboxes in the front office where you may leave a note.

 
 
grahamandparks.cpsd.us
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