During the recent Kindergarten and 1st Grade Teaching and Learning Dialogue, the main theme of the conversation revolved around the role of language within our school community.  While English is the primary language of instruction, one of the main goals for all of our students in our community is continue developing proficiency in multiple languages.  Given these circumstances, I had the opportunity to speak a bit about what it is we aim to achieve and what we emphasize as a faculty.  As well, parents had the chance to weigh into the discussion to share what they hoped their children would gain through learning experiences at BFIS.

Although there were quite a few details shared related to research on language acquisition in terms of how it happens and the associated timeline for the process, the primary focus had to do with the mindset that we want our teachers to have upon entering the classroom.  First and foremost, it is critical that teachers see students as unique individuals with specific needs in terms of language development.  Teachers have to analyze whether students are developing language competency, literacy or perhaps both.  As well, we must consider a child's linguistic and literacy development in his/her mother tongue.  Moreover, we have to look at the curriculum experience of childern and determine how to balance content or concept objectives alongside language development objectives for children acquiring an additional language.  Simply, there are a number of layers and specific pieces of information that impact the strategies that we will use for a given child and for that reason it is vital that teachers think and act on a case by case basis.

I also wanted to note that there seems to be a bit of confusion that has arisen as a result of this conversation amongst different members of the parent community.  During the Dialogue, one parent raised the question of whether or not the school would ever consider teaching subjects such as Art, PE or Music in Spanish as a way of allowing children further opportunities to acquire more of the Spanish language.  While we understand that learning Spanish is a priority for many families, the school has no plans to begin teaching additional subjects in Spanish.  Certainly, we agree that having children participate in very context-rich activities aids language acquisition.  However, given that the primary language of instruction at BFIS is English, we will continue to have all classes, with the exception of Castellano, Catalan and Spanish as a Foreign Language, taught in English. 

We have found through experience that if parents do choose to enroll their children in sports or arts activities throughout the city, many instructors are willing to teach classes in Castellano if asked by participating families to do so.  Therefore, we strongly encourage families to pursue these opportunities with their childen if learning Spanish or Catalan is a significant priority. 

As always, I would like to thank the parents who were able to make the time to attend the Dialogue.  With approximately 25 parents, I believe that it was one of the largest turnouts that we have had for this type of an event.  I hope that it was pertinent and interesting for those who attended and I very much look forward to hosting another Kindergarten and 1st Grade Dialogue in the spring.

Just a simple reminder to announce that the ES Halloween Parade will begin promptly at 3:15 pm on the main patio.  Later in the evening, the Halloween Party hosted by the PTA will be held from 7:00 pm until 10:00 pm.

Hope to see you at both events!

At the most recent Teaching and Learning Dialogue, which was held for the parents of children in Nursery and Pre-K, a variety of interesting topics came to light.  While I had prepared two main talking points, parents had the opportunity to raise different questions that provided an opportunity to share further details about different aspects of BFIS.

The first item that I chose to share with the parents was my excitement over finally establishing a consistent framework of two classes per grade throughout the elementary school.  I spoke about the fact that this has been part of the strategic plan in the elementary for many years and that finally we have been able to turn this hope into reality.  One of the primary benefits of having this structure is that it enhances the level of collaboration amongst teachers because there is a natural counterpart for every classroom.  Consequently, it helps us ensure that teachers are never working in isolation and constantly have opportunities to share ideas as well as learn from others.

Additionally, I spoke briefly about the fact that we will have an educator by the name of Chrissy Bruce spending some time each week working with teachers in Nursery and Pre-K.  Her role will be to work with our team of teachers to help support the implementation of an early intervention advocacy program.  The objective of this program is to ensure that our children are working toward meeting appropriate developmental benchmarks in speech and language development as well as with fine and gross motor skills.  While we always aim to make the best use of our instructional time each day, it is equally important to communicate with parents if support outside the school is necessary.  We believe this is critical as early intervention is extremely beneficial for children with specific developmental challenges.

Overall, I was extremely appreciative of the parents who took the time to attend the Dialogue.  My hope is that it was both informative and interesting for those who were present and that we have an even greater number of parents for the second round in the spring.

A few days ago I had the great fortune of being Mr. Bear during a Class Meeting with Ms. Erika.  Mr. Bear is not just a hand puppet, he is a critical member of the 1st grade community.  His job is to join in during Class Meetings to talk about the challenges he is facing and the conflicts that he has to deal with each day.  Then, along with the help of the class, Mr. Bear is able to learn new strategies for independently resolving challenging situations.  Therefore, when asked if I would be willing to play the part of Mr. Bear for a Class meeting, I was more than delighted to take hold of this opportunity.

The challenge faced by Mr. Bear on this day was the fact that one of his classmates, Ms. Bunny (another puppet, orchestrated by Ms. Delgado on this day), made fun of the fact that his zipper was down.  When all of the other animals started laughing, Mr. Bear became really sad and had to find a way to share his feelings with Ms. Bunny and resolve the situation.  Thankfully, Mr. Lion (played by Ms. Erika) was able to help Mr. Bear navigate this conflict by expressing his feelings directly and respectfully and encouraging Ms. Bunny to empathetically listen to those concerns.

The objective of this role play activity was for the children to internalize a process to help them resolve conflicts.  The process being explicity taught was quite simple in the sense that it requires the first person to say how they feel and why.  The role of the other party is to listen actively, not interrupt and take responsibility for his/her actions before starting to present different justifcations.

As part of the learning that takes place each day, we place a high level of emphasis on the importance of social and emotional growth.  We encourage children to find peaceful and proactive ways to address problems with an increasing level of independence and understanding as time goes on.  In many ways, these types of lessons are the most important ones of the school year because they are aimed at building the social skills necessary to build successful relationships throughout life.

Dear Parents,

Keeping with the tradition of the past few years, we will be continuing to host our Teaching and Learning Dialogues.  These gatherings provide an opportunity for parents to meet with members of the administration and occasionally members of the faculty in a relatively open-ended dialogue, whereby the goal is a combination of informing parents about key aspects of our educational program and offering a chance for parents to pose questions as well.

In order to ensure that the Dialogues are highly relevant to the interests of parents, there are two specific measures that we have put into place.  First, the Dialogues are held for groups of parents whose children are within a particular range of their educational career.  For example, we have a specific gathering for parents of children in Nursery and Pre-Kindergarten because their interests might be different than parents whose children are in 4th and 5th grade.  As well, parents who plan on attending the Dialogues are invited to send an email to me in advance of the gathering with the issues they are most interested in discussing. From there, I will use this information to create an outline of the key points to be addressed.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me at any time and I look forward to seeing you at the Teaching and Learning Dialogues!

Sincerely,

James Duval

Elementary Principal

Teaching and Learning Dialogue Schedule

October 15 - Nursery and Pre-K

October 22 - Grade 11 and Grade 12

October 29 - Kindergarten and 1st

November 19 - Grade 9 and Grade 10

November 26 - Grade 2 and Grade 3

December 3 - Grade 6, Grade 7 and Grade 8

December 10 - Grade 4 and Grade 5

All Teaching and Learning Dialogues will take place in the Music Room beginning at 9:00 am.

Being on campus during the summer months, particularly when there Summer Program has come to an end, brings a host of feelings and emotions upon me.  The school is without its students, teachers and parents, which comprise the heart and soul of the community.  Consequently, there is an eerie quiet from time to time and especially so if you're there when the sun goes down.

At the same time, the anticipation of all that is to come in a matter of weeks is simultaneously exhilirating.  I keep wondering if the anxious energy will wear off as the years go by but, at this point, I cannot imagine feeling any other way.  The excitement comes from imagining the possibilities ahead and the slight nervousness from caring deeply about making sure that the foundation is properly laid for an outstanding year.  I can barely stand this waiting game.

I would like to say thanks to all of the students and parents who came to show their support at our Garden Gathering.  We had a wonderful turnout of people at this informal event in which the goal was simply to get everyone excited about the new additions we've made to our garden and the fact that spring is around the corner!

By asking families to adopt plants for our garden, donate soil or simply purchase baked goods to support our efforts, the end result was 388 euros and a priceless amount of joy around campus.  We have already seen the impact of having a bit more garden space impact student life as elementary students have planted potatoes, tomatoes and many other things that you'll have to stop by and see for yourself!

A very special thank you must go to Mr. Hupp, Ms. Ellie, Ms. Margarita and Ms. Maura for taking the lead on the faculty side of things while Ms. Pilar Ubach continues to inspire all of us by coordinating parent volunteers, working with students and classes and generally showing all of us the kind of life a garden can bring to a community.

Please keep an eye out for future Garden Gatherings in the community.  Undoubtedly, we'll have an opportunity to share our harvest of goods.  For those of you who made a contribution, please hold onto your voucher coupons, which you will be able to exchange for a small gift of appreciation at the next Gathering!

“Tyrannosaurus was the biggest dinosaur but the Brachiosaurus was also very strong. The Argentinosaurus was the fastest. And they were all herbivorous.” This was not the conversation of paleontologists, or middle school students doing a unit on prehistoric reptiles. These were 4 year olds in Ms. Karina and Ms Maura’s pre-kinder classroom sharing with me their knowledge. “And did you know, that they died because huge stones killed them?” All of this while
they showed me the diorama they had made as well as art work displayed on the walls.

I left this class thinking that our youngest learners can be our most intense and playful inquirers. Not to underestimate the cognitive capacity of four year olds because of their smallness or runny noses. Their curiosity and imaginations are huge, and form the foundation for the development of intellect.