NOVEMBER INSTRUCTIONAL VISION by Kristen Smidy

ksmidy1 — 2024-10-30 13:34:56 UTC

Share how you are implementing or supporting implementation of this part of the instructional vision.

-Students will engage in their school community.

-Staff will know and reach every student.

The Kindergarten and 5th Graders at Littleville are meeting weekly for different activities. They read the school wide book together. 5th graders helped kindergarten complete missing assignments and most recently created a Veterans Day project

2024-11-11 12:35:31 UTC

Ms. Keeler's Service Learning

2024-11-16 19:24:56 UTC

Students are getting to choose which projects they want to complete in their Community Service Course and then working on completing that goal during the Quarter. They get to choose from a ton of different topics that will help their community. The following are example projects:

7th and 8th Grade Service Learning Exploratory (Q1) was able to raise $215 for the Gateway Free & Sustainable Store.

6th Grade Service Learning (Q2) is going to be completing a "Neighborhood Clean Up". They plan to help with cleaning up the inside and outside of Gateway Regional.

Painting in the Dark Returns!

2024-11-16 19:50:07 UTC

VIP students from Gateway Regional School Participated in "Painting in the Dark Returns" professional development day. They worked with adults from Gateway, as well as other adults working in the blindness/vision impairment field to participate in activities under blindfold, as well as participate in an hour-long student panel to describe their personal experiences, interests, and advice for educators working with students at their own schools. Everyone had a lot of fun!

2024-11-17 01:53:34 UTC

Kindergarten has been meeting with 5th grade buddies each week. The 5th graders introduced kindergarten to addition and demonstrated how to use counters to add two numbers. The kindergartners then colored in a color by number with the answers. They have also read together and completed a Veterans Day project.

Art Displays of Digital Artwork!

2024-11-18 14:33:55 UTC

Advanced Digital Art and Digital Art students are GRHS are engaging with their school community by displaying their artwork within the building! Over the last few months, we have worked hard to create updated, visually engaging displays of digital artwork. My goal is to display the artwork of all digital art students over the course of the semester (at the conclusion of Quarter 1, I've displayed 60% of students' work).

Chester Grade 4 - Mrs. Menin

2024-11-19 13:14:47 UTC

Within our Wit and Wisdom Module 1 students engage in conversations about a literal and figurative great heart. During our work with a literal great heart we read The Circulatory Story. At the end of reading this book, writing painted paragraphs, and creating visual displays of figurative language we invited families in to show our deep knowledge of the heart, blood, and blood vessels. Students guided their families through hands-on activities to demonstrate their understanding.

Chester Elementary

2024-11-19 20:52:32 UTC

Chester Elementary students engage in our school community in a variety of ways.

The Chester Historical Society involves us in several activities including walking tours of downtown, in which the students learn of the history and importance of our "Gem of the Valley". Students get to tour the Historic Museum complete with a scavenger hunt of fun facts, and even get to visit the Old Jail--a fan favorite!

Touring the Chester Train Station is also filled with history. In fact, The Chester Railway Station was designated as a National Historic Landmark in January of 2021!

Community members volunteer to take small groups hiking to places like Gobble Mountain and the Keystone Arches.

Each spring, faculty and interns from Westfield State University and other local colleges join forces with community members to give workshops instructing students about the importance of river health while learning about the different creatures in our backyard!

Our little school is very fortunate to have these community partnerships.

Teaching with Trout

2024-11-20 14:21:49 UTC

Chester Elementary will be raising and releasing brook trout into the river behind our school!

Community Health Centers

adean125 — 2024-11-20 15:52:47 UTC

Chester Elementary School is having an optometrist from the School Based Health Center come to perform eye exams on students in need. Due to the rural area it is difficult for families to get health services for their children due to transportation issues, lack of nearby resources, etc. School nurses work with the community health centers to obtain access to health services like physical exams, dental cleanings/fillings, therapy/counseling, and now eye exams to be performed during the school day! How amazing is it that our students have the resources to be up to date on their heath and wellness exams, while not having to miss a day of school! We are so thankful for our community and school based health centers!!

Lunch Bunch

2024-11-25 18:11:16 UTC

Speech therapy lunch bunch students have the chance to socialize with students from other classrooms. Students enjoy sharing what they did over the weekend, such as attending community events like Littleville's craft fair or Trunk or Treat at Strathmore Park!

Never Give Up!

2024-11-26 13:19:54 UTC

Our school community embraced the power of NED. Mrs. Dalton's second grade class made NEVER GIVE UP masks. Students continue to eye spy other students showing persistence to never give up during their school day.

Hydroponic Farm to Table Lunch and Student Media Team Coverage

rnicholson26 — 2024-11-28 03:51:39 UTC

Every student in Kindergarten through 5th at Chester grew lettuce in our hydroponic garden and harvested it! Our amazing cafeteria staff then used it in our school lunches! Our 3rd grade student media club wrote scripts, filmed videos, and will soon edit/publish a video documenting the process!

Art Meets Science in STEAM!

rnicholson26 — 2024-11-28 04:13:09 UTC

Our Grade 5 students at Chester wrapped up their water cycle unit with a STEAM collaboration! Students wrote "Life as a Drip" essays in their class and brought their essays to life in a comic strip showing each stage of the water cycle in STEAM! Students showed their personalities in the comics and experimented with using mediums of their choice! This collaboration helped students to see our whole school community works as one to help them learn and grow!

Getting to Know My Students Through Their Writing

2024-11-29 19:07:10 UTC

At the beginning of each year, I have students write either a goal essay or an expository essay about a topic of their choice. Not only do these essays let me gauge my students' writing skills, but it also gives me the opportunity to learn about what is important to them, what they want to accomplish, and what they are passionate about. I enjoy circulating the room and learning about my students and they enjoy having the opportunity to write about what is important to them.

Chester Elementary

2024-11-30 06:31:14 UTC

This fall, Maddy Scott, Rebecca Nicholson, Brittany Passman, and I coached our Girls on the Run team (grades 3 through 5)--so much fun!! With two practices a week, a practice 5K at the school, and the end-of-season 5K at Westfield State, our girls achieved an impressive goal AND learned some lifelong resilience and perseverance skills.

Kolby Palmer, Vanna, and I facilitated Chester's participation in the One School, One Book initiative (with the much-appreciated assistance of GEF funds). Every student received a copy of The Nocturnals: The Mysterious Abductions to read or listen to over the summer, and Chester staff hosted related events at the Blandford and Chester libraries. The author Tracey Hecht even joined us virtually for a kick-off event, and will return soon for a follow-up Q & A!

My professional goal is to have students be more involved in their IEP meetings, from sharing THEIR learning vision/goal, to offering THEIR input as to accommodations that would help them, to attending their IEP meetings. So far, a third and a fifth grader have done so! They were able to have THEIR voice be heard, as well as hear from their team what their many strengths are--a positive experience for all involved!

Students and staff have been bringing in cans and boxes of food for the food drive this month--always a good community-building and community-supporting experience.