Where Do You Do Your Best Work?

Where do you do your best work?  I pondered this question as I sat down to write this blog post.  For me, and I am sure for many of you as well, it depends on what type of "work" I need to do.  When I wrote my book, I was most productive and inspired when I was writing at various hole-in-the-wall neighborhood coffee shops.  I wanted the quiet solitude of the study rooms at my local library when I needed to study for a grad school exam.  A brightly lit group fitness studio with loud music is most energizing to me when I am working on my physical fitness.  I realize, however, that others may have totally different preferences when it comes to creating the ideal learning and working environment.

Trung Le talks to D107 staff
about learning spaces on 8/22/17.

As educators, we must acknowledge the need for flexibility in our learning spaces as well, which is why Building Learning Environments is one of our three goal areas on our District 107 Strategic Blueprint.  Building flexible learning spaces means providing environments that can easily transform and shift based on the needs of the learners and the type of work that needs to be done.  At our district's opening institute day, one of the speakers we were lucky to learn with was Trung Le of Wonder Design Studio.  One of the key takeaways from his presentation was "making sure there are choices, and new choices, in learning spaces."  I also wrote about this in a post last year when I compared the thought process for designing learning spaces in our schools to designing our daughter's nursery.  Our learning spaces need to allow for flexibility as our learners grow and their needs change.  Learners should have space to collaborate, to work independently, to listen, and to speak.  They should have space to work with their hands, to work with technology, to move, and to be still.

Mrs. Georganas's Classroom

We have a few teachers exploring this in their own classrooms already this year, providing a variety of seating options and tablespaces.  As a school, we are also investigating other options for maximizing the potential of our learning spaces.  One idea is to re-purpose our computer lab into a more flexible learning space for innovation.  Since students have one-to-one devices, they no longer need to come to the computer lab to access such tools.  Possible ideas for this space include having a portable green screen, space to work with our two programmable Raspberry Pis and our Sphero, and movable furniture options to allow for collaboration.  Similarly, we are planning to transform one of our small classroom spaces to meet the needs of some of our students who may need a distraction-free environment for productively working or, conversely, may need a space to develop their senses through physical activity, lighting, and/or sound.

We are looking forward to investigating the possibilities that lie within our learning spaces in more detail this year and welcome ideas from our community of learners as we strive to create optimal learning spaces for all!

Building Human Capital

While the quote above refers to a company, I think it can be applied to a school district as well.  Last year, I wrote an introductory blog post about our philosophy on building human capital, one of our three goal areas for our strategic blueprint.  We believe the people are what make Pleasantdale such a wonderful place to learn, and developing the capacity of our staff will ensure it stays this way!

This year, much of our professional development will focus on the areas of differentiated instruction and subject-specific content, both of which will ultimately enhance the learning experience for our students.  This past Tuesday, we were able to provide our staff with a day dedicated to these priorities.  Our STEM, art, music, and PE teachers spent the day collaborating with their counterparts in other area school districts to discuss their curriculum and teaching strategies.  Meanwhile, the rest of our middle school staff spent time with Dr. Jessica Hockett, author of Differentiation in Middle and High School: Strategies to Engage All Learners.  Dr. Hockett modeled a variety of differentiation strategies for our teacher related to readiness, interest, and learner profile.  Our teachers had the time to share what they are already doing in their classrooms to differentiate to meet our students' needs, as well as time to plan for new ways to integrate many of Dr. Hockett's strategies into their classes.  In fact, I got an email from one of our teachers the following day stating, "I found yesterday to be a great use of my time...I appreciated her choices of activities and took a few ideas and implemented them today!"  

To me, this is validation that our staff is always willing to learn and improve.  We are fortunate we already have so many positive things happening in our classrooms, and we are committed to ensuring it remains this way!  

PMS Staff with Dr. Hockett

Ensuring Learning for All

Our fifth and final belief statement that guides our strategic blueprint really embodies the intent behind the George Evans quote above:

Belief 5: Students have dynamic teachers who utilize various teaching styles and have fun learning together.  Staff serves as an advocate for ALL children.  

Our Pleasantdale teachers strive to provide our students with regular opportunities to engage in a variety of learning activities while doing what is best for each individual learner. As a staff, we are taking the time to dig deeper into differentiation. At our staff meeting this afternoon, Pleasantdale Middle School teachers met as content areas to discuss what differentiation is and is not, a conversation started by reading this post. The teachers also had collaborative conversations about what they are already doing in their classrooms to differentiate the task, process, and product for their learners. They then had time to start digging into some of the data reports generated from our recent NWEA MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing and talk about how this data can be used for differentiation. Flexible groupings based on the intention of tasks, differentiated question sets, and targeted mini-lessons based on student need were just some of the ideas generated.

On our October 11 institute day, Pleasantdale Middle School teachers will dig into differentiation yet again with Dr. Jessica Hockett, author of Differentiation in MIddle and High School: Strategies to Engage All Learners. Our staff is looking forward to another day of learning together as we strive to provide every single learner with the optimal conditions for growth and success!

If At First You Don't Succeed...

We have all heard the adage, "If at first you don't succeed, try try again."  Well, the more I read about Carol Dweck's research on Growth Mindset and Angela Duckworth's research on grit, the more I think the phrase needs to be tweaked.  Something along the lines of, "If at first you don't succeed, get feedback, try something different, repeat as necessary."  This coincides well with the fourth belief statement that guides our District 107 Strategic Blueprint:

Belief 4: Students receive effective feedback that fuels their natural desire to do better in a try, fail, and try again in a growth mindset environment.

Last year, I wrote a post about fostering a Growth Mindset at home. However, fostering a growth mindset in our Pleasantdale schools is a critical component in "creating a community of inspired learners." Yes, effort is valued, and yes, mistakes are okay! But the key to truly fostering a growth mindset is in providing specific, timely feedback to learners so they can make adjustments after a failure. In this article, Dweck makes the important point that "a growth mindset isn't just about effort" but that learners also need to "try new strategies and seek input from others when they're stuck." Similarly, Duckworth reinforces this idea in her book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance when she points out that more practice and more refinement are essential in order to be successful. Even our visiting author Jordan Sonnenblick told a story about how he was writing a book for a particular young man named Jack, and he emailed the working draft of the book to Jack, a high school student, to get his feedback.

Mrs. Truesdale gives students feedback on frisbee skills in PE.

So how are we giving feedback to our learners in our schools? Walking into classrooms, I see teachers conferencing with students to provide them feedback on their writing, their problem-solving, and their creative processes. Google Docs and Schoology provide opportunities for teachers and learners to provide each other with feedback digitally, extending the opportunities for feedback beyond school hours. In many classrooms, there are posters reminding students of how to use feedback to try a different approach, and teachers are working with students on adjusting their vocabularies to include the word "yet"... You haven't done it yet. So let's think about what didn't work and what you can do differently next time.

The more feedback is received, the more the learner can hone in on what improvements are necessary because, in the words of Jan Chappuis, "effective feedback occurs during the learning, while there is still time to act on it"!

Fearless Learners

Think about a time when you felt comfortable taking a risk. You needed to feel confident and supported to take that leap, whether it is personally or professionally, and you needed to feel safe in some capacity in order to push boundaries elsewhere. This is why the next belief statement in our strategic blueprint is so critical.

Belief 3: Students feel physically, socially, and emotionally safe; their sense of control is high and judgement from others is low. Students are fearless with the right support.

Prepping lockers at ROAR day!

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs explains how basic physiological needs must be met first before psychological needs can be met; self-actualization is only achievable once all other needs have been satisfied. Our goal is to create physically, socially, and emotionally safe spaces for Pleasantdale learners so their needs are met and they are able to achieve their full potential.

One new step we took this year to demonstrate this belief was revising the 5th grade transition day. This year for the first time we invited all incoming 5th grade students to join us for "Tiger R.O.A.R.S." day, a full day of fun activities designed to help our students (and parents!) feel more prepared and comfortable with starting middle school. Parents/guardians were encouraged to attend the first half of the day as students and parents met our outstanding staff and learned together about lockers, iPad usage/expectations, and the fifth-grade curriculum. The parents/guardians left as our incoming fifth graders enjoyed a pizza lunch, and then the fun really began! Students got to partake in a variety of team building games from relay races to kickball, and they also were able to enjoy the epic lunar eclipse together. These bonding experiences set the stage for a positive school year together since students were able to get to know each other and their teachers prior to the first day of school. While I am sure there were still some first day jitters, I can confidently say our students were not nearly as nervous as they would have been without attending this transition day. A huge thank you goes out to the fifth grade staff for all the time and effort they put into making this a special day for our incoming middle schoolers. ROAR day helped start the community building process, which will allow our students to feel safe and take risks. We continuously strive to create more opportunities to help our students feel safe in a variety of ways so they are comfortable being fearless in their learning!

Welcome to PMS, 5th graders!

A Choice and Voice in Learning

I am an avid reader of blogs, articles, and books related to the ever-changing landscape of education. This week, the opening sentences of Seth Godin's blog really struck a chord with me. "Effective education is rarely done TO people. It's done with them." What a perfect connection to the second belief statement that frames our district goals related to our strategic blueprint.

Belief 2: Students have voice/choice and work alongside peers and teachers in collaborative environments.

To me, this means that education is a collaborative effort and that in schools we meet students where they are in terms of their needs and interests. We intentionally provide opportunities for student agency in their learning, which means students are regularly given choice in how they learn and how they express their learning. Daniel Pink in his book Drive delves deeply into the topic of motivation, and as this relates to schools, he makes the point that humans are born with natural curiosity and an intrinsic motivation to learn. As we move forward in Pleasantdale District 107, we are working to create more opportunities for our learners to tap into their natural curiosities and express their learning in a variety of ways. The Continuum of Choice is one such model that can be employed as we search for ways to provide students with agency in their learning. To start, teachers can provide students with a menu of options and choices related to their learning, and gradually as students are prepared to take more ownership of their learning, they are able to design their own learning experiences, advocate to solve problems, and ultimately regulate their learning based on their passions.

Teachers will be crucial in this evolution as guides and facilitators of the types of experiences that promote independence and critical thinking. Mrs. Lewellyan is giving this a try this year in 5th grade STEM lab as she is starting to have students work on passion projects, an idea that been embraced by many schools after learning about Google's Genius Hour concept where the company encourages its employees to spend 20% of their time on a research-driven project of their choice. With these types of learning opportunities, often times teachers, parents, friends, and siblings get to learn something new, too, as topics are explored together and learning is enthusiastically shared! We welcome our "community of inspired learners" to join us on this journey as we strive to learn and pursue our passions together.

What Do You Believe About Learning?

There are some questions that carry a lot of weight. When I am asked at a restaurant I want for dinner, I am generally able to answer that question pretty quickly, and even if I don't love what I ordered, I know the decision is of little consequence. However, when the Future Planning Committee and I were asked what we believe is true about deep and meaningful learning, we knew this required careful thought and consideration and that the implications of our answers would have a significant impact on the future of learning in Pleasantdale. When you pause to think about your own learning beyond the scope of school, often times learning revolves around topics that make you feel impassioned and purposeful. It was this sentiment that many of us were able to recall as we deliberated over what we believe about deep and meaningful learning. After engaging in spirited conversation, the committee came up with five belief statements that would guide us as we work "to create a community of inspired learners".

Belief 1: Students are passionately engaged in topics that examine world issues, where they feel a sense of purpose and in which they make a difference.

There was a perfect example of this belief statement in action this week at Pleasantdale Middle School. Our Student Council members immediately brought up the hard times brought upon Texas residents with the recent touchdown of Hurricane Harvey, and they wanted to help. They passionately wanted to help, so they established a quick two-day drive to collect clothing, toiletries, and a variety of other supplies that will be sent down to Houston. In addition, they came up with the idea to host "Hats for Houston" where students were able to donate $1 to benefit recovery efforts for Hurricane Harvey in order to be able to wear a hat to school on Friday, September 8. While this was not for a class, there was certainly learning that occurred as the students advertised, wrote announcements, and coordinated the collection of donations to ensure they will end up benefiting the victims of Hurricane Harvey. They felt a sense of purpose and know they will make a difference. Mrs. Driscoll and Mr. Ratcliff, the Student Council sponsors, facilitated and guided the students throughout the process, but the ownership belonged to the students, which is what leads to deep and meaningful learning!

Similarly, last year Mrs. Lauermann's (formerly Mrs. Carnes's) class adopted an alligator snapping turtle, an endangered species. The students felt compelled to save Spikey, as he was affectionately named, and other endangered species. They hosted fundraisers throughout the year to "Save Spikey" and wrote letters to other animal activist organizations to learn more about other endangered species and how they could help preserve these populations. Again, Mrs. Lauermann was a guide and facilitator of the learning, but the students were driven by their passions, felt a strong purpose and wanted to make a difference!

It is opportunities for these types of learning experiences that we want to create for Pleasantdale students, staff, and families on a regular basis as we strive "to create a community of inspired learners". We believe we can do it, and we are excited to have you all along for the ride. If you have ideas to get our community of learners involved in other ways which empower our learners to make a difference, please do not hesitate to reach out to us!

We're Building a Better Pleasantdale Together!

As we welcomed our students back into the hallways and classrooms of Pleasantdale Middle School last week, there was such great energy in the building.  Staff members were smiling, and students (even 8th graders!) were commenting after the first day about how good it was to be back!  Positivity like this only happens in a place where good things are happening on a regular basis.

Even though our Pleasantdale schools are a good place for learning already, we have plans to bring our schools from "good to great", as you may have heard before, and to do this, we are going to implement the ideas in our District 107 Strategic Blueprint.  Last year I wrote a post about our district's future planning process, which brought a committee of staff members, students, parents, and community members together to shape a new district mission and goals.  Our mission "to create a community of inspired learners" is really what is shaping everything we do together in our three goal areas of building learning capacity, building human capital, and building learning environments.

On our opening district institute day, we were fortunate to have Will Richardson speak to our teachers about modern learning and how to create opportunities for deep and meaningful learning to occur in our schools, and he pointed out that "it is an absolutely amazing time to be a learner".  There is an abundance of resources available online and ways to connect with experts around the world, which means if someone has the desire to learn, the opportunity is there.  It is our goal as District 107 educators to create the conditions which will pique our community members' interests, ignite new passions, and allow for critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving.  Seymour Papert; a mathematician, computer scientist, educator, and MIT professor; hit the nail on the head when he said, "We imagine a school in which students and teachers excitedly and joyfully stretch themselves to their limits..."  I would also include families and community members in that statement as well since our goal is to inspire our entire Pleasantdale community of learners.

We are happy to have you all along for the journey as we work to build a better Pleasantdale together!

And We're Back!

Maggie sends Mommy
off to the first day of school!

And just like that, we are back to school again!  My last blog post was on April 27, just two days before I gave birth to my first child, my sweet daughter Maggie.  In less than four months, my world has changed in so many ways, and I constantly marvel at the endless love I have for my daughter.  While I still have a lot to learn about parenting, I already know that I will always want what is best for her and am so excited to watch her have new experiences and learn as she grows up.

You all, as "veteran" parents, already know you are an invaluable partner in your child's learning journey, and one of the first ways we invite you to partner with the school is by inviting you to our Middle School Curriculum Night on August 31 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM (Elementary School Curriculum Night is on September 6 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM).  Curriculum Night is held at the beginning of the school year to provide parents and guardians an opportunity to know the teachers and administrators, get an overview of what students will be learning for the year, and understand the expectations teachers have for their students.  Unlike parent/teacher conferences which are held at the end of the first trimester, this is not the best time to ask the teacher about your child's work and progress since teachers are still getting to know their students.  Rather, focus on getting to know the teachers at curriculum night.  The teachers who will be spending the year with your child will have a significant impact on your child.  They will inspire, challenge, and support your child.  By getting to know your child's teachers, you will get to know their interests and experiences while also learning about their teaching philosophies, expectations, and resources that will be helpful throughout the year.  You will learn the best way to communicate with the teachers, which will open doors to dialogue throughout the school year so we can all work together to support your child's learning.

So please join us on August 31 from 6:00 - 8:00 PM to start our partnership for the school year.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, Mr. Sonntag (principal), or the front office.  We look forward to seeing you soon!

Check out photos from Pleasantdale Middle School's first day!

The Power of Teamwork

Most people have heard the acronym for TEAM,
Together Everyone Achieves More.

PMS Student Council Members

I was struck by the overwhelming truth of this statement as I enjoyed the Pleasantdale Middle School spring pep assembly this past Tuesday.  Under the leadership of Mrs. Driscoll, the PMS Student Council worked hard to make our "American Ninja Warrior" themed pep assembly a wonderful celebration of our students who have participated/are participating in springtime sports, clubs, and performing arts.  While it is wonderful to celebrate individual accomplishments, there is something extra exciting about celebrating the success and growth that results from the time and effort spent learning to work together as a team.

8th Grade Girls Volleyball

Scholastic Bowl Team

PMS puts on The Lion King

In my blog post last week, I explained the five components of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). These five components of self-management, self-awareness, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness play an integral part in the team building process, whether it is a group of students working together to put on our school musical The Lion King, the members of the Scholastic Bowl team working together to combine their knowledge in the most powerful way possible, or the athletes on the volleyball/soccer/softball team working together to strategize and outmaneuver their opponents.  Everyone has different strengths, and when students work to compliment each other's strengths, the sum of their efforts is certainly greater than one person working alone.  Lessons in problem-solving and communication must occur throughout the process.  In addition, learning how to acknowledge and appreciate the unique contributions of others makes for a more rewarding celebration as teams achieve success.

For us as adults, there are frequently opportunities at work, within a family setting, and socially to engage in teamwork.  I encourage you to share stories of these opportunities with your children to help them understand how many of the lessons they are learning about teamwork will remain valuable as they grow older.  As Hellen Keller reminds us, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."  Thank you all for teaming up with us to help our children learn how valuable teamwork can be!

Social-Emotional Learning at Pleasantdale Middle School

Springtime flowers at PMS

The sunshine earlier this week has brought a welcome dose of Vitamin D, as well as the blooming of the beautiful tulips and daffodils our PMS Garden Club has planted around our school building and the district office.  Often times, the season of spring elicits thoughts of growth, which is also what District 107 hopes to promote in our students by incorporating social-emotional learning (SEL) activities into our classes.

CASEL, the Collaborative for Social-Emotional Learning, defines SEL as the "process through which children and adults effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions."  In short, there are five components of SEL: self-management, self-awareness, responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and social awareness.

The benefits of promoting SEL are clear.  This article from Edutopia does a nice job of summarizing just a few of the benefits, namely that SEL improves academic achievement, increases positive behaviors like kindness, improves student attitudes towards school, and reduces depression and stress in students.  Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post about how Pleasantdale Middle School incorporates the teaching of empathy into classes and school activities, which is a component of social awareness.  However, our teachers make a conscious effort to integrate SEL lessons into their classroom on a regular basis so students receive ongoing training in these areas.

8th grade fashion show!

The fifth-grade team, for example, has a different theme each month for their SEL activities, and the students engage in three or four SEL activities related to the month's theme.  Teamwork, stress management, responsibility, gratitude, and kindness are a few of the monthly themes the team has used this year.  Mrs. Driscoll, our health teacher, regularly has students participating in SEL activities for her 6-8 grade classes.  Emotion learning stations, a beach ball self-esteem demonstration with corresponding journaling exercises, and activities related to handling peer pressure are a few of the SEL activities her sixth-grade students do.  As seventh graders, students have the opportunity to regularly engage in conversations related to topics like empathy, bullying, peer pressure, and decision making through the texts read in English/Language Arts.  The Holocaust unit provides our eighth-grade students with myriad opportunities to have in-depth conversations about social awareness and empathy.  Plus, the eighth-grade fashion show team building activity is always a hit with staff and students alike (and it provides invaluable photo ops!).  PE teachers also regularly use team sports as an opportunity to integrate SEL conversations related to teamwork.  At all grade levels, students regularly engage in both academic and personal goal setting, and they review these goals on a regular basis during class time.  We also have a plethora of extracurricular activities that incorporate SEL into their meetings/practices.  One club in particular, the Kindness Club, meets regularly to brainstorm and implement new ideas which spread kindness around our school.  At their most recent meeting, they created "You Are" posters to hang around the school, an idea they got from this "Today Show" article.  We are so grateful for their efforts!

The Dalai Lama reminds us, "When educating the minds of our youth, we must not forget to educate their hearts."  We are so fortunate in Pleasantdale District 107 to have a balance of academic and social-emotional learning happening in our schools which will help our students become the embodiment of the portrait of a Pleasantdale graduate!

PMS Kindness Club!

Spotlight on Our Social Worker

As I mentioned in my last blog post, April is "Stress Awareness" month, which was brought to my attention by Mrs. Castaldo, our social worker at Pleasantdale Middle School.  Mrs. Castaldo is such an asset to our building, helping staff, students, and parents navigate a plethora of situations that impact student learning.  I want to take this week to both acknowledge and celebrate her contributions to our school community, as well as provide our community of learners with some insight into what Mrs. Castaldo does on a regular basis to help Pleasantdale Middle School be a great place to learn.  Read the interview below to find out more about Mrs. Castaldo and her role as our school social worker...

Mrs. Knapik: How would you describe what you do as a school social worker?

Mrs. Castaldo: I work with students and families who may be struggling with something that impacts the student's social and emotional functioning and/or their academic performance. When doing this I may talk with the student, their parents, and teachers. I also sometimes plan events or lessons that help students learn important life skills such as decision-making and perspective taking.

Mrs. Knapik: What do you feel has been your most valuable contribution to our school in the 3 years you have been here?

Mrs. Castaldo: I feel good that the kids have someone they know they can go to when they don’t know what to do about a situation.  I am able to help them when they are having difficulty dealing with emotions or relationships with others.

Mrs. Knapik: What is something you do as a part of your job that others may not know about?

Mrs. Castaldo: Send 100 emails a day, haha!  On a more serious note, I create a lot of behavior plans for students and come up with interventions and strategies for teachers and/or parents to use their kids.  I am not just working with the kids; I am working with the adults as well.  I am doing a lot of sharing of information so others know how they can help kids who may need guidance. Sometimes I help organize school-wide events as well like the Erin’s Law presentation and Career Day.

Mrs. Knapik: If you could give one piece of advice to every middle schooler, what would it be?

Mrs. Castaldo: Try to put yourself in the shoes of other people.  Realize that how you might feel about something might be completely different than how someone else feels about something.  I talk to kids a lot about making mistakes and help them to understand that everyone makes mistakes.  There is always something positive to be learned from every mistake, and mistakes are a part of life.  I also think it is important that they learn that everyone is different and that although they do not get a grade for how they treat others it matters a lot!

Mrs. Knapik: And if you could give one piece of advice to a parent of a middle schooler, what would it be?

Mrs. Castaldo: Try really hard to keep the lines of communication open with your kids so that they know they can come to you if they need help.  Be willing to let them know that you make mistakes also.

Mrs. Knapik: Any final words you would like to share with our community of learners?

Mrs. Castaldo: I feel lucky I get to develop positive relationships with the kids here.  Although being a social worker can be stressful at times, it is so rewarding to know the kids feel comfortable coming to me.

Mrs. Castaldo, we thank you wholeheartedly for everything you do to make Pleasantdale Middle School a positive learning environment for our students, parents, and staff!  

Balance is the Key

Welcome back from Spring Break!  The month of April may bring rain showers (as we have certainly seen this week!), but it also ushers us into the home stretch of the school year.  Many happy students greeted me this week who were eager to share stories of their spring break adventures.  So after a restful week off of school, the question is how to we keep this positive momentum going for the rest of the school year?  How do we sustain the energy we have after a relaxing week off?

The key is balance.  In a past blog post, I talked specifically about how to have a "balanced technology diet".  However, I am talking more generally now about maintaining overall balance in life, both for us as adults and for our children.  Coincidentally, the timing of this post coincides with well with April being "Stress Awareness Month".  How appropriate!

There are a plethora of resources online with tips for adults on how to achieve work/life balance.  This article from Forbes, for example, offers six tips:

1. Let go of perfectionism.
2. Unplug.
3. Exercise and meditate.
4. Limit time-wasting activities and people.
5. Change the structure of your life.
6. Start small, and build from there.

While this article is targeted at adults, much of the advice is transferable to our children as well.  Take the first one, "Let go of perfectionism."  While setting goals and being conscientious about making progress and growth are important, it is equally critical that we help children understand that perfectionism is not realistic.  Mistakes will inevitably be made, and promoting a growth mindset to will help students understand how to overcome obstacles and use failure as learning opportunities.  Likewise, the benefits of regular exercise and meditation for children are widely publicized.  Exercise helps reduce stress in children, and according to this website it eliminates stress hormones and instead produces endorphins which help your child feel good.  Similarly, according to this article, student meditation provides a plethora of benefits like increased attention, better mental health, a reprieve from outside stress, and improved self-awareness and self-regulation.  Mrs. Castaldo, our middle school social worker, recently passed along this article to staff "10 Mindfulness Ideas for Stress Awareness Month" which provides additional ideas for achieving balance, staying in the moment, and not over-worrying about the past or the future.

As District 107 strives to "create a community of inspired learners", our goal is to help all stakeholders find a positive balance in their lives.  Keep in mind that the Community Resources page on our website provides a variety of local resources for parents which can help you find balance for yourself as well as support your child in finding balance.  We appreciate your partnership as we strive to help all learners achieve balance in their lives!

Learning Doesn't Stop Over Spring Break!

As I know I have mentioned before, learning does not stop when a child leaves the classroom, and spring break is the perfect time to create unique learning opportunities for children.  With our families and students looking forward to spring break next week, I cannot help but reflect on many of my own spring breaks as a child.  Every year until I was in eighth grade, my mom, dad, two sisters and I would pile into the family minivan and drive to Ohio for a week-long stay to visit family.  Having grandparents in a suburb of Dayton as well as in Sidney, Ohio, a small town about an hour north of Dayton, made for some less-than-exciting stories to share in comparison to some of my peers who went to Disney World, Arizona, and other exotic places.  However, I always truly enjoyed the time I spent with my family during that week in Ohio.  I would get to read books (still one of my favorite parts about having a day off school!), play checkers with my grandpa, and get frozen yogurt from TCBY with my grandma.  We would go visit the farm where my dad grew up and explore local parks.  When I was younger, I would keep a spring break journal to document these different activities, which was a great way to hone my writing skills and now provides some good laughs when my family and I look back at the journals together.

So how can spring break be an opportunity to further your child's learning, whether you are staying around home or traveling afar?  Here are a few ideas!

• Traveling over spring break?  Have your child write in a travel journal to document adventures, or perhaps he/she can create a photo journal if a camera is readily available.
• Read, read, read!  Encourage your child to use car rides and/or time on airplanes to cozy up with a good book.  This Huffington Post article provides some ideas for how to keep your kids reading over spring break as well.
• Experience another culture.  Whether it is listening to music, taking an art class, or trying a new type of food for the first time, there are always great learning opportunities embedded in exploring new points of view.  ChooseChicago.com has some itineraries compiled to help you to plan a fun cultural day in the city.
• Go for a walk or a hike to explore the great outdoors!  The Forest Preserves of Cook County have a helpful website with hiking trails for more information or check the DuPage County Forest Preserve website for upcoming activities.
• Visit museums.  Here are a few Chicago favorites:
• Art Institute of Chicago - free to Illinois residents on Thursdays from 5:00 - 8:00 PM
• Chicago Children's Museum - free on Thursdays from 5:00 - 8:00 PM and first Sunday of every month is free for children 15 and under
• Lincoln Park Zoo (kind of like a museum of animals) - free every day!
• Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum - Thursdays are "donation" days for Illinois residents
• Check out all the Free Chicago Museum days here!

Finally, I need to make one more plug for our Summer Academy program!  We have extended the registration deadline to April 7 in hopes that more students will take advantage of the fun classes our talented teachers have created this year.  Please take a look at the program book with your child over spring break to see the learning opportunities available for this summer!

What: Pleasantdale District 107 Summer Academy

Who: Pleasantdale 107 students currently in grades PreK - 7
Where: all classes held at Pleasantdale Middle School
When:  June 12 - July 7 (no class July 3 or 4 in observance of Independence Day); courses offered between 8:30 - 11:45 AM
Why: "To create a community of inspired learners"

Fostering a Growth Mindset at Home

One of my most vivid memories from my late elementary school days is the day I got a math test back from my fifth-grade math teacher, Mrs. Johnson, with an F on the top of the paper.  To say I was devastated would be an understatement.  At the age of 11, this was quite possibly the most traumatizing event that had happened to me in school.  Fast forward eleven years later, and I ended up graduating summa cum laude from Miami University (OH) with a degree in Middle Childhood Education, with concentrations in math and English, and a job teaching sixth-grade math and reading.

So what happened following my moment of failure in fifth-grade math that allowed me to bounce back rather than continue down a path of academic strife?  Although the term "Growth Mindset" had not yet been coined, that is exactly what my parents and teachers helped me employ to move past my mistakes and to realize I had the great capacity to learn and grow, despite what I felt was a tragic setback at the time.

Carol Dweck, PhD., a professor of psychology at Stanford University, coined the phrase "growth mindset" after spending years researching students' attitudes about failure.  Ultimately she and her colleagues found that students who rebounded from failure and were resilient did so because they embraced failure as an opportunity for learning, which is now known as having a growth mindset.  On the other hand, students who seemed devastated by setbacks and struggled to bounce back had what is called a fixed mindset approach, meaning they believed their learning potential was fixed.  The sketchnote above by Sylvia Duckworth  shows a great comparison between statements showing a fixed versus growth mindset.

Many teachers now integrate growth mindset conversations into their classroom in conjunction with goal setting and reteaching opportunities.  But how can a growth mindset be supported at home?  There are so many learning opportunities presented outside of school, which means there are a plethora of ways that parents can help promote a growth mindset in their children.

Parenting "Say This Not That" from MindsetWorks

As a starting point, it is important to let children make mistakes, whether this is related to chores, homework, or handling conflict.  Providing guidance and support through mistakes, as well as praising efforts for improvement and hard work, are all opportunities for parents to foster a growth mindset in their children.  The MindsetWorks website provides a helpful parent resource page, including an interactive list of "Say This Not That" statements that can immediately begin to transform the way conversations occur at home.  When you hover over each statement on the list, an explanation appears of why each statement may be helpful or a hindrance.  In addition, it is important for parents to model how they work through mistakes and setbacks for their children since it is important for kids to understand the growth process continues into adulthood as well.  MindsetKit offers a free 30-minute "course" for parents on the Growth Mindset, which consists of 10 online lessons to provide additional information on the topic, as well as how to model mistakes and how to use growth mindset language in conversation with children.

I am going to leave you this week with the video below of Carol Dweck's 10 minute TED talk, titled "The Power of Believing that You Can Improve."  It is a great starting point for understanding some of the basic brain research behind the growth mindset, as well as an overview of how to start transforming fixed mindsets into growth mindsets.  Pleasantdale District 107 appreciates the partnership we have with our parents as we strive "to create a community of inspired learners" together!

All a Part of a Balanced Diet

Every few weeks, we like to revisit the topic of technology use.  Technology is so prevalent in our daily lives, ranging from work and school to personal usage, that it seems critical to constantly reevaluate how we and our students are leveraging the benefits of our devices while also maintaining a healthy balance.

In a recent conversation, the comparison was made between technology and food.  The key to a healthy nutritional diet lies in prioritizing the nutritious foods that sustain our energy and promote physical and mental health while limiting those treats that, while tasty, ultimately are harmful when consumed in excess.  The same goes for technology.  We need to prioritize technology usage that is beneficial to our minds and bodies, which may entail using a device for learning purposes or to track a workout, while limiting technology usage that may be detrimental in excess.  Essentially what we need is a "healthy technology diet".

This balance is important for both us, as adults, and our children to learn.  Upon Googling a "Healthy Technology Diet", I found there were quite a few articles on the topic!  The Huffington Post suggests treating technology as you treat food.   Moderation is the key, the author believes, and she suggests leveraging techniques like setting a timer for 20 minutes when going on social media if you notice you have been spending too much time browsing social media sites.  The Chopra Center, which is dedicated to health and wellness, gives tips on "5 Ways to Start a Healthy Technology Diet" with ideas like taking a technology vacation for a window of time each week, turning off your phone for short time periods, putting your phone on airplane mode for a period of time when you need to be productive, turning off notifications, or even simply creating a "device-free" zone in your home for times like when the family is gathered together at the kitchen table for a meal.

In Pleasantdale District 107, we are conscious of the fact that providing our students with access to technology also means teaching responsible usage of the tools.  However, it is important for us as we strive "to create a community of inspired learners" that we also educate our parents, too, on the tools we use with our students!  Therefore, on Thursday, March 16, from 6:00 - 8:00 PM we will be hosting our first Parent Tech Night in the Pleasantdale Middle School library.  Our library director, Mrs. Steinmetz, and our Innovative Teaching Coach, Steve Braband, will be leading the night.  All parents in the district are encouraged to attend to learn more about the websites and apps our students are using in school, as well as the online educational resources available to access outside of school.   Please mark your calendars and RSVP today!