Welcome to the Lower School Office Notes Blog!

Welcome to the first edition of the Wardlaw-Hartridge Lower School Notes blog.  I plan to use this to update the Lower School community on events happening in the Lower School, as well as share thoughts, ideas, and other odds and ends.  I hope you will find it useful, informative, and sometimes entertaining.

One of the first things Lower School teachers stress with students at the beginning of the year is responsibility. In every classroom, students are learning new routines and becoming responsible for their belongings.   Students in all grades should be carrying their own backpacks and lunch boxes and taking them to the proper place in the classroom.  Would it be faster and easier for you to carry the backpack or help load and unload it for your child? Of course! And everything would be where it belonged and nothing would be forgotten. But then you would lose out on the opportunity to develop your child's sense of responsibility and to teach him or her valuable survival skills. It is okay to forget things once in a while, as it becomes a wonderful learning opportunity when it happens. Teachers don’t expect that students will automatically know how to do or remember all the tasks given to them. They have to teach and re-teach routines, but love to see the growth of a child remembering where things belong or what he/she needs to do next.  As parents, you have to do the same.  You set your own routines at home and often have to re-teach your children how to do a task or give gentle reminders for them get something finished. With patience and practice, students learn the new routines and can do things on their own, learning responsibility and feeling proud of themselves for what they have accomplished along the way.  We appreciate your assistance in helping all of our Lower School students learn the all-important quality of being responsible.

I have been quite fortunate to visit several classrooms this week and see some wonderful lessons and projects happening.  Here are a few highlights:

In Pre-Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten, there was a Sensory Fair on Wednesday.  The students rotated from station to station using different senses at each one.  Check out the WHEN from this week to see some pictures from this delightful event.  I particularly enjoyed the smelling and tasting stations.  The wrinkled noses from trying to differentiate smells and the puckered lips from tasting sour and bitter things were adorable.

In second grade, both classes gathered together Thursday morning for some cooperative learning in Science.  The students worked with partners from the other class to conduct an experiment on condensation.  It was the perfect day for the experiment, as the rain provided another example of condensation on the windows of the classroom.  Each group followed steps from the scientific method with guidance from their teachers.  The students took their experiments quite seriously and were rewarded with lots of new knowledge about condensation.

The fourth graders in Miss Colandrea's classroom were busy learning more about New Jersey in the computer lab on Thursday afternoon.  After two delightful students arrived in my office earlier in the day to deliver a personal invitation for me to attend the New Jersey Trivia Challenge, how could I miss it!  I went upstairs at the appointed time and arrived to see pairs of students collaborating to find answers to New Jersey questions through computer research.  It was fascinating to see them working as teams and being exposed to many different aspects of New Jersey through the use of technology. They were using their powers of deduction to decide where would be the best place to find the answers they were seeking.  It always amazes me to see how a teacher uses such a simple task to incorporate so many important skills. The best part is that the students don't even realize everything they are practicing in one assignment, but they gain so much!

Odd and Ends 

Winter Uniforms:  It is time for the student to start wearing their winter uniforms to school.  The official start date is Monday, October 4th.  You may find the complete uniform dress code on p. 52 of the handbook.  Here is a link to see the online version of the parent/student handbook.  http://www.whschool.org/podium/default.aspx?t=106665

A couple of quick items of note regarding the change from summer to winter uniforms are that there should be no shorts and no sneakers worn to school in grades 1-5.  Sneakers should be brought for PE class.  If you have any specific questions, please contact the Lower School office.

Lower School Pictures are on Monday, October 4th

No School on Monday, October 11th-Columbus Day

October 16th is the Wardlaw-Hartridge Parents Association Fall Fair.  Please plan to attend, as there are lots of fun activities for Lower School Students.

Mrs. Baier