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Chicago Friends School eNews | September 2016
IN THIS ISSUE
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Karen Carney,
Head of School
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I stood in front of our 18 kindergarten, first, and second grade students with a perfectly round, softball-sized watermelon in the palm of my hand.
"Does anyone know where this watermelon came from?" I asked.
"Our garden," came the reply.
"And how did it get into our garden? Did it fall out of someone's grocery bag?"
"No!" Giggles.
"Can someone who was here last year tell everyone?"
Hands shot up. One of our returning first graders -- big with the importance of knowing how the garden was planted and how she had helped -- provided a detailed explanation.
I feel a little like this first grader this fall. Returning for my second year at Chicago Friends School, I'm proud at seeing the school grow and I'm joyfully recognizing the community's efforts bearing fruit in terms of growth, commitment, and deepening of our program.
This fall, our school grew nearly 40 percent, and each new student brings their own passions, energy, and interests. We have expanded into a third classroom and hired another teacher. New parents are eager to volunteer and belong to our school community.
Growing a school, like growing a garden, also means tending it, planning, and pruning. The teachers and I have spent time thinking about curriculum, putting new lessons and ideas in place. Our new math curriculum, Singapore Math, takes the place of Everyday Math as a better fit for multi-age classrooms. This year's curriculum theme is the result of staff consideration of developmental needs, social studies standards, and Quaker values.
We are also starting to think through what we will need for the next phase of growth. As our oldest students approach middle school, we are considering the best way of educating them about their changing emotions and bodies, as well as thinking about how having middle school students will change and stretch our routines and practices. There is a lot of work yet to be done, but the school's seeds are well planted, and there is a community of people tending it as it grows. I'm excited to see how it continues to blossom.
And, by the way, we thought that the watermelon was delicious.
- Karen Carney,
Head of School
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Meet the Staff: Melanie Berlin
Melanie Berlin
joined Chicago Friends School this year as the new teacher for first- and second-grade students.
Before moving to Chicago, Melanie worked for five years as lead kindergarten teacher at Mastery Charter Mann Elementary School in Philadelphia. Previous to that, Melanie lived in the San Francisco Bay Area and taught at an independent school in Oakland, California.
Melanie has her B.A. in psychology with a minor in urban education from the University of Pennsylvania. She earned her teaching degree from San Francisco State University with a focus on social justice in education.
In her free time, Melanie loves playing ultimate frisbee, drinking coffee, playing board games, and spending time with her husband and baby daughter.
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2016-2017 Curriculum Theme: Trash and Treasure
Every year, Chicago Friends School explores a school-wide curriculum theme. All of the classrooms study and reflect on the same set of ideas. Field trips also are aligned with the theme. Sharing findings and exploring ideas together builds community and reinforces the idea that we can learn from one another.
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Children in the K-1 class work on a project to show how much food they eat in a day.
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The school-wide theme for 2016-2017 is Trash and Treasure. This theme will enable students and teachers at Chicago Friends School to examine where the things that we value and use every day come from and where they go when we are done using them. We will consider consumption of food and material objects, waste disposal, and recycling. In the older grades, children will learn about Earth's cycling of matter and energy.
In social studies, we will examine how what is treasured varies from place to place and time to time, and how the desire for "treasure" in the form of gold, furs, land, and other people has shaped American history. In language arts, we will read books that explore what people value or don't value.
At the end of the year, students will look inward to determine what things, people, and values they treasure. They also will consider why and how media and culture shape what people consider valuable.
Trash and Treasure
allows us to explore three deeply held Quaker practices: examining what we truly need and understanding the merits of living simply, taking responsibility for our role in stewardship of Earth's resources, and reflecting on everyone's worth and equality.
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Making Math Work in Multi-age Classrooms
This year, Chicago Friends School is excited to switch from Everyday Math to the Singapore Math curriculum. Given our mixed-age classrooms and small class sizes, Singapore Math is a great fit.
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Children use an abacus and diagrams to practice combining number pairs that equal 10.
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Singapore Math includes carefully sequenced and clear transitions for each concept, from the concrete to the pictorial to the abstract. For example,
the concept of two-digit addition is first explored using base-10 blocks (concrete), then drawings of the blocks (pictorial), and then written numerical problems (abstract).
Each student has an individual textbook or workbook, written to be highly accessible for students at each grade level. In the younger classrooms, students primarily use workbooks in small groups, with teacher-taught lessons on each topic.
In the upper elementary grades, students can often learn independently, using the clear explanations and illustrations of each topic in the textbook. They can proceed at their own pace, moving swiftly through some parts of the book and more slowly through others, as each student's learning dictates.
The classroom math groups with older students are, therefore, not fixed but fluid. With older students, teachers check student work frequently to monitor learning and teach small-group lessons on topics relevant to each group or individual.
The teachers and students also have the opportunity to engage in whole-class math projects that relate to our broader curriculum and involve skills that are useful for all students to practice, such as graphing and comparing our food waste from week to week.
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Community and School Volunteers Prepare New Classroom
Chicago Friends School added a third classroom this fall. Over the summer, parents, community members, and friends helped physically prepare the third- to fifth-grade classroom.
The facilities committee worked with the landlord to get necessary repairs made in the space. Professional designer and parent Sa Schloff helped plan a color scheme, rugs, and furnishings to lend the space a "big kid" feel.
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Students enjoy the new library corner of the grades 3-5 classroom.
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Parents and community members painted the classroom and the adjacent hallway, made arrangements for new furniture and whiteboards, and identified and catalogued books at the reading level of our older students. Community partners graciously donated computers and printers to the new room.
In August,
19 students from Loyola University wrapped up our final preparations by painting, organizing library books, moving furniture, and cleaning. The volunteers were part of Loyola University Chicago Campus Ministry's Saturday of Service for new students at the end of their week of orientation.
We are grateful for everyone's efforts and talents in creating a fantastic learning environment.
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Reflecting on the School Garden
Over the summer, Chicago Friends School families gathered on Wednesday evenings to tend the school garden and picnic, allowing families to keep in touch and providing opportunities for new and returning families to become acquainted.
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Spinning the compost bin is great fun.
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During September, the children enjoyed harvesting fall produce. The teachers asked the children what they learned or what they liked best in this year's garden project.
"We grew lots and lots of tomatoes."
"Too many tomatoes!"
"Bunny rabbits are so cute, but they eat the plants."
"I like picking weeds. I like to see what the weed is and then put it in the compost pile."
"Some things we eat are the stems. Some things are the leaves. Some things are the fruit. Some things are the flowers!"
"We
grew up in the garden!"
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Edgewater Supports Neighborhood Schools
On Sept. 25, Chicago Friends School joined the Edgewater community in the annual Back to School 5K Run/1 Mile Walk, coordinated by the Edgewater Chamber of Commerce. The race was a fundraiser for all 13 public and private schools in the 48th Ward. Chicago Friends School will receive direct proceeds from registrants who named the school as their recipient.
Volunteers from Chicago Friends School cheered on racers and talked to prospective families and community members at the race's starting line. Nineteen parents, students, teachers, and school supporters walked and ran along the lakefront and returned to Granville Avenue for the Edgewater Art Fair for artists' booths, live music, and refreshments.
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Upcoming Open Houses and School Fair
During the 2016-2017 school year, Chicago Friends School will host three open house events to introduce prospective families to the school. Each open house provides parents an opportunity to meet the staff and current parents, ask questions about the school's program and curriculum, and examine the classrooms and examples of children's projects. Open houses will be held from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on the following dates:
- Sunday, Nov. 13, 2016
- Saturday, Dec. 10, 2016
- Saturday, April 22, 2017
Head of School Karen Carney and members of the outreach committee and volunteers will also attend the Neighborhood Parents Network (NPN) 2016 Annual Preschool & Elementary School Fair. Because the NPN fair brings together more than 150 public and private schools, as well as other service agencies, it provides Chicago Friends School a valuable opportunity to tell our story and introduce the school to prospective families.
NPN 2016 Annual Preschool & Elementary School Fair
Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Grossinger City Autoplex
1530 North Dayton Street, Chicago
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Senn Park Fall Festival, Saturday, Oct. 1
Please join the Edgewater community for games, activities, and music at the Senn Park Fall Festival, hosted by the Senn Park Advisory Council, on Saturday, Oct. 1. The children at Chicago Friends School enjoy the park every day at recess, weather permitting. The Fall Festival is an opportunity to meet other friends and neighbors who play, relax, and garden at the park.
Chicago Friends School will host a photo booth with book-themed scenes created by Melissa Halka, the school's before-care provider. Bring your smart phones or cameras to capture your child's image in a good book.
Senn Park Fall Festival
Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016
10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Senn Park Playlot
Elmdale and Greenview Avenues, Chicago
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Sharing Our Story on Facebook
From an early age, we are all taught to share. That holds true for Chicago Friends School -- even beyond the classroom. We love to share all the wonderful things happening with you and hope you consider spreading the word with your connections. Find us on Facebook to get started today!
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