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Happy Summer, Sunset Families!
I hope you're doing well and enjoying the pace of summer. I figured I'd share a few things with you in addition to what Taylor puts in the newsletter.
First, we're thrilled to welcome Molly Schelitzche as our new 3rd grade teacher (replacing Gina Steele, who took a position near her home in Sun Prairie). Molly has been a 4th grade teacher at West Middleton Elementary for the last 10 years, and, in a very competitive set of interviews, was a clear standout. I think she'll bring a lot to the team and school, and kids will be lucky to have her as a teacher!
Second, we've solidified our plans for the lower playground and expect it to be installed in October! Yay! You'll hear about fundraising to replace the upper playground when school starts again.
And finally, I have been really enjoying Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History podcast, and have been thinking a lot about the episode about the relative age effect. Basically, a child's birth month within a grade or a cutoff for a team, for example, can make a big difference!
On Canadian hockey teams, for example, they found that about 40% of professional players were born in January-March, about 30% were born in April-June, about 20% were born in July-September, and 10% were born in October-December. The idea is that a child born on January 1st who is competing against kids born on December 31st will likely be bigger, more coordinated, and get more attention and play-time than the younger (and smaller and less-coordinated) kids.
They looked at the trends in schools and saw the same thing. Being older in a grade could increase test scores, make a child more likely to be identified as "gifted" (whereas younger kids were more likely to be identified as having disabilities), and more.
So my son, who has a February birthday, is advantaged on his soccer team (which is the 2011 team, so he's one of the oldest, and biggest). But he doesn't have the same advantage in his school, where the cutoff is September 1st. He's more middle-of-the-road, and competing against kids who are 5 months older.
I share this because (1) kids do naturally develop, and months matter, and we need to recognize the relatively arbitrary assignment of kids to grades, and (2) this can be helpful in reframing achievement - it might help us see the talents and intelligence of younger kids who are keeping up! And, finally, this highlights how we are constantly learning about learning - how and when it happens, and the relatively limited things that we can control about it.
The psychologist Robert Plomin challenges the belief that some parents have that we can engineer our kids, and challenges us to see our main role as trying to create the right environment within which they can grow, learn about the world, and discover themselves. Provide them with a good neighborhood, help them find good friends, and give them enriching and varied experiences, and you're doing what you can!
I hope your summer is full of enriching experiences! I'm looking forward to seeing you all in the Fall!
Principal Brett Wilfrid
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