April 29, 2015 Volume IX, No. 23 Emily Gaberman, Principal – [email protected] Karen Bourn, Assistant Principal – [email protected] Dates To Remember: DATE TIME EVENT LOCATION th th Thu. Apr 30 7-‐8:15pm PTC Parent Forum – 4 &5 Parent/Child Math Night Performance Center Wed. May 6 7:45am Early Principal’s Coffee Media Center Wed. May 6 8:30am Principal’s Coffee Performance Center Thu. May 7 9am-‐12pm Gr. 3 Bike Rodeo Playground Thu. May 7 12:15pm Early Release Day – NO AM Kindergarten due to AM Parent Conferences Fri. May 8 9:45 & 12:30 2015-‐2016 Incoming Kindergarten Visit Day Fri. May 15 9am Gr. 1 Parent Concert Performance Center Fri. May 15 7pm Broadmeadow-‐Mitchell Basketball Game Needham High School Wed. May 20 6-‐7pm Book Pals & Art Show Opening Lobby, Hallways Mon. May 25 No School – Memorial Day Fri. May 29 9am Gr. 5 Immigration Fair Thu. June 4 12:15pm Early Release Day – NO AM Kindergarten due to AM Parent Conferences Fri. June 5 8:20-‐11:10am Gr. 1-‐5 Field Day Playground Fri. June 5 6pm PTC Playground Picnic Playground Wed. June 10 7pm Concert for Gr. 3 Strings and Gr. 4 Parents Performance Center Mon. June 15 7pm Concert for Gr. 5 Parents Performance Center Wed. June 24 12:15pm Early Release Day – LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!! REVISED MCAS Math & Science, Technology & Engineering Testing Dates: Grade 3: May 13, 14 Grade 4: May 18, 19 Grade 5 Math: May 11, 12 Grade 5 STE: May 20, 21 1 PRINCIPAL’S NOTES GROWTH MINDSET One of my favorite authors and researchers is Carol Dweck, author of the popular book, Mindset (Random House, 2006). Dweck posits two things which have a significant impact on motivation and success: first, that praise for attributes like intelligence or talent rather than effort can be detrimental to a student’s development and future success and second, having a growth rather than a fixed mindset leads to greater motivation and success. I believe Dweck’s work can have a positive influence on teaching and learning and it’s something we have talked about as a community when teaching our Broadmeadow children. One of Dweck’s basic tenets is to avoid praise for intelligence or talent. (You’re so smart. You’re such a good swimmer or dancer or writer.) While it’s important to bolster a student’s self–esteem – it’s best to do so with specifics rather than with empty praise. If a student thinks she is smart, she may also think many things may come easily to her because she is smart. Praise for “being smart” leads her to believe her success is based on being smart. However, when tasks become more challenging, she may not have developed the wherewithal to keep going and persevere in the face of adversity or failure. She is more likely to give up and to assume she is no longer smart when faced with failure. Praise should be specific to the task, noting behaviors and effort. Rather than saying “good job!” or “you’re so smart” students benefit more from “I noticed you stuck with that problem until it made sense” or “you added a lot of detail to this part of the story so I could really visualize the scene.” This is tied closely to Dweck’s concept of fixed or growth mindsets. The student with a fixed mindset believes that talent and intelligence are fixed traits. For example, a student may say, I am not a good drawer or I am no good at math. He then goes on to show all the ways and times he can’t draw or can’t do the math homework. He believes that because he doesn’t have the drawing gene or math gene that he will never be successful in those areas. The student with a growth mindset believes that hard work and effort are the keys to success. If he is not a good artist or struggles with math, effort and hard work will make him better in both areas. (I am not a good drawer or a good at fractions YET) Being smart or talented is a starting point, not the desired end. The growth mindset can be developed – we just have to practice! Below is a link to a Carol Dweck TED talk if you are interested in learning more about her growth or fixed mindset. http://www.ted.com/talks/carol_dweck_the_power_of_believing_that_you_can_improve?language= en#t-‐62739 FENWAY FUN! Here is a picture of the scoreboard announcement from Fenway last night. I hope everyone had a good time, even though the Red Sox lost. 2 SLOW DOWN Please be careful in the Broadmeadow driveway during drop-‐off and pick-‐up even before and after school hours as there are often pedestrians coming to/from their cars. Best, Emily SCHOOL NEWS THE ANNUAL GRADE 1 -‐ 5 ART SHOW; CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS! The Grand Opening of the Spring Art Show is taking place on Wednesday May 20th, from 6 until 7 p.m. The Art Show is an annual celebration of Broadmeadow's visual artists. Every student in Grades 1 thru 5 will select, mount, and label a few of their favorite works from the year to go on display. The children's art -‐ around 1,000 pieces -‐ will be exhibited throughout the school on bulletin boards, walls, and in the media center. If you'd like to assist with putting up or taking down the artwork, or supervising student volunteers at the Opening, I'd love to hear from you! You can email me at [email protected], or drop by the art room and let me know if you can help. Even an hour or two really makes a difference! With many thanks -‐ Damon Burnard NEEDHAM SCHOOL BUS TRANSPORTATION APPLICATIONS Needham Public Schools Transportation Department reminds residents that all bus transportation forms were sent home the first week in April. Kindergarten forms will be mailed with am/pm notifications in May. Completed forms should be returned by May 15, 2015, to be guaranteed a seat Be sure to read the conduct rules and sign on the appropriate lines. All students are required to register and agree to the bus conduct rules to be eligible for transportation. The transportation fee for the school year 2015-‐2016 is $395 per student with an $800 family cap for families with 3 or more students. The fee after May 15, 2015, increases to $445 per student. The family cap increases to $900 after May 15, 2015. Registrations received after May 15, 2015, will be processed provided there is available space on the bus. Please register early to avoid being placed on a wait list, as many buses reach their full capacity before September. For more information please call the Transportation Department Office at 781-‐455-‐0400 x 242 or check our website at www.needham.k12.ma.us to check your school and street for eligibility or to download an application. SAVE THE DATE: SPRING MUSIC PERFORMANCES! First Grade Spring Music Celebration -‐ Friday, May 15th at 9:00am Fourth Grade Spring Concert (strings, band, chorus)-‐ Wednesday, June 10th at 7:00pm Fifth Grade Spring Concert (strings, band, chorus) -‐Monday, June 15th at 7:00pm 3 TO FAMILIES WHO ARE MOVING OR TRANSFERRING TO PRIVATE SCHOOL Please notify the office as soon as possible if your child (ren) will not be returning to Broadmeadow or the district in the fall. COMMUNITY NEWS NEEDHAM DOG PARK RIBBON CUTTING MAY 16TH AT 1PM While you can go enjoy the park any time you like now, the Needham Off Leash Dog Park committee will be holding a ribbon cutting ceremony at the dog park on May 16th at 1pm. Bring your dog and help us celebrate the achievement. Short speeches will be made and the dogs will play. We hope to see you there. Any questions, contact Bill Paulson at 781-‐929-‐2453. PACK 8 NEEDHAM CUB SCOUTS ROCKET DAY Pack 8 Needham Cub Scouts invites boys entering 1st to 5th grade in September to Rocket Day on Saturday, May 2nd, 9 to 11:45am at Olin College, off Great Plain Ave, parking lot C. Try launching one of our rockets or bring along your own rocket to launch. For questions about scouts or Rocket Day contact us at [email protected] or visit http://www.pack8needham.com NEEDHAM FIRST LEGO LEAGUE: NEW TEAMS NIGHT! 2015 Date/Time: May 20, 6:30 to 8pm (Best for one parent and child attend. FLL is best for students entering 5th through 8th grade.) The location in Needham will be mailed to you prior to May 20. Please sign up at this website: http://tinyurl.com/NeedhamFLLNight2015 Goal of evening: To learn more about the FLL program, and to help parents/students form FLL teams of their own. Teams of about 6 kids are ideal, but can be as few as 3 and as many as 10. Two or more parent volunteer coaches coach most teams. Parents mentors/coaches do not need to have any background in programming or engineering. Questions: Email Hans Batra ([email protected]) or Laura Miller: ([email protected]) Before coming to the meeting, be sure the check out: http://firstlegoleague.org/parents as well as the Google Group: https://groups.google.com/d/forum/needhamfll where parents can find other members for their team, or find a team for their child. YMCA HEALTHY KIDS DAY Come join the Charles River YMCA for Healthy Kids Day at the Newman School on April 25th from 10:00am to 1:00pm for fun family activities. Your children will enjoy face painting, a bouncy house, and prizes! 4