The Friday Note
(On Monday) January 24, 2011
Events Calendar
January 2011
Tuesday, January 25th
The Farm Comes to Authors
Tuesday, January 25th
Limits & Boundaries
Workshop 6-8pm
Carriage House
Wednesday, January 26th
Downstairs to the Farm
The Randolph School, 2467 Route 9D, Wappingers Falls, NY 12590
tel: 845-297-5600 email: [email protected] fax: 845-297-5617 web: www.randolphschool.org
Thoughts From Alisa
Alisa Algava is Randolph School’s Director
“People are far more likely to be satisfied with their lives when their environment supports three basic needs: the
ability to understand and explore; to feel they make a difference; and to feel competent and effective.”
~U. of Michigan psychology researchers Marc Berman, John Jonides & Stephen Kaplan
They were like bursts of joyful energy
on skis. Our five- and six-year-olds, many
who had never been skiing before, spent the
day going up and down the “bunny hill” at
Catamount. Even the few kids who had
experienced some moments of struggle during
their group lessons in the morning ended the
day totally thrilled with themselves. At the
same time, our older and more experienced
skiers explored the trails up the mountain in
small groups led by teams of parent leaders.
Every moment of our first ski day this
year was about celebrating each individual
within a fun and supportive community.
Parent chaperones helped all of the kids and
especially looked out for those who didn’t
have their own parent on the trip – they skied
with them, helped them get up after falling,
took them to the bathroom. There was even one moment of pause for the whole crew of skiers, parents, and
teachers to celebrate our community – during lunch we gathered in our multi-aged-Randolph style to eat together,
talk together, and share a few reflections about the morning.
Why do we ski? This part of Randolph’s Fitness curriculum is directly tied to our social-emotional and
academic curricula. In order to learn to ski or to improve their skills, kids must stretch and challenge themselves
physically, mentally, and emotionally. It’s not easy to stay balanced, turn, and stop while heading downhill on two
long narrow boards. As their skills and abilities increase (which happens unbelievably fast when you’re a young
skier, almost exponentially!) so does their confidence. And that self-confidence magically stays with them when they
return to the classroom. For example, even after one trip, we saw a six-year-old reading a book to a group of
Downstairs children, something he had never tried before. Is it a direct cause-and-effect experience? Of course not,
but we do see over and over again, trip after trip, year after year, kids taking more risks and feeling more confident
about themselves when they are confronted with a new way of solving a math problem, a more difficult book to
read, a complex story to write. And naturally, a child’s sense of self-esteem also affects how they resolve a conflict
with a friend, listen to different opinions, or ask for help.
There are countless opportunities for mastery and celebration on the ski slopes in ways that are quickly
evident to the kids themselves. They know how many fewer times they fell down on this trip compared to last time.
They know how much more in control they are when they can turn and stop. They know that taking the chairlift up
to the bigger trails means they have accomplished something important. It’s a transformative experience. They
celebrate. And so do we. We celebrate each child’s accomplishments and we celebrate how we help each other and
stick together.
Alisa
Art
with Valerie
In the Art Studio
“An artist's job is to surprise himself. Use all
means possible.” –Robert Henri
Recently, all Randolph students had a chance to
get their hands grimy. A good, therapeutic grimy – one
that I like to call “clay therapy.” We pushed, pulled and
squished our way into a state of dreamy happiness. The
wet, cool malleable medium took our worries away and
put smiles on our faces. Laughter and conversation
squelched the question of “what should we be making?”
And soon our artwork just “evolved.”
The Downstairs pinched and pulled birds, other
animals and the occasional space ship and alien combo.
The Upstairs experimented with pinch and coil pots and
then tried their hand at sculptural pieces. The Emperor
Penguins honed their hand building skills – trying a myriad
of construction processes, with the hopes of hitting the
potter’s wheel soon.
Music
With Gina
With the winter break, weather, my being
out of town, and a two-hour delay, I saw the
children this past Wednesday at 10am for the first
time since the Winter Party. It was great to finally
see everyone again! Everyone jumped right back in
without skipping a beat, learning some new songs
and dances and reviewing some of our old favorites.
All of the classes will spend part of music
class on material based around their classroom
themes (Downstairs—castles, knights, princesses
and dragons, Authors—food and social justice,
Penguins—Native American studies), while
continuing to work on activities that focus on
singing, movement, improvisation, rhythm and
playing the pitched and unpitched percussion
instruments. It is going to be a really fun winter and
spring!
Spanish
with Janet
¡Hace mucho frío! The cold lends us a
perfect opportunity to talk about the weather, which
is what we will be doing in the Downstairs and 567s
for the next few weeks. We are learning some new
songs that are related to weather, like Que Llueva (Let
it Rain) and La Pequeñita Araña (The Itsy Bitsy
Spider). We will also be playing fun games like
weather charades and doing projects to help us learn
weather phrases.
Some of the phrases we will learn you can
use at home, and please do!
¿Qué tiempo hace hoy? - What is the weather like
today?
Hace frío.- It’s cold.
Hace calor.- It’s hot.
Esta nublado.- It’s cloudy
Hace viento.- It’s windy.
Nieva.- It’s snowing.
Llueva. It’s raining.
Hace buen tiempo.- It’s nice out.
Hace mal tiempo.- It’s awful out.
The Emperor Penguins are foraying into the
world as they begin a study of Spanish-speaking
countries, geography and location words and the use
of ‘a,’ ’‘de,’ ‘está,’ and ‘donde.’ We are listening to
the song America Yo Soy by Los Tigres Del Norte as
a listening and singing exercise and also as a jumping
off point for the discussion of what it means to be
“American.” Who does that word include or
exclude? This study dovetails nicely with the
Penguins’ Native Peoples exploration. In addition to
in-class work, each student will be selecting a
Spanish-speaking country to research. We’ll be
working as a group to determine the shape this
research and its presentation will take.
Fitness
with Brad
Fitness for the past couple of weeks has
been filled with frosty fun and careening cardio
workouts. The snow has offered us an opportunity
to put on our daredevil hats and climb onto our
speedy sleds. Sledding is one of the things that the
kids look forward to all year long. All of the
students have been having a blast sledding down
our back field. This tradition goes way back BB Before Brad. For the last almost half century
Randolph students have enjoyed the shared
experience of sliding down the hill faster than
anyone has ever gone before. They make awesome
trains, partner up with new friends and learn to
master the art of the bail-out. This winter we are
looking forward to many days of camaraderie,
speed, and fun.
January 2011
Events Calendar
(Key: All School, Downstairs, Authors, Emperor Penguins, Cody&Avery)
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
9
3
4
Teacher
Work Day
No School
Winter
music
lessons
begin!
10
11
5
6
7
8
Admissions
Open
House
10am
12
13
14
15
Ski @
Catamount
16
17
18
19
20
Martin
Luther King
Jr. Day
No School
23
24
31
22
Ski @
Catamount
25
26
Limits &
Downstairs
Boundaries to the Farm
Workshop
6-8pm
30
21
27
28
Kon Kon
Film
6-8pm
29
February 2011
Events Calendar
(Key: All School, Downstairs, Authors, Emperor Penguins, Cody&Avery)
Sun
Mon
Tue
1
6
7
8
Wed
2
9
Thu
3
Fri
4
Sat
5
Parent Group Ski @
Meeting
Catamount
7:30pm
31 N Walnut
Beacon
Holy Mama
Workshop
1-4pm
Carriage
House
10
12
11
Ski @
Catamount
13
14
15
16
17
Authors to
the Farm
20
27
19
President’s
Day
Weekend
No School
21
22
23
President’s
Day
Weekend
No School
Teacher
Work Day
No School
Downstairs
to the Farm
28
18
24
25
Ski @
Catamount
26
Randolph School @ A Glance
School/Community Announcements
Snow Days and Delays
Delays and school closing due to snow or inclement
weather will be available in three ways. We will record a
message on the school’s answering machine at 297-5600.
Keep trying if you do not get the message the first time (it is
not available on our second roll-over line).
You can also check Randolph School’s website for upto-the-minute school closing information. Go to the school’s
website and follow the links to “Snow Day Information” or go
directly to www.randolphschool.org/snow.htm.
Delays and closings will also be announced on the
following radio stations:
WCZX 97.7 FM
WPDH 101.5 FM
WPDA/WPDH 106.1
WRRV/WRRB 96.9/92.7 FM
The WOLF 94.3/97.3 FM
WHUD 100.7 FM
WSPK 104.7 FM
WBNR 1260 AM
WLNA 1420 AM
WXPK 107.1 FM
WBPM 92.9 FM
WKIP 1450 AM
WPKF 96.1 FM
WRNQ 92.1 FM
WBWZ 93.3 FM
WRWD 107.3/99.3 FM
WCTW 98.5 FM
WELG 1370 AM
WHUC 1230 AM
Attention Downstairs
Parents
If you haven’t already
done so, please sign up
for Fruit Café!
School/Community Announcements
Randolph Twitters!!
Come follow our Tweet.
If you write them, they will
follow….your children’s
quotes that is. And we’re not
only writing them down, we
are tweeting them on Twitter!
Come “follow us”
@RandolphSpeaks….
…….on Twitter!
Parents if you would like to receive a
text message to your cell phone alerting you
to school closings due to inclement weather,
please go to www.whud.com click on the
WHUD STORM CENTER box midway down the
page, then click the big red box that says,
“Click here to sign up for text alerts.” Follow
the directions, it’s really easy!!!
3 Bedroom home for rent in Cold Spring. Easy access to Metro
North, shopping and entertainment. Hardwood floors, large eat-in
kitchen, washer/dryer, new dishwasher, off street parking, other
amenities. Contact Anita, 845 891 9303.
Come & Get Your Kleen Kanteen!
(in the Office)
Stainless steel water bottles with our own Randolph
School logo (a la Klean Kanteen) are available for
purchase. Two sizes: 18oz for $18 and 27oz for $20, in a
variety of colors with BPA-free loop caps or sport caps
(you choose). Limited number of stainless steel loop caps
Please help us welcome our student teachers for the winter semester! Samantha & Kaitlyn will be working with the 5,6,7s and Brittany, Greta and Stephanie will be working in the Downstairs! Many thanks to Anabelle’s dad, Michael Arginsky, for coming in last Wednesday and making us a very yummy, Something in a Bowl pasta treat!! Become a FAN and visit the Randolph School on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/randolphschool
Parents, don’t forget to check the school calendar on our
website and click on Meal in a Bowl to find out who’s
making it and what’s in this week’s Something in a bowl!
http://www.randolphschool.org/events/calendar/
Parents of Children of all Ages
Please Join Us
Tuesday, January 25th
From 6-8pm
In the Carriage House
For the first of a
Series of Parent Workshops
“Limits & Boundaries”
We will be looking at developmental stages
and how limits and boundaries
support our children’s growth.
Please bring any questions or
concerns you have.
Please let us know ahead of time if you
require childcare!