Calendar, try 3

We can access the calendar under the tab at the top of the blog, meaning it isn't really private -- only public info should be added to the calendar (no birthday parties, etc. unless they are open). 

You can also access the calendar through this link, if you want to bookmark it yourself (I think -- please let me know if this link works)

Or, if you'd like to be able to link the FSPparents calendar with your own google calendars, feel free to drop me an email and I'll add your email to the calendar list itself.

Phew.

Wild Play

Hmmm... still not quite right

So, you can get the calendar there, but it takes up the whole blog... I will change it to a "page" -- it can be added to or changed by parents who subscribe to it -- invitations are going through the FSPPA google group or if you send me your email.  I'm guessing there is an easier way but it is escaping me somehow...

Online Calendar

We are trying to figure out how to best create and use a shared online FSP calendar.  Send Kim your email if you'd like an invitation to share the google calendar (you can then link it into your own google calendar or add things to the FSP one).

Here's an attempt at linking it

Schoolhouse Rock! The Great American Melting Pot

Grace's class's homework was to talk to us about our heritage... 

Event on Saturday

Playback Theatre, Saturday, September 18, 7:00 at St. Bart's

On Saturday, September 18th at 7:00 pm at the St. Bartholomew's Church in Yarmouth (396 Gilman Road),  Portland's Playback Theater will present a performance in support of Enviornmental Health Strategy Center.
 
Playback Theatre joins the art of improvisation with real-life stories spontaneously shared by members of the audience.  Using movement, dialogue and music, the actors seek to honor the countless moments and events that shape our lives.  In honor of EHSC's work for safer chemicals and healthy families, Saturday's theme will be "preventing harm".  There will be a reception with sweet treats immediately following the performance.  Children are welcome.

Quaker Meeting

I love so many things about FSP but my relationship to Quaker Meeting is particularly special.  We are not a Quaker family and had some reservations about sending our children to a school with a religious affiliation, so in some ways I would say we began our time at FSP despite it being a Quaker school.  Yet attending Quaker meeting (at school)  is now one of the highlights of my week.  Sitting in silence is a discipline and I often find myself having to work at quieting my body and my mind. I see my own children learning techniques for holding the quiet, in themselves and in the group - they already know things about this that I don't.  I feel a tremendous gratitude for the community, because it takes a huge collective effort to be quiet, together.  And then, after all that quiet, we sing! (see lots of the song lyrics on the right - I am particularly fond of "baby ducks").  Today we sang Simple Gifts and it resonated in the room and shaped my perspective on the day.  I highly recommend staying for a Monday morning Quaker Meeting or attending a Friday assembly to see the joy of a preK-8 balancing alone and together and to feel the essence of Quaker Education at play.

Leo the Late Bloomer

One thing I absolutely love about FSP is the emphasis on learning as a process, rather than a set of outcomes.  Last night, we tried a bunch of different cooking techniques for momos and a bunch of them fell apart.  Kate quickly jumped in with  that's ok mom, mistakes are how we learn.  Although I take mistakes hard, I wish for my children that ability to rejoice a bit in mistakes and the ability to laugh them off and keep trying.

Katie's class read Leo the Late Bloomer and the kids made incredibly sweet drawings of where they have already bloomed and where they're sprouting... Sounds like a good idea for grown-ups taking stock, as well.... and grown-ups can take even more comfort with this new MobileActives new initiative "failfaires" to celebrate all the mistakes that lead to brilliant innovation.

Henryfest this Sunday!

Quick reminder about Henryfest, which is this Sunday from 12 - 7 at Skyline Farm in North Yarmouth. Come support 317's music scholarships program and hear some fabulous bluegrass in the process. Rainplace will be at the St. Lawrence.

Carol Dweck and Mindsets

I have recently come across a lot of references to Carol Dweck and the idea of "mindsets" -- that is, how we think about intelligence and our own self-concept  (are the traits we value innate or learned).  Middleweb sent out a blurb about an article she's written that sounds great -- would love to talk with others about it!

CREATE A CULTURE OF RISK-TAKING
http://bit.ly/ms-risktaking
This article from Educational Leadership's "Meaningful Work" issue
(Sept 2010) sums up 20 years of research by Carol Dweck and her
colleagues, identifying two distinct ways in which individuals view
intelligence and learning. The fixed mindset believes intelligence is
simply an inborn trait, while those with a growth mindset believe
that they can develop their intelligence over time. Dweck argues that
not only does meaningful schoolwork promote students' learning of
academic content, it can also teach students to love challenges, to
enjoy effort, to be resilient, and to value their own improvement.
She shares ideas about how to help students come to see that
long-term growth and success depends on taking risks.

The middleweb newsletter is full of interesting links and ideas --
to subscribe: Send a note to norton@middleweb.com with SUBSCRIBE
in the subject line.