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All school hike around Grout Pond on Monday! Remember to send your child with good walking shoes and a portable lunch.

At the beginning of every school year David’s class goes to Woodford State Park and takes a giant step towards coming together as a classroom community. I joined them for an hour of canoeing on Thursday afternoon. The trees are already showing signs of fall with a few patches of brilliant orange and red on the banks of Adams Reservoir. While we were out in canoes, David called for a “sensory break” and asked students to use their peripheral vision and write down all they saw around them. “Reflections”, “moss on a log”, and “David’s goatee” were some of the observations they shared.

This week all the classes are working to create their classroom behavior expectations. They start with their individual goals and then think about how the classroom needs to operate in order for them to reach these goals. In the Junior High the students came up with Classroom Guidelines agreed to and signed by all. Then, when someone forgets, it’s everyone’s responsibility to remind them of the guidelines. In another week, representatives from each of the classes will meet with me to work out expectations for the space we share – the halls, the library, All School Sing. Learning to live in a democracy means participating in decision making and then taking responsibility for making the decisions work.

Many of you attended Parents Night this week where you heard the teachers’ plans for the coming year and had a chance to share your own hopes and fears. Parents of Junior High students worried about peer pressure and hoped their children would continue to find joy in learning. Parents of kindergarten students had very similar hopes and fears. Thanks for being there.

Last year’s Parents and Friends officers, Susanne Shapiro, Cathy Cunliffe, Brenda Kennedy, Susan Kunhardt, met with me earlier this week. We discussed ways we can strengthen our school community. We identified parents we will ask to be contacts for each classroom. We planned both fun and fundraising activities for the coming year. And we brainstormed ways to support families. On October 9 a P&F meeting will be followed by a presentation from Wendy Webber and Richard Dror who will speak to us about “Creating a ‘No Fault Zone’ Home: Parenting for mutual respect, cooperation and nurturing family relationships”. This should be inspiring – and will also serve as an introduction to the parenting class Wendy will be teaching. (More information on this in next week’s Notes) Please mark your calendar and plan to join us. Jodi and Brenda, with Wendy’s support, are piloting a parallel curriculum called No-Fault Zone Conflict Prevention & Resolution: Classroom Tools to Activate 9 Powers of Relationship Intelligence.

Today after All School Sing four parents joined me for tea, coffee, and informal conversation. We brainstormed several topics we’d like to discuss in the future. These included peace education, a school brunch program, information about the No-Fault Zone Conflict Prevention and Resolution program, and the different “specials” classes at MES. Please join us on September 28 (I’ll be out of the building next Friday).