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Dear Lower School Families,
As our first semester wraps up next week, I wanted to give you a preview of the formal written reports that will land in your inboxes next Friday, January 21st.
In October, I shared the details and the thinking behind streamlining how and when teachers share information about each child’s learning and social-emotional development. For your convenience, I’ve included that correspondence below.
To summarize, the comment shared with you next Friday will feature a narrative that highlights your child’s style as a friend and citizen within their class community, as well as a description of their approach to learning. You’ll learn about strategies that work to promote the fullest learning and participation for your child. EC families: you will read about your child’s social and cognitive development, and the narratives will be accompanied by photos of your child in action. K - 4th grade families: Your comments will include checklists that outline the grade level benchmarks within each curricular subject. They will indicate where your child stands at this midpoint in the year in regards to each benchmark.
Continue reading for a reminder of the hows and whys regarding formal communication in the Lower School. As always, please reach out if you have any questions or thoughts to share!
Best,
Moira
Email from October 18, 2021
Dear Lower School Families,
It’s conference week! Enjoy the opportunity to connect with your child’s classroom teacher. Please note that we are not able to offer afternoon programming on Thursday or drop-in childcare on Friday as we have done in the past.
This email is intended to outline how we will foster the connections between home and school this year and the ways our faculty will provide feedback on your child’s learning. We have a very close eye on the most meaningful and efficient ways to communicate with families throughout the year, and have made some changes to the timeline as well as the format for two types of formal communication: conferences and written comments. Considerations have included both timing and type of information shared.
Three goals have driven these changes:
1- To streamline communication efforts on behalf of our faculty.
2- To evenly distribute formal communications throughout the school year, including at the midpoint and conclusion of each semester.
3- To be sure you have a very clear understanding of what is happening throughout your child’s day, and specifically how your child approaches friendships and learning. It is important for you to understand the techniques that teachers have found helpful to ensure that your child is best able to access the curriculum, and your child’s progress towards meeting each expectation.
The table below will outline the timing and type of communication that we will provide, as well as a brief description of what you can expect within each venue.
