Writing and Reading Reflections from the 1-2 Classes

Katie and Aila's 2nd grade students performed "Three Billy Goats Gruff" to their 1st grade classmates, Kindergarteners, preschoolers in a Reader's Theater."

Katie and Aila's 2nd grade students performed "Three Billy Goats Gruff" to their 1st grade classmates, Kindergarteners, preschoolers in a Reader's Theater."

Sally and Megan's 1-2 class spent time reflecting on some of the ways the students' writing and reading skills have grown this year. Here are a few highlights students shared:

“It’s easier to sound out words and writing is WAY easier to spell words.”

“I am writing longer stories.”

“Writing songs in music.”

“I have grown in writing by using upper and lower case letters.”

“I have grown in drawing. I draw better characters and I have a style that I like.”

“ I have definitely grown in writing. I really like writing a lot!”

“I am doing more and better writing.”reader

“I am getting better at reading.“

“Before I didn’t know where to put the letters.”

Late Summer Light

In the midst of this pandemic-- in the midst of the toll that it has taken in lives and in livelihoods, the institutional racism that it has reinforced and laid bare, and the cracks it has exposed in our body politic-- we have found much light in being together as a school community these last five weeks.

It is an immense privilege to be able to hold in-person school. And the result is that teachers and students and families have been able to build the scaffolding of community that will support us through the year ahead. Even masked and distanced, classes have played games together, overcome challenges together, held silence together, and shared their hopes and dreams with one another. This foundation will be necessary as we face into difficult things.

Community is a key Quaker value for good reason. In addition to supporting academic learning and individual growth, strong communities are the prerequisite for entering into conversations around justice and injustice, around structural racism and our role in it, around our collective responsibility to act, around what it means for each of us to “let our lives speak.”

Already classes have used our annual celebration of the International Day of Peace to discuss the relationship between justice and peace and the connections between protest and peace. And if, during the year, we must continue these discussions from behind each of our individual screens, these gorgeous weeks together in the waning of summer will help to carry us through that, too.

—Nell Sears, Director of Studies

3rd and 4th grade students participating in a gallery walk. Students wrote down what they noticed, shared thoughts and their questions. Students made connections between symbols of peace and protest.

3rd and 4th grade students participating in a gallery walk. Students wrote down what they noticed, shared thoughts and their questions. Students made connections between symbols of peace and protest.

Creating flags that represent our communities

In social studies, 3-4 classes took time to think, notice and wonder about the flags of the four Wabanaki Nations in Maine. Students discussed the symbols found on them which aided in understanding how national symbols tell us a lot about what a culture values. Students got a chance to create their own flag using symbols that represent themselves and our communities.

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