October 24th

September 12th

October 24, 2007

Dear Lower School Parents,

It was wonderful to see so many Group I, II and III Parents here at school on Parents’ Visiting Day last week. The girls love to show you what they are doing in school, to sit and draw pictures with you, play math games, solve word puzzles--and they LOVE having mom and dad join them for their specials’ subjects too. Kudos to all the parents who joined in during our P.E. tag game! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to accommodate this informational and fun-filled event.

Parent/Teacher Conferences
Next Thursday, November 1, is Lower School Parent/Teacher Conference Day.  There will be no school for Lower School girls.

If you were a parent in the Lower School last year, you will remember that you received a copy of you daughter’s progress report at your fall conference. After reviewing this practice with faculty, we have decided to discontinue this practice at the fall conference. At the beginning of the school year, much time is necessarily spent getting to know your daughters and assessing them in the core academic areas. Girls in Groups II, III and IV are also busy with their ERB tests at the beginning of each school year. This first trimester, teachers are still in the process of compiling a complete picture of your daughter’s cognitive learning profile. To issue a formal progress report at this point is premature; we believe it would be more helpful and informational to have a discussion with you about your daughter’s progress and to outline the goals your daughter needs to meet in order to achieve the grade-level expectations.

At your fall conference, teachers will discuss your daughter’s progress in each of the learning areas, what she needs to work on to meet or exceed grade-level expectations, and how you can help at home. Feedback from the teachers will also include valuable information about your daughter’s strengths and weaknesses. Remember that we cannot all be good at everything.  Each of us has strengths and weaknesses and a preferred learning style.

You will receive a formal copy of your daughter’s progress report in February at the next Parent/Teacher Conference, and at the end of the school year.

On November 1, the specials’ teachers will also be available to meet with you. If you wish to schedule a meeting with one of the specials’ teachers, please contact them by email to set up a time to meet. Here’s a list of those teachers and their email addresses:

Art
Deb Mason (Groups PC-III)                        dmason@greenwichacademy.org
Lela Philip (Group IV)                        lphilip@greenwichacademy.org

Computer
Lee Mayfield                                                lmayfield@greenwichacademy.org

Dance           
Beth Carney                                                bcarney@greenwichacademy.org

Library           
Leesa Singleton                                    lsingleton@greenwichacademy.org

Music
Heidi Haskins (PC/CC)                        hhaskins@greenwichacademy.org
Dianne Ellis (Groups I-IV)                        dellis@greenwichacademy.org

Physical Education
Laurie Downs            (Main                                    ldowns@greenwichacademy.org
PE Contact)

Spanish
Ana Gallegos (PC)                                    agallegos@greenwichacademy.org
Guillermina Casanova (CC-IV)             gcasanova@greenwichacademy.org
                                   

Halloween/Harvest Festivities
As mentioned in our summer mailing letter, we will celebrate Halloween/Harvest festivities the afternoon of Wednesday, October 31. Girls will have the option of a civvies day or dressing in a Halloween costume. If they choose to wear a costume, they should bring the costume to school in a bag. All grades and classes will have a normal academic program that morning. After lunch, girls who bring a costume to school will change into their costume and enjoy our traditional Group IV Halloween/Harvest games. The games will be held on the front hill this year since the playground will be out of commission during the MS renovations. PC and CC girls will be brought up to the main campus for games, as they have in the past, and for a parade. After the games, all grades will enjoy a Halloween snack in the classrooms provided by their Class Reps.

Community Service Project for October
Thank you for your generous donations of children’s books to this year’s book drive. Those of you who have visited the main campus recently will have noticed the 8 bins and numerous boxes in our hallway. Some of the books will be donated to the Head Start Program in New Orleans. The balance of the books will be sent to a school in Africa as part of “The Wetlands Project.” The last day for donating books is Thursday, October 25.

Dates to Remember

Wednesday, October 31            LS Halloween Celebration, PM only
Thursday, November 1            LS Parent/Teacher Conference Day--NO SCHOOL PC-IV
Friday, November 2            F.U.N.* Dance (Groups I-IV), Dining Hall/Ramsing Gymnasium,
6-8:30PM
Tuesday, November 6                    Trustees’ Visiting Day
Thursday, November 15            Lower School Thanksgiving Feast, Young Assembly Hall, 12 Noon
Saturday, November 17            PC/CC  F.U.N.* Breakfast, Ridgeview Avenue Campus (RAC)
Tuesday, November 20            Ingathering, All School Assembly, Raether Athletic Center, 2 PM
REGULAR DISMISSAL FOR THANKSGIVING BREAK
(11/21-11/25)
Monday, November 26            CLASSES RESUME
*Father, Uncle, Nearest Male Relative

If you promise not to believe everything your child says happens at school, I’ll promise not to believe everything she says happens at home.
                                                                                                            Anonymous Teacher

Have a great week!

Sincerely.

Jeanette Tyndall
Head of Lower School