16 September, 2004 Education is less about the filling of a pail and more about the lighting of a fire.    W.B. Yeats.  September is the beginning of the year for me.  It’s the time I make my new year resolutions and dream about what the coming year will hold.  I’ve been involved in education for almost thirty years now so this kind of thinking has now become a habit.  Really, I probably get just as excited about September 1st as I do about January 1st.  I’ve watched the faculty meet together these past few weeks and plan and talk about what they hope to do this year as they have been getting their rooms ready.  Every now and again in the faculty meetings I notice them whisper with each other as something in the conversation sparks a new idea that they want to try.  The sense of anticipation is catching.  The beginning of a school year is a time to plan and dream. At Prairie Creek the planning and dreaming has an air of expectation and uncertainty about it.  Nobody starts the year with the curriculum map for the whole year firmly designed and settled.  We know better than that.  We want to get to know our children and learn what they are interested in.  We don’t approach teaching with fixed ideas about what should be taught and when it should be taught.  We don’t pull out the curriculum book and turn to the section for September.  We know that our job is not one of filling heads with facts but of setting the spark to the curiosity in the child’s heart so that it catches fire and the flame of learning begins to burn brightly.  Don’t get me wrong.  We plan!  We are very intentional in our planning and our preparation.  We think about curriculum all the time and talk about it together often.  We are in the process as a faculty of “mapping” our curriculum in all subject areas with attention to “standards” and assessment.  We are holding ourselves very accountable in these areas.  But, one of the joys of teaching at Prairie Creek is the permission we give our teachers to take risks, follow the child and allow for the unexpected.  I’ll never forget the Kindergarten class that got so excited about the Titanic when I mentioned it in passing as we were talking about icebergs.  The actual unit was about water, but suddenly we were deep into studying the Titanic.  There were models of it everywhere! Titanics made of large cardboard boxes, made of blocks, and Lego.  It was a while before we got back to water! So, as the year begins I encourage you to relax and watch the unfolding of curriculum in your child’s class.  I am confident that you will see the fire lit in your child’s heart and you will feel the warmth of it as they love learning because they are learning what they love.  Over the next few weeks I will share more with you about how the faculty plans curriculum.  Our academic goals for this year include math and writing.  We will be reading together about writing and examining our philosophy and how we teach writing.  The Educational Resource Committee will be looking closely at Writing and Special Education this year.  If you are interested in being part of any of these conversations please talk to Simon or to me. End of the Day Dismissal: We are quite concerned about dismissal at the end of the day as we have so many children riding home by car this year.  Between getting the right children to Extended Day and the right children on the bus it’s a pretty hectic time for us.  So, we are going to try a new approach this week. We are committing to getting our bus children on the bus immediately at 2:30pm so the bus can leave earlier than usual.   We will be asking the “car” children to wait on the blue line in the gym, instead of on the stage. When you come to pick up your child please wait on the stage and visit with other parents there.  When you are ready to go your child can then leave with you.  It is very difficult for us when children are running around the gym as they wait for their parents and the possibility of a child running outside alone is very high.  Please do not let your child go outside into the parking lot or to the car without you by their side.  Any “car” child who has not been picked up by 2:45pm will join the Extended Day children.  (In the future we will charge for this.)  Our goal is to have all children leave the school building by 2:45pm.  Thank you for your cooperation and help as we try to get the “chaos” at the end of the day under control. Volunteers in the Classroom: The teachers and I have decided to change our requirement that parents wait for a full six weeks before helping in classrooms.  If you are feeling ready to come and volunteer you are welcome to start coming next week.  Here are some guidelines that we ask you to follow if you want to volunteer in the classroom. Always call the teacher ahead of time if you wish to come.  Please do not just “drop in”.  Remember that your child will act differently when you are in the room, so if you feel your presence is causing a problem for your child then you could volunteer in another room or wait a while until your child is better able to handle your presence there. Please respect the expectations in the classroom for children’s behavior, such as sitting upright in circle, (rather than in your lap).  Help your child to follow the teacher’s lead even when you are present. Attend the volunteers training that Caroline will be giving in early October.  Younger siblings should not be brought into the classroom.  Babies in arms or slings are welcome, of course. We had a wonderful night at Curriculum Night but missed a lot of families.  Your Directory and Handbook were sent home by backpack express if you were unable to be with us last night.  At Prairie Creek we believe that asking questions is a very important part of learning and hard questions are always welcome.  We welcome your questions, even the hard ones.  One last thought, reading the Prairie Creek News is your homework, parents!  Please take the time every other week to read this communication.  We know you have lots to read so we’ll only send this every other week.  But, we do need you to read it!