Friday, October 27, 2017

Happy Halloween!

Halloween enhances one of the best characteristics of youth- a powerful imagination! Somewhere between jobs, kids, and making dinner, adults seem to lose this magic. Halloween is the day that best brings out our creative side and makes the world childlike again.

The energy, laughter, and joy that has been sprinkled around our school is contagious. I hope you caught a drop of happiness while watching our Lower School costume parade, or the 3rd/4th grade "Thriller" performance. I hope to see all of you (dressed up) tonight at the Fall Festival!

Have a Happy Halloween!


Friday, October 20, 2017

Books, books, everywhere

The book fair ended this week. I can’t say I am going to miss shooing kids to class (after it has started) because they are browsing at the book fair in the morning. But I can say I appreciate any event that brings more print into our school and homes.

Books are important, extremely important in your child’s academic development. I cannot stress enough how beneficial it is for children to be in a print rich environment. Not just at school but at home also. The more opportunities your child has to see, experience, hear, and absorb words, the more comfortable and confident readers they will become.

Sometimes a reluctant reader just needs to find a fit that sparks their love of books. One mom told me her son never liked to read very much until he found the Captain Underpants books. Now he is a vivacious reader. The mom was not a Captain Underpants fan but she soon became one because of her son's transformation.

The book fair had lots of titles with characters I was not familiar with (whatever happened to the Box Car Children books?). That is because it was not catered to me or parents but to our children’s interests. Letting your child “shop” and decide what is interesting to them, while bringing more books into your home and our school is what the book fair is all about. Inspiring and fostering reading in any way we can is part of what we do at St. Paul's Academy.

Thank you PALS for the new books from the Book Fair for our classroom