Dear Families,

One aspect of our school community I value most is our diversity.  Our mixed-age, heterogeneous classes are configured so that children learn to become part of a community that cultivates visibility, understanding, and respect for all people.  This work is deliberate and never-ending, and over the last several years we have partnered with outside community-based organizations for support.  Last year, the Diversity Committee researched several different organizations that provide professional development and family workshops about gender and decided to partner with the Gender & Family Project of the Ackerman Institute.  The Gender & Family Project (GFP) empowers youth, families, and communities by providing gender affirmative services, training and research. GFP promotes gender inclusivity as a form of social justice in all the systems involved in the life of the family.  We chose to partner with the GFP because their work explicitly integrates our school’s on-going work on race, racism and racial justice. Last spring and again this fall, the staff will participate in professional development with GFP. This Thursday, from 6 - 8 PM. the Gender & Family Project of the Ackerman Institute will lead a Gender 101 Workshop for TNS families.  I strongly encourage you to attend if you can.  Childcare and pizza will be provided for TNS children.

Once again this year, I am hosting a series of informal gatherings for families each month to discuss topics of interest to our community - so please email your suggestions!  The first “Morning Hour” is Wednesday, October 23rd in the PTA Room right after drop off.  We will discuss progressive education and in preparation, I encourage you to read Alfie Kohn’s article, Progressive Education: Why It’s Hard to Beat, But Also Hard to Find.  We begin each year with this article; I think it is a good starting point for future conversations. 

This Week at TNS...

• The Grants Committee meets Tuesday at drop-off in the small cafeteria.

• Used and Vintage Cookbook Sale: There is a cookbook sale on Wednesday from 2 - 6 PM in the courtyard (weather permitting).  All proceeds go to the library and UNICEF’s Nutrition Fund.  

• The PTA meets Thursday at 8:30 AM in the PTA room. Voting to approve this year’s draft budget will take place during the meeting.  PTA members can walk in anytime between 8 and 9:30 AM to cast their ballot. 

• Sing is Friday at 8:45 AM in the recess yard, weather permitting.  There will also be a bake sale. 

Looking Ahead...

• My Morning Hour is Wednesday, October 23 at 8:30 AM in the PTA Room.

• Friday, October 25 is Fall Family Celebration!  Fall Family Celebration is one of my favorite TNS traditions because it always reminds me how warm and caring our community is, and the importance of food in bringing people together.  Please check with your child’s teacher about the time and sign-up.

Have a good week,

Dyanthe

The PTA weekly newsletter is here!! This week’s edition features an interview with Librarian Cheryl Wolfe, news about an upcoming Diversity Committee event on gender identity issues, and a chance to help TNS advocate for more funding through a participatory budgeting process. Read the 10/14/19 PTA Newsletter now! 

Featuring an interview with Parent Coordinator Noemi Mora, the weekly newsletter is here! Please click on the image below to download a PDF version of the TNS PTA newsletter for the week of 10/7/19 .

Dear Families,

Have you ever wondered, if butterflies remember being caterpillars?  Probably not recently, if at all.  As adults, there’s lots of information that we know and therefore don’t think more deeply about.  We know that caterpillars turn into butterflies or moths, most likely because we were told it or read about it.  

Last week, this question was offered up and considered by our students as they observed the Swallowtail caterpillars they discovered in our school garden.  2nd and 3rd graders brought them to the science room to protect them from birds and then all our students watched as they changed from caterpillars to pupae.  

The beauty of science is in the mystery, the unknowing, the unseen, and the fantasy.   A child’s natural inclination for play and pretend and imagination feeds right into science work and it’s our job to ask children open-ended questions about the world and listen to them as they come up with their own theory.  Before giving your child any information, ask them more clarifying questions that help further their thinking on his/her own. Then you might want to spend time together researching answers to the question and talking more. 

This Week at TNS

• Hip Hop begins for our ⅔ and ⅘ grade classes this week.  Students will build a Hip Hop Dance foundation learning hip hop dance moves and dance terminology. They will be challenged to both explore their freestyle and learn choreography that will be shared in an open house with parents at the culmination of the residency.  Children should wear sneakers and comfortable clothes on days they have Hip Hop.

• Third Street Music classes begin for Pre-K and K/1 this week.  Children work with Monika once a week, exploring music through voice, movement, and instruments.  All TNS Students are eligible to participate in Partners@3rd, a program that provides free and low-cost group classes held after school and on weekends at Third Street’s home on East 11th Street. These classes are offered across a variety of instruments and dance styles.  For more information, click here.

• The Diversity Committee meets on Tuesday after drop-off.

• The PTA Executive Committee meets on Tuesday after drop-off.

• There is no school on Wednesday, October 9 in observance of Yom Kippur.

• On Thursday, from 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM, Benito “Ifayemisi” Marquez will lead a drumming performance in the auditorium.   Benito is graciously coming to visit us while he is in town for the screening of his film Mama Africa (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cccadi-presents-mama-africa-an-afro-venezuelan-cultural-session-tickets-75048428871).  This event is hosted by the Diversity Committee.

Looking Ahead

• There is no school on Monday, October 14 in observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

Have a good week,

Dyanthe

Week of October 2:  Alternative Lunch Menu Entrees

Week of October 7:  Classic Lunch Menu Entrees

• 10/7 - both hot entrées will be available (veggie tacos, Mac & Cheese)

Week of October 14:  Classic Lunch Menu Entrees

• 10/17 - both hot entrées will be available (vegetarian chili, Jamaican Beef Patty)

Week of October 21:  Alternative Lunch Menu Entrees

Week of October 28: Classic Lunch Menu Entrees

• 10/28 - both hot entrées will be available (veggie tacos, Mac & Cheese)