Lower School Newsletter - April 27, 2022
Message From Division Director
As we approach the last six weeks of school, it’s a wonderful time to offer reflection time for our Huskies and to provide them with a sense of closure to the year of classroom learning. Below are the benefits of doing so and the ways your child’s teacher will help wrap up the year on a positive note and help to identify successes and areas of improvement:
- A sense of accomplishment and pride in themselves, their class, and their school.
- A sense of belonging and an affirmation of their significance within the group.
- An opportunity to reflect upon their own learning process and to know themselves as learners: Here is where I began and here is where I have gotten to. This was easy for me to do; that was hard for me to do. This is enjoyable work for me; that is work I don’t really like.
- A sense of satisfaction from having worked hard to learn something; a recognition that hard work can be a positive experience.
- A recognition of the fun and excitement that are part of learning.
- A feeling of ownership of individual and group learning, which leads to a sense of empowerment.
- An opportunity to think about next year’s work — to set goals as a reflective learner.
Naturally, the school year’s end can be stressful for students. Offering connection and affirmation will help them feel valued and confident. Those students struggling with upcoming changes may wonder:
- Will I be promoted to the next grade level?
- Who will my new friends be?
At a more visceral developmental level, these worries loom:
- Will I be accepted in new class environments?
- Who can I trust? And how will I know?
These students may begin acting out, appear less focused, and possibly shut down. Also, to adults, youthful fear and anxiety may look like anger. To read more on how to best support your child during this time, please read “Calming End-of-the-Year Stress.”
Articles:
How to Raise a Good Problem-Solver
How to Talk to Kids About Honesty
Videos:
Video: What Is Compassion?
Story Time: Respect and Responsibility
"What if I do this, what could happen?" — Thinking ahead can help kids avoid all sorts of trouble. This friendly Mulberry tree offers kids a helpful technique to remember to think BEFORE they act in a way that could hurt themselves or someone else.
Robyn M. Nichols
Interim Director of the Lower School
The Latest
Upcoming Local Field Trips
Tuesday, May 10: Difficult Run Stream Field Trip, 9 a.m. - noon (Grade 4)
Lower School Closing Ceremony/Sixth Grade Promotion
We are in the final stages of solidifying plans for the 2022 Ceremony and Sixth Grade Promotion. Information, such as attire for our oldest Huskies, will be available very soon. Stay tuned for details.
Fifth and Sixth Grade Play Practice
The fifth and sixth graders are rehearsing for the Fifth and Sixth Grade Play. Also, note that some students will rehearse on Mondays and Wednesdays only, and others rehearse on Tuesdays and Thursdays only. These rehearsals will continue until the performance on May 19. If you have additional questions, please reach out to Director of Fine Arts James Venhaus.
The next meeting of the Kaleidoscope Parent Book Club is scheduled for Monday, May 9, 8:30-9:30 a.m., in the Peterson Middle School. We will meet to discuss the book "Beyond Diversity: 12 Non-Obvious Ways to Build a More Inclusive World" by Rohit Bhargava and Jennifer Brown. We look forward to building and deepening relationships through this shared learning opportunity. All parents are welcome to attend regardless of your familiarity with the book selection. Please use this form to RSVP. Contact All- School Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator Miles Henderson if you have any questions
Preparing for the 2022-23 School Year Tile Launches May 2
Coming Soon: The Community of Care
The Community of Care is an event designed for our community to engage in dialogue, create connections and build community. This year’s community conversation will focus on the Flint Hill Core Values. We invite you to join us as we connect across constituencies and build a more inclusive community, one conversation at a time. Our discussion will also inform our upcoming Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) programming.
This year’s event is scheduled for Saturday, May 21, 9 a.m.-noon in the Peterson Middle School. We invite students in Grades 7-12, alumni, parents, faculty, staff and leadership to join us for this important community event. Please save the date. Registration details will be provided in the upcoming weeks.
MAKING THE LEARNING VISIBLE
Thinking Like a Scientist in Kindergarten
Kindergarten students recently spent time “thinking like a scientist” in the Science Lab. Being mindful of their five senses, students worked together to make thoughtful observations as they combined several ingredients together, following a procedure. They noticed how the dry ingredients became wet, then changed again. The final product: thermochromic playdough! The playdough will remain in the lab for upcoming visits and further study.
FRIENDLY REMINDERS
- Use this form to request additional RFID tags for carpool.
- Refer a Husky and the Admission team will reach out to them.
PARENT RESOURCES
Parents Council of Washington Virtual Event — April 28
The Parents Council of Washington is pleased to host a virtual event on Thursday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m. with Dr. William Stixrud and Ned Johnson, national bestselling authors of “The Self-Driven Child,” to discuss their new book, “What Do You Say?: Talking with Kids to Build Motivation, Stress Tolerance, and a Happy Home.”
William R. Stixrud, Ph.D. is a clinical neuropsychologist and founder of The Stixrud Group, as well as a faculty member at Children's National Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the George Washington University School of Medicine.
Ned Johnson is an author, speaker, and founder of PrepMatters, an educational company providing academic tutoring, educational planning, and standardized test preparation. He hosts the PrepTalks podcast and is a sought-after speaker and teen coach on study skills, sleep deprivation, parent-teen dynamics, and test anxiety.
In this PCW Speaker Series event, Stixrud and Johnson will focus on how to communicate with kids in a way that supports the autonomy and self-drive that are important for healthy development. They will emphasize practical communication strategies for building a strong emotional connection with our kids, communicating healthy (versus toxic) expectations, fostering intrinsic motivation, and helping kids find their own reasons to change when they are struggling. Because communication is hardest when things are not going well, the presentation will emphasize how to get "buy in" before we share our experience and advice, how to change the energy when it feels like we are trying to force our kids, and how to manage conversations when emotions run high.
The presentation will be followed by a Q&A period. Please submit in advance any questions you may have to administration@parentscouncil.org.
All PCW member school parents, administrators, faculty, and staff are invited. Register Here
Upcoming Events
To help protect the integrity and privacy of virtual events, we have placed all the links to Google Meet virtual events in Husky Hub via the All-School Calendar.
Grades 5 and 6 Play Practice
Mondays/Tuesdays (Group 1) and Wednesdays/Thursdays (Group 2)
Classroom Visits 2.0
Friday, April 29 (Grades 4-6), 8:15-8:45 a.m.
Grade K Parent Dinner Sponsored by the Parents’ Association
Friday, April 29, 6-8 p.m.
Grade 2 Parent Social Sponsored by the Parents’ Association
Saturday, April 30, 6-8 p.m.
Grade 3 Parent Dinner Sponsored by the Parents’ Association
Sunday, May 1, 4-6 p.m.
Rising Grades 4-6 Transition Coffee
Wednesday, May 4, 9-10 a.m.
Grades JK-12 Admission New Parent Information Night
Wednesday, May 4, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Grades 5-8 Spring Band Concert
Thursday, May 5, 7-8:30 p.m.
Grandparents and Special Friends Day
Friday, May 6
Grades JK-12 Parent Education Series: Kaleidoscope Book Club
Monday, May 9, 8:30-9:30 a.m.
Author Claire Legrand Grade 6 Virtual Presentation
Monday, May 9, 10-11 a.m.
Grade 4 Difficult Run Stream Field Trip
Tuesday, May 10, 9 a.m.-noon
Grades 5-8 Spring Percussion Concert
Tuesday, May 10, 7-8:30 p.m.
Grades 5-8 Spring Choral Concert
Thursday, May 12, 7-8:30 p.m.
Classroom Visits 2.0
Friday, May 13 (Grades JK-3), 8:15-8:45 a.m. (new date)
JK Family Picnic Sponsored by the Parents’ Association
Saturday, May 14, 5-7 p.m.
Rising Grades K-3 Transition Coffee
Monday, May 16, 9-10 a.m. (new date)
Two-Hour Delayed Opening, Faculty/Staff In-Service
Tuesday, May 17
Health Services
Helpful Links
Flint Hill Positive Case and Close Contact Exposure Protocols
COVID-19 Vaccination Status Dashboard
All of these links can be found on the COVID-19 Health Information tile on the Resource Board.
Reminder: Keep Everyone Healthy by Staying Home if Sick
If your student has fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea you should keep them home to recover. They must be symptom-free for 24 hours before returning to school.
Parents' Association
Don’t Forget to Register! Golf Invitational and Skills Clinic
Space is limited for the tournament, but there are plenty of spots available for the Skills Clinic, presented by AutoScandia. Join Clinic Co-Chairs Mica Howard P’19 and Sibel Unsal P’22 for an hour-and-a-half of casual conversation and golf skills taught by pros. Afterward, enjoy lunch together and get a chance to win some great raffle prizes, including a Kendra Scott necklace or two tickets to Signature Theater. Thank you to parents Sherri and Mark Bredesen P'22 of AutoScandia for their generous sponsorship of the clinic!
All abilities are welcome, so grab your spot here! Interested in volunteering? Sign up here.
Once a Husky, Always a Husky
It was a beautiful weekend. The Toast to Celebrate John was sensational! It was so nice to be able to honor our headmaster for 17 remarkable years at Flint Hill. It was fun to see his face after each surprise: his portrait, two of his three sons surprising him, the Flint Hill Family Album that you all contributed to, the incredible gifts to a financial aid endowment in his name, the touching video of our community honoring him, and the reveal of the Middle School terrace to The John M. Thomas Terrace. Read more.
NEWS ON THE HILL
