Our graduating Grade 8 class has just received notifications from the secondary schools to which they applied months ago.  Their hard work in and out of the classroom has led to the excitement of contemplating which of their acceptances constitutes the best fit for their high school years.

Given the rich array of secondary school options in our area, finding the right next school can seem an overwhelming task.  However, when our students (and their parents) start looking into secondary schools they aren’t going it alone. They collaborate closely with Mr. Gregg, our Head of School, throughout the journey, so that when it comes time to apply to schools in their final year at Green Hedges, they know what type of school will be the right fit for them.

At GHS, the secondary school process begins with a breakfast in February for our Grade 7 students and parents.  They are given an overview of both the application process and the support they will receive over the next year and a half. Mr. Gregg always invites a representative from one of the independent schools in the area. This year, we were fortunate to welcome the Director of Admission at the Potomac School, Carson Roy, who provided our students with valuable tips such as how to approach and interact with secondary school representatives and how to conduct yourself on a tour.

There is regular communication between Green Hedges, the parents and students during the application process.  Family interviews help translate the broad experiences our students have at GHS into what they want in a secondary school.  Mr. Gregg’s deep knowledge of the secondary school world helps them create a list of schools to visit.

By the time our students start visiting secondary schools, they are already well versed in speaking confidently with teachers and other adults.   Mock interviews conducted by Mr. Gregg prepare our Grade 8 for their visits to prospective schools. On-site preparation for the SSAT helps ensure they are ready for the standardized testing required by the secondary schools.

Faculty members write personal letters of recommendation which are included in the student’s application packet for each school.  Finally, Mr. Gregg personally visits most of the schools to which the students apply and is in personal contact with the respective admission offices, constantly advocating for our students and supporting their candidacies.

The Green Hedges secondary school process is one of collaboration and preparation amongst our Head of School, faculty, parents and students. We are fortunate to have a community that understands that choosing a high school should not be done in a vacuum, but through a process that ensures that our graduating students go on to a school where they will thrive.

Right now, our Middle School students are hard at work in rehearsals for their performing arts production of “Macbeth: The Musical” which they will debut on Thursday, March 16^th.  Although the performing arts season at GHS culminates each year in May with the highly-anticipated Grade 1 play, the Middle School musical is a pinnacle of another sort.

These students, our most experienced thespians, put together a demanding musical each year which demonstrates their comfort with singing, dialogue, character, emotion, costumes, lighting, and makeup – all under the glare of stage lights and the gaze of parents and friends!  How do they do it?  Although not quite adhering to Malcolm Gladwell’s “10,000 Hour Rule”, the fact is these students have benefitted from the Green Hedges curriculum designed to provide practice, practice, and more practice at being in front of an audience.

It starts with our Montessori Kindergarten classes, who prepare and present a short play entirely in French to their parents and siblings.  After that, each year of instruction at Green Hedges includes a speaking role onstage in a performing arts production, beginning with the fairy tale-based plays of Grade 1 and continuing to the musicals of the Middle School.  All of our students also sing in our Winter Concert. Even the most reticent of speakers is encouraged to find their voice before the footlights.

Echoing our comprehensive curriculum in other areas, we teach poise throughout the grades by repeated exposures in increasingly challenging ways.  Grade 3 students perform as a historical figure each year in a virtual Wax Museum, and Grade 4 students put on the GHS State Fair celebrating many of the American states.  In both, the integrated research across geography, history, and art is presented by the student “expert” to attendees.  The students are encouraged to make eye contact, discuss the topic in an organized manner, and incorporate technology while sharing their knowledge with the questioner. By Grade 8, our students are moderating Opening and Closing assemblies in front of the entire student body and responding with ease to unexpected questions or occurrences.

These and many other intentional opportunities build the sense of poise that we begin to instill at an early age here at Green Hedges. By building self-confidence, character and balance, we are preparing our students with skills which will be important in high school classrooms, college seminars, and business meetings.

The PTO’s March meeting will also focus on poise and performance. Join fellow parents for the meeting on March 14 at 8:15 AM.

There is always a hot, new app which pops up and starts trending. What if your tween’s device suddenly has that app? Or an unfamiliar app?  What are the important steps to be a responsible parent in these cases?

Last week, our StratEdgies blog post focused on what parents can do to help raise wise digital kids. Earlier this week, Green Hedges welcomed Iris Beckwith, President of connectED4safety LLC, to campus to share tips for parents on navigating the ever-changing cyber world in which we, and our children, live. She also presented to our tweens in Grades 4 and 5 and our Middle School teens.

While each presentation was geared towards very different audiences, the one common theme was the importance of being proactive, when it comes to cyber safety.

Here are 5 takeaways from Iris’ presentation to parents:

1. Be the owner of your family’s electronic devices and set parameters. Set limits early on and emphasize that access to apps, messaging, video games and social media are privileges and not rights. Regular check-ins, especially with teenagers, allows for a conversation about what is working and what isn’t.

2. Periodically check the browser history on all your family devices. It sounds intuitive, but periodically checking the browsing history of computers, laptops and iPads can help you see where your child has been online and allow you to remind them about appropriate sites based on your family rules. Seeing a cleared browsing history? Well, that may signal the need for a conversation as well. Also, you should not only know all of your kid’s passwords, but check them regularly to see if any of them have changed.

3. Sharenting. The “term used to describe the overuse of social media by parents to share content based on their children. It is related to the concept of ‘too much information’.” While no one wants to tell you not to post photos of your adorable kids online, it may be helpful to stop and think about the digital footprint of your child it is leaving behind. Always make sure your privacy settings are what you want them to be before posting on social media. Here’s a helpful link on navigating privacy settings on Facebook.

4. Always ask yourself and ask your kids “who has access to this?” Again, be aware of what your privacy and location settings are and how to turn them off. There can often be hidden data available when you post online, so just be aware of who is seeing what and how much information they can ascertain from one post of yours. Learn about privacy settings on social media here.

5. Conversations around cyber safety should start early and continue on a regular basis. While supervision of online activity is certainly an important factor in keeping our kids safe, we also want them to be equipped with the right information and tools to know what is safe and unsafe at an early age. It only takes a few minutes to share something you shouldn’t online, but could takes months to years to recover from it.

As with many topics in parenting, open lines of communication are critical. Talk with your kids and listen to their worries, concerns and questions so you know where they need your support and guidance.

“Well, as you know, I’m not on SnapFace and all that …”

—Bill Belichick, New England Patriots Head Coach commenting on social media.

It’s hard to keep up with social media in today’s cyber world, as the above quote illustrates.

We begin teaching our children behavioral expectations at a very young age, teaching them to say “please”, “thank you”, and look people in the eye.  Raising wise digital citizens requires you provide the same sort of instruction, guidance, oversight, and support (in age-appropriate ways) as they learn how to interact appropriately in digital settings.  This is important because there are considerations related to safety, digital footprints, and etiquette where missteps by young users can be difficult to deal with after the fact.

Here are some useful suggestions for children no matter their age:

1. Think before you type – it can seem easy to post things that may be hurtful to others or simply too blunt when you are looking at a screen and not a person. Some websites suggest a “WWGS” (What Would Grandma Say?) rule to illustrate this to tweens.  If you wouldn’t say it in front of your grandma, don’t type it to another person.

2. Don’t talk to strangers – Children need to be taught that everyone online is a stranger. Profiles are not always lined up with who that person is in reality, which may be a surprise to tweens.  Messaging during online gaming, chat rooms and social media apps can create a feeling of shared experiences leading a child to “speak” with strangers in a way they would never do in real life.  It should be emphasized that it is never okay to share information about their address, family, school, friends, etc. with someone online.

3. Privacy is not guaranteed – Children need to understand that nothing online is ever as private as it may seem, and posts and photos can live on forever. Even on apps which tout that their messages or photos are only available for a short time, a screenshot of the live post can easily defeat that expectation.

On Tuesday, February 28, Iris Beckwith, President of connectED4safety LLC, will be at Green Hedges. All parents are invited to her presentation at 8:30 a.m. designed to help you find concrete options for understanding, managing and talking to your children about their online lives, as well as helpful hints and guidelines useful for monitoring your tween/teens digital activities. Presentations to students in Grades 4-8 will follow.

Keeping up with what is new and trendy while setting appropriate limits and instilling good behavior and habits can seem like a daunting job, but resources like Iris Beckwith’s presentation can help. More information on this topic can also be found at:

13 Tips for Monitoring Kids’ Social Media

How to Raise Respectful Digital Citizens

5 Social Media Rules for Teens and Tweens

As we celebrate Black History Month at Green Hedges, we are recognizing the achievements of African-Americans in many areas including science, mathematics, engineering, medicine, sports, the arts and literature.

Our Librarian, Mrs. Nancy Provenzano, has curated a list of books that celebrate African-American authors and prominent African-Americans past and present, and an array of authors who represent the diversity of America, both in their own heritage and through the characters in their books. Included in this list are books written by Newbery Award winning author, Kwame Alexander. This week we were fortunate to welcome Kwame to Green Hedges to share his books and inspire our students. He is just one of many authors we welcome to the school year round who encourage our students to explore the world around them through reading.

All of the books listed below can be found at the Green Hedges Library.  When asked about her approach to choosing books for the School’s collection, Mrs. Provenzano states “I’d like every child to see themselves represented in all aspects of literature and to ultimately realize the range of possibilities available to them.”

Preschool- Grade 3

Fiction

Acoustic Rooster and His Barnyard Band – Kwame Alexander

And Tango Makes Three  –  Pete Parnell

Baseball Saved Us – Ken Mochizuki

Be Who You Are – Todd Parr

Bee-Bim-Bop – Linda Sue Park

Firebird – Misty Copeland

Grandfather’s Journey – Allen Say

The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher – Molly Bang

King & King – Linda de Haan

Mango, Abuela & Me – Meg Medina

More More More Said the Baby – Vera B. Williams

My Princess Boy – Cheryl Kilodavis

Nino Wrestles the World – Yuyi Morales

The Other Side – Jacqueline Woodson

Tar Beach – Faith Ringgold

Thunder Boy Jr. – Sherman Alexie

Twenty Yawns – Jane Smiley

Whistle for Willie – Ezra Jack Keats

Folktales

Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl – Virginia Hamilton

The Dragon Prince: A Chinese Beauty & the Beast Tale – Laurence Yep

Gluskabe and the Four Wishes – Joseph Bruchac

Little Roja Riding Hood – Susan Middleton Elya

Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story from China – Ed Young

Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Riding Hood – Mike Artell

The Twelve Dancing Princesses – Rachel Isadora

Nonfiction

A Splash of Red: The Life and Art of Horace Pippin — Jen Bryant

Alicia Alonso: Prima Ballerina — Carmen T. Bernier-Grand

When the Beat Was Born:  DJ Kool Herc and the Creation of Hip Hop – Laban Carrick Hill

Young Jim Thorpe: Bright Path — Don Brown

Grades 4 – 6

Fiction

As Brave as You – Jason Reynolds

Birchbark House (series)  – Louise Erdrich

Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond — Brenda Woods

Crossover and Booked – Kwame Alexander

Esperanza Rising – Pam Munoz Ryan

Flying Lessons & other Stories – Edited by Ellen Oh

George — Alex Gino

Inside Out & Back Again – Thanhha Lai

Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy – Gary D. Schmidt

Locomotion and Peace, Locomotion – Jacqueline Woodson

Millicent Min, Girl Genius and Stanford Wong Flunks Big Time (series)  — Lisa Yee

One Crazy Summer (trilogy)– Rita Williams Garcia

President of the Whole Fifth Grade — Sherri Winston

The Thing About Luck – Cynthia Kadohata

Watsons Go to Birmingham – Christopher Paul Curtis

Nonfiction

El Deafo  – Cece Bell (graphic novel biography)

March, Book One  – John Lewis (graphic novel biography)

We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball  – Kadir Nelson

Grades 7 – 8

Fiction

Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang (graphic novel)

Chains (trilogy) –  Laurie Halse Anderson

The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child – Francisco Jimenez

The Code Talker – Joseph Bruchac

Crossing the Wire – Will Hobbs

Dragonwings (series) – Laurence Yep

Elijah of Buxton and Madman of Piney Woods  –  Christopher Paul Curtis

Fallen Angels  –  Walter Dean Myers

The Glory Field  – Walter Dean Myers

Fiction in Verse

Red Pencil by Andrea Davis Pinkney

Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate

Inside Out and Back Again by Thanhha Lai

All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg (also Serafina’s Promise and Unbound)

Nonfiction

Harriet Tubman, Secret Agent – Thomas B. Allen

Heart and Soul: The Story of America and African Americans  –  Kadir Nelson

Rhythm Ride: A Road Trip Through the Motown Sound – Andrea Davis Pinkney

Autobiographies in Verse

Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir by Margarita Engle

How I Discovered Poetry by Marilyn Nelson

It’s STEM Week at Green Hedges!  Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) represents a significant part of our balanced curriculum.  In this week, we focus attention on these four disciplines and how our talented Green Hedges faculty guides our students to draw connections between and among them.

A highlight of the week is the annual Science Fair.  Students in Grades 4 through 8 have been working for weeks developing hypotheses, performing experiments, and documenting their conclusions.  Parents, teachers and all students tour the display of completed projects while these scientists explain their procedures and what they learned.  The robotics class exhibits the cars they designed and programmed, and 3-D printing demonstrations occur.  Throughout the week, our Middle Schoolers will lead our Montessorians and Lower School students through more science activities, and the week will culminate at Closing with the Grade 8 Science Show.

If this week ignites interest in STEM in your child, there are plenty of ways to keep the discussion going long after the week has ended.  Here are some ideas:

1. Encourage curiosity – Embrace the many questions of “why” and “how” all children ask as they interact with their world. Explain the things you know and help your child research questions that stump both of you.
2. Work math concepts into your everyday life – there are plenty of opportunities to support learning in math. Have your child help measure out ingredients while you bake to get exposure to fractions.  When you are at the grocery store, have your child estimate the weight of a large bunch of grapes after weighing a smaller one.
3. Seek out non-fiction information – There are plenty of non-fiction topics that children find fascinating – just try to walk a second-grader past a book about sharks or dolphins! Encourage your child to choose a non-fiction book on a topic they find interesting when you visit the library.  There are also many viewing options of science programs or documentaries available on PBS Kids, Discovery Channel, History Channel, and within the Netflix catalog.  Choose one appropriate to your child’s age and watch together.
4. Visit a science museum – Our area is rich with opportunities given the complex of Smithsonian Museums just a short drive away. Whether your child is interested in natural history, aeronautics, or zoology, there are many choices for a family outing that would encourage their interest.
5. Visit the Maker Faire in Reston on March 19 ­– Maker Faire NoVa is a showcase of invention, creativity, resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement. It’s a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning covering all aspects of the STEM education movement. Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists to garage tinkerers of all ages and backgrounds. This year the faire will feature a lot of hands-on exhibits where attendees get to learn and make things that they can take home like learning to solder and forming clay on a pottery wheel.

More ideas can be found at:

5 Ways Parents Can Support STEM Learning

One of Green Hedges School’s greatest assets is its highly-experienced faculty.  In order to ensure that each student is able to receive the maximum amount of instruction and inspiration, we maintain a low student-teacher ratio of approximately 8:1.  The low ratio also allows our teachers to support each child’s learning style as she/he emerges into a capable, confident, conscientious young adult.

Some additional benefits noted by other educational blogs include:

• EACH STUDENT GETS NOTICED
  In a smaller class, it’s more difficult for students to hide and get left behind. Fewer students means that each one gets attention from the teacher, and they are encouraged and pushed to take part and express their opinions.

• LEARNING IS ENHANCED
  Not only do students learn more in small classes, they also learn faster. And this means the class progresses through the course material more quickly. Their learning is enhanced by the confidence students develop to share their opinions and ask and answer questions, which also benefits their peers.

• TEACHERS CAN TEACH
  Teachers at the front of a small class have more opportunities to observe and assess the class as a whole and the students as individuals. Learning is further enhanced when teachers and students can interact spontaneously in the classroom.

• CLASSES BECOME A COMMUNITY
  With fewer students per class, individuals can connect more closely with their peers and become more confident and comfortable when it comes to sharing their ideas and perspectives. These connections lead to lasting friendships.

• OPPORTUNITIES TO PARTICIPATE
  Small groups mean fewer voices and that means the students those voices belong to have more chances to speak up in class. They can apply the knowledge they’ve acquired as they participate in discussions and express their opinions.

• FOCUS ON LEARNING
  In learning environments with a limited number of students, teachers can spend more time teaching the material and less time getting the attention of those who get distracted. Teachers can also cater to students’ different learning styles and ensure that they stay engaged and understand what is being taught.

• MORE FEEDBACK
  Teachers have more time to individualize their feedback, ensuring that each student understands the material, gets the help he or she needs, and is reaching his or her potential.

• STUDENTS AND TEACHERS CAN WORK ONE-ON-ONE
  Students and teachers often work together one-on-one, which gives teachers the opportunity to customize instruction and guidance, and students receive their instructors’ undivided attention.

• IDEAS ARE SHARED
  With fewer students in a class, there is more time for them to share their own ideas, express their opinions and describe their perspectives and where these come from, all of which enrich their international education abroad.

“We talk a lot about being a small school that provides a big experience and we have small classes so the most I’ve ever had in my class is 16 students. I know every student who comes to my class well before they get there—I know how they learn, I know how they function and even the most introverted or shy students are able to, in a safe, supportive environment, find their voice,” says Grade 5 teacher Stacey Vagoun.

The bottom line is small class sizes here allow us to know every student well, and as we often say “there’s no back row at Green Hedges.”  We provide a big experience with big, lasting benefits.

Source:

http://efacademyblog.ef.com/blog/2015/08/10/10-benefits-of-small-class-sizes/

Join us on Wednesday, February 1 at 6:00PM for “Screenagers”

At Green Hedges, students of all ages use iPads along with paper and pencil as they learn.  These children receive instruction on how to implement technology to assist them in their assignments.  Equally important is the teaching and support we provide on appropriate use of the same technology.  Appropriate use and what that means for school-issued email addresses and technology is discussed with each student, who signs an agreement to follow these rules.  For personal devices, GHS helps students make good decisions about them, as well.  For example, students are allowed to have a smartphone with them at school, but these devices stay in their locker until a free period or after school is dismissed.  This reinforces the idea that their focus should stay on their classes and studies during the school day.

Every new advance in communications and technology challenges parents as they try to grow healthy, happy, and technologically adept children. And every year devices get smaller, more powerful and invaluable to a range of activities–everything from exercising to reading and school work.

How do you limit Screen Time when almost everything your child does seems to require a screen?

Dr. Delaney Ruston struggled with this dilemma with her own children and in her journey to find answers produced the movie Screenagers. The movie examines the many ways, positive and negative, technology may impact children and their developing brains. It not only offers up a variety of ways to help our children moderate their screen time it also gives families tools to open up discussions about the use of technology with their children.

Families find these discussions easier to launch when they watch Screenagers together. And so the Green Hedges PTO decided to fund this opportunity for our families and our community. The screening will be followed by a discussion with Psychiatrist Catherine McCarthy, MD who has appeared on television news and contributed to articles in popular magazines where she has discussed issues regarding child and adolescent mental health.

Walk into a Green Hedges Montessori classroom on any given day and this is what you’ll likely see: a classroom that is thoughtfully arranged and inviting with a variety of activities and lessons. You may see one student working on an activity by him or herself in one area of the room and in another space, two students, perhaps of different ages, laying out strands of beads for counting. The children in these classes work at tables or on the floor, rolling out mats on which to work to define their work space.

The Montessori Directresses, Ms. Nichols and Ms. Heill, and their Assistants, Mrs. Hunter, Mrs. Lingebach and Ms. Lovejoy, are always nearby, observing the students as they work and guiding them with lessons and challenges, but adhering to the philosophy and practices of Maria Montessori to “help me to do it myself.”

If you are just beginning the process of researching your child’s first school, the question almost always comes up: what exactly is Montessori and what are the benefits of it when compared to other teaching philosophies?

The primary principles of a Montessori education are that children are given the freedom and support to question, to probe deeply, and to make connections. They are shown real life skills at an early age that they then work on to master at their own pace and collaborate with other children who may help them along the way.

Green Hedges is a Montessori program from ages 3 through 6, but the program produces lifelong learners. As the American Montessori Society says, “Montessori students become confident, enthusiastic, self-directed learners. They are able to think critically, work collaboratively, and act boldly—a skill set for the 21st century.”

Think this sounds a lot like the corporate culture that a lot of successful companies utilize today? Well, you’re right. An article on forbes.com, which indeed uses a picture from our Montessori program, touts the benefits of a Montessori mindset in the business world. http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2015/12/16/corporate-kindergarten-how-a-montessori-mindset-can-transform-your-business/2/#207202733b53.

We at Green Hedges truly believe in the value of a Montessori education for our youngest learners. The benefits and lessons extend well beyond their school age years.

Here are some additional resources if you are interested in learning more about the Montessori program:

https://www.greenhedges.org/academics/montessori/

https://amshq.org/

At Green Hedges, we are now in the midst of a little more than a week of test mornings for our students in Grades 2-7.  In this testing period, those students will complete one subject-area test each morning using their iPads.  No more broken pencil leads or less than completely-filled bubbles!  The student reads the question (or listens to it, in the case of our younger students), and indicates their chosen answer using the touch screen.  If needed, scratch paper can be used to make calculations or note key terms in a reading passage before a final answer is indicated, but only answers entered on the iPad are considered.

Green Hedges utilizes tests created by the Educational Research Bureau (ERB).  The ERB tests are a highly-acclaimed achievement test which compiles and reports the data back to participants.  The student scores are presented as compared to three large sets of students of the same age group:  students nationally (the largest comparative group), students in suburban public schools, and students in independent schools (the smallest comparative group).  The ERB test is one of only two offering comparisons on the independent student norms, and thus are a more accurate measure of the abilities of our very capable group of learners.

Green Hedges employs standardized achievement tests for two basic reasons:

• First, it allows us to gain information to serve a child better.  Public schools view standardized SOL testing as the final measure of student success each year.  However, at GHS, these tests although important, are only one of several pieces of information about each student used to help teachers enhance the learning experience. “The tests focus on language-related tasks and mathematical abilities and skills. …This information provides teachers a better understanding of the learning profiles of our individual students,” says Assistant Head of School Deb Haag.  Taking the tests mid-year allows teachers and parents to engage on areas of strength as well as those where more support is needed in the current school year.

• The second purpose of the testing is to provide insight into how well our curriculum is being absorbed by our students.  Following the test, Mrs. Haag and others spend many hours carefully analyzing the results of that year’s testing by class, by curriculum area, and also as compared against results from previous years.  These results are reviewed with department heads and faculty members, with adjustments made as necessary to ensure our program is both comprehensive and rigorous in its delivery.

Although we do not “teach to the test”, we recognize that standardized testing will be encountered by our students regularly throughout the academic years, and therefore we do focus on teaching test-taking strategies and skills.  Some homework questions are written to emulate standardized test formats to increase familiarity and grow confidence.  Strategies are offered which range from reminding our younger students to be sure to read the question carefully to more complex strategies for older students on how to eliminate obviously false answers first so they are choosing between fewer possible responses.  These and more are part of our holistic approach intended to carry them forward beyond the ERB testing period and into the SSAT, ACT, and SAT environments.