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Girls on the Run at Village!

Parent Volunteer Coaches for Village’s Girls on the Run (GOTR) program reflect on what this program is all about.

What is Girls on the Run?

By Marci, Coach and Village School Parent

Girls on the run is an awesome program that has been part of Village for 7 years now. Over a period of 10 weeks, girls in the 3rd through 5th grade participate in an after-school program like no other. Designed to allow every girl to recognize her inner strength, the Girls on the Run curriculum inspires girls to define their lives on their own terms.Throughout the season, the girls make new friends, build their confidence and celebrate all that makes them unique.

The Girls on the Run lessons encourage positive emotional, social, mental and physical development. The girls explore and discuss their own beliefs around experiences and challenges girls face at this age. They also develop important strategies and skills to help them navigate life experiences.

Physical activity is a great part of the program to inspire an appreciation of fitness and to build habits that lead to a lifetime of health. At the end of the season, the girls participate in a Girls on the Run 5K event.

GOTR Coaching Reflection

By Lisa, Coach and Village School Parent

As a new kinder parent at Village, trying to adjust to and learn to actually use in real life this new Positive Discipline parenting philosophy, I was struggling to wrangle kindergartners and thinking about how much extra work this new parenting style seemed to be. Granted, this was nine years ago, back before the Positive Discipline at School classes for new families became a thing; back then, parents were pretty much tossed into the classroom frying pan with minimal guidance to duke it out with the kinders. It all seemed so chaotic, and I wondered whether all of the Positive Discipline and other strategies that we were learning to use with our Villagers really worked; there seemed so little evidence of it at times in the lower grades.

But there is a magic that happens at Village as the years progress. It is subtle in the lower grades, but it is percolating in the kids under the surface. The magic starts to emerge, like butterflies emerging from their chrysalides, as the kids move into third grade, and it is in full bloom by 4th and 5th grade. As you work with kids in the classroom, you are witness to this beautiful transformation. But nowhere is this wonderful flowering of our children as a result of the gardens that we as parents have so lovingly tended through the years as evident as it is in Girls on the Run (GOTR).

GOTR sounds like a running program, but it is really about empowering girls to be self-confident, competent, caring and empathetic, able to connect with people, contribute to community and society, and have strength of character. These are also the life skills that Village teaches, so by the time our girls are old enough to participate in GOTR (3rd grade), they have been bathed in these GOTR-like messages consistently at school for many years. The messages are familiar to them. Being a GOTR coach has shown me that our girls have taken these messages in over the years. As a coach, I have had the privilege of witnessing how emotionally intelligent and thoughtful our daughters have become through our work as a community at Village. I have seen it grow from the mostly-quiet (observing) 3rd grade girls to the talkative (enthusiastic) 4th graders to the “we got this” thoughtful wisdom of the 5th graders.

GOTR re-enforces what our girls already know in a very personal way. It gives them a unique, girls-only place where they are unconditionally supported to talk without fear and practice their life skills. It affirms for them that they are OK just how they are. GOTR gives the 5th grade girls an opportunity to act as leaders and mentors to the younger girls, and gives the younger girls a chance to learn from the older girls.

My daughter, now a 5th grader, has been a GOTR girl since 2nd grade; this is her last year. I am honored to have been a part of GOTR, and to have had the opportunity to get to know these wonderful girls better, to learn from their wisdom and experiences, and to remember again what it is like to be a young girl growing up.

Google Hangouts Around the World

“Are you on the North American Continent?”

“YES!”

“Are you in the United States?”

“Yes!”

“Are you on the West Coast?”

“NO!”

And so they go on until we’ve finally found out that this classroom of 4th and 5th grade students, with whom the 4/5th grade Talented Toucans are video conferencing via Google Hangouts, exists in northern Illinois. They learn the town, the school name and some of the history of that region once the location has been confirmed.

And vice versa; once the students in Illinois find out our students are in the South Bay, our students take turns in front of the computer teaching some of the history of California.

The kids have maps in front of them and get a thrill out of the hunt for the other class’ location, they get to see the inside of another classroom, and they get to practice the give and take of knowledge and pleasantries.

Village Maker’s Faire

By Amilia, Village School Parent and Positive School Climate Chair

From homemade soap to gooey slime, from hand-crafted artisan jars to tasty BBQ ribs, the annual Village Maker’s Faire had something for everybody! This was my first year attending Maker’s Faire and, I must admit, I approached it with more than a little hesitation… Did I really want to give up my Sunday afternoon? Would my kids whine about what they did or didn’t get to buy?

Well, I can admit it. I was wrong. Very wrong!

In fact, none of my concerns were realized. My kids were excited to see their friends and were inspired by their many hobbies and talents. They learned restraint and confidently budgeted the money I had allocated them beforehand. They demonstrated generosity, seeking out treasures not just for themselves, but for each other. They even used their funds to buy me Mother’s Day gifts, which they wrapped secretly after we got home!

I, in turn, was awed by the creativity and talent of so many of our Village students and parents. I was excited by the pride and passion with which our budding entrepreneurs hawked their wares. And I was, once again, inspired by the ease and comfort with which this wonderful community can come together to celebrate each other and share interests.

For those of you who couldn’t make it, I encourage you to join us next year. You can bet I’ll be there, perhaps this time showing off one of my super-secret, never-before-shared talents… You’ll just have to be there find out! In the meantime, here’s a glimpse of what you missed!

A Book Club at Village

On behalf of the Village Community, we offer a huge congratulations to GiGi, who received Project Cornerstone’s Trailblazer Award at this year’s 2018 Project Cornerstone Volunteer Celebration in honor of the work she has done to develop this program. Thank you, GiGi, for your tireless efforts in support of our students and community!

By Gigi, Village School Parent and ABC/Project Cornerstone Lead

The Project Cornerstone ABC program has been a great success at Village. So much so that last year teachers began to wonder whether we could expand the program by supplementing alternative, more substantive books for our most avid and capable readers. After consultation with Project Cornerstone, the ABC Book club was born!

The ABC Book Club is a set of chapter books that parallel the themes presented in the regular ABC picture books. Our 4th and 5th grade students can opt to read the chapter book and participate in a group discussion with other ‘Book Club’ students each month.

We initially started the program with only four of each book per class, but it quickly became apparent that we would need at least twice as many! Fortunately, we were able to get additional funds from the PTA and we quickly doubled our Book Club participation for the remainder of the year. Even at eight copies of each book, not everybody who wants to participate can always be accomodated. However, oftentimes we’ve been lucky to find a spare copy of a book at the local library or in one of our Village teachers’ personal collections.

This year, we have had nearly 24 students participate in Book Club each month! The themes and topics within each book, although reflective of the ‘regular’ ABC picture books, are much deeper and geared towards older kids. So the discussions – facilitated by three amazing parents (one in each class) – have been wonderful, deep and touching!

Feedback from both students and staff has been overwhelmingly positive, so Book Club will continue into next year and, hopefully, well beyond. Thank you to all of the parents and staff who have supported this program and to the students who have challenged themselves to read not only longer and tougher books, but to read more deeply and thoughtfully than ever before. It is truly you who have made this program a success!

What is the ABC Book Club?

The ABC Book Club is a set of chapter books that match the theme of each month’s corresponding ABC picture book. Each 4/5 class has an ABC parent that will, every month, read the traditional ABC book in the class, do activities and have a discussion, much like the rest of the classrooms at school. In addition, each 4/5 class has an ABC Book Club parent that will, every month, have a Book Club discussion using a complementary ABC Book Club chapter book and a subset of the students.

The original intent was for the Book Club discussion to occur at the same time as the ABC lesson so as not to take up additional classroom time. However, some teachers have chosen to have the Book Club and ABC lesson happen at different times so that students can participate in both. This scheduling is entirely at the discretion of the teacher.

Here is this year’s set of ABC Books that were read in the classroom every month and their corresponding ABC Chapter Book:

What do you mean by complementary?

Each ABC book and lesson plan has key goals that are intended to be the focus of that month’s discussion and asset building. One of the key factors in choosing an ABC Chapter Book was how well it conveyed the same messages as the ABC book. For example, September’s ABC book was Friends to the End and the goals of that lesson plan were:

Respect
Ways to be kind to each other
How to make and keep friends

It’s corresponding ABC Book Club book, A Long Pitch Home, also addresses those same themes in its story.

How were the ABC books chosen?

The monthly ABC books that are read in the classroom were chosen by Project Cornerstone. The ABC Book Club books were nominated and chosen by the Village Community! Last year, ABC Book Club books were nominated and chosen for this year’s book club and, this spring, we are going through the same process again to select next year’s Book Club books.

Project Cornerstone has provided their ABC scoring rubric for us to use in ranking the ABC Book Club books that were nominated by the Village Community. If we end up with more than one option for a particular month’s book, then the 3rd/4th/5th graders will get to vote on which books they are most interested in reading.

This year, the Village Community has nominated 28 books for consideration for next year’s Book Club. Using Project Cornerstone’s scoring rubric, these books were consolidated to a top 14 and then the 3rd/4th/5th graders were given a brief overview of each book and the opportunity to vote for their favorites.

The 2018-19 ABC Book Club books will be:

We are in the process of purchasing eight copies of each book so we will be able to provide eight students with a copy for any Book Club month next year.

Who can be part of the Book Club and how are students chosen?

Anyone in the 4th and 5th grade classes can choose to be part of the ABC Book Club but they may not be able to read all the books (unless they are able to find their own copy of the book). At the beginning of the year, students can opt to be part of the book club and are then asked to rank all the Book Club books in order of preference. Then the participating students are assigned to the Book Club books as close to their order of preference as possible.

So a student may indicate they would like to participate in eight book clubs but we may only have enough books to allow each student three turns in the book club. That student would probably get three books in their top five and then would need to find their own copy of the book for the remaining months.

Will ABC Book Club books be nominated and chosen every year?

The Project Cornerstone ABC program repeats every three years so the ABC Book Club will also repeat every three years. This means we will have one more major nomination year where a whole set of ABC Book Club books will be nominated and selected. After next year, we will have three sets of ABC books and three sets of ABC Book Club books and I would anticipate some books may be replaced here and there but the rest of the set will remain intact.

Where would you like to see the Book Club go next?

After the basic years have been established, I would love to see the Book Club expand to offer choices for all types of readers. This year, we had one graphic novel as part of the Book Club and this was very appealing to some readers so I’d love to see one graphic novel offered each year in the Book Club. I’d also love to see if we could offer audio or eBook versions of the Book Club books as well. I believe encouraging reading in whatever format is beneficial to students and, especially since this is a choice, I’d love this to be as open and appealing a choice as possible.

Diversity and social issues may evolve over the years so I would expect to see the Book Club evolve with those changes and include books that are meaningful and relevant to the students reading them.

Finally, I hope, as with the traditional ABC readings and other activities at Village, parents bring their own talents and passions to the Book Club. One month, I brought a Pakistani dessert to a Book Club meeting because it had been discussed in the book. This year, we also had an informal outing to see the movie Wonder and we had an after school viewing of the Hidden Figures movie because we had read both books in the Book Club. Those are examples of how I brought my own interests to the Book Club but I hope others will continue to bring their unique ideas as well.

Photography Fun

Photography Fun is a brand-new lower grade center this year. Learn more about it in this Q&A with two of the parents who teach this Center each week.

Tell us about Photography Fun. How was the curriculum developed? What are the goals of the Center, and what are you hoping students gain from the Center?

We wrote this curriculum and then realized how important it was for the kids to have something to take home and show their work. We came up with the idea for the photo book and made a sample and the rest is history!

The goals are to help kids gain a stronger understanding of photography — how to take a photo and focus on a different subject each week.

We are hoping to set off a new spark for kids and taking photos. We are showing them little tips regarding focusing, perspective, and framing, and we really try to use language commonly used in photography to challenge the kids to see life through a camera lens.

What are some of the projects/types of photos students in the Center complete?

Week One: Portraits or selfies!
Week Two: Nature
Week Three: Abstract or Urban – mainly abstract for my (Staeci’s) week. It’s a difficult concept to convey, but we come out with some excellent photos!
Week Four: Compile all photos in a personal photo album!

What do you like best about leading the Center? Are there any highlights of the Center you are especially excited about?

I love it when I get to witness a student embrace the process of taking photos — trying different things, thinking outside of the box (which is especially fun with abstract). I also love sitting with them and reviewing their photos while challenging them to find a different angle, different lighting, or even different framing. I want to also say that I have a great Center Assistant and teammates! Teamwork makes the dream work!

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I especially love getting positive feedback from parents. I have been told that a student used the language we taught them on field trip to an art museum!

My favorite day of the center has been the last day of the rotation, when the kids get to see their photos printed out and make their books. There is something about seeing a photo you took printed out — it gives it life to the process and the kids swell with pride over their product. Every photo book has been unique and creative. This center has truly been a pleasure!

Selection of photos from the Center. All student photos are taken on iPads.