October Letter from Lower School Director

How can parents and guardians experience this same bucket-filling at Bush? Becoming engaged at the Lower School builds a strong partnership to better understand the journey that your child is on at Bush. Developing a community is one of the most important parts of Bush and provides many moments of connection. At Back-to-School Night on Thursday, September 18, you may have received a brochure, A Roadmap to Building Community, for the entire K-12 community. I’d like to highlight what that roadmap looks like at the Lower School level as you embark on this next chapter of the school year. 

Over the past few weeks, Kindergarten through Fifth Grade parents and guardians have come together to learn about their child’s development level at Ages and Stages gatherings. In these sessions, families have learned about important social and organizational milestones in their child’s educational journey and how to connect strategies that teachers use in their classroom to the home environment. Much like seeing your child on the growth chart in the doctor’s office, learning about the next stage of your child’s social and emotional development can be a moment of pride and excitement for parents and guardians. Such ideas can fill one’s bucket.

Thursday, October 29 and Friday, October 30 will be Parent and Guardian-Teacher Conferences–a time for a productive in-person conversation with the educators and adult family members about the growth of your child. Sarah Lawrence Lightfoot, a Harvard professor who wrote The Essential Conversation: What Parents and Teachers Can Learn From Each Other, highlights the benefits of conferences: “If parents and teachers are engaged in productive communication, then they create a neighborhood of care around the child.” Engaging in face-to-face conversation maximizes this experience as you page through your child’s journals, exploring their work and the environment where they engage in learning. All are opportunities to see a fuller picture of your child’s day–one that is rich in academic and social touchpoints. These peeks into the moments that fill your child’s bucket throughout their day can also fill yours.

Getting a glimpse into your child’s classroom during the school day is a delight. Kindergarten families come to see their child share about their identities in The Big Cheese, where they highlight interests and moments that have shaped their life thus far. It is a treat watching the children confidently guide their classmates through their identity poster and lead the give-and-take of questions afterwards. First Grade students engage in Star Family to highlight the similarities and differences within the school community. Families share about their culture, activities, and other aspects of their family identity. Both of these activities help everyone recognize their importance and celebrate our diverse community. Such validation can certainly fill one’s bucket.

 

Recently, helpful parents and guardians have guided excited groups of Second Grade students through the streets and stores within the Central District and Madrona neighborhoods, encouraging them to interview those who work there to learn more about communities in Seattle. Third Grade families experience Open Morning Meetings from 8:15-8:30 a.m. daily. This is a time for personal tours led by their child of the classroom space, which is often considered the third teacher, carefully designed to maximize learning opportunities. In Fourth and Fifth Grades, Math Mornings are a time to engage in problem-solving with your child. As the year progresses, students share their projects from deeper subject exploration at celebrations of learning. Each of these nuggets uncovers how the children are growing as learners and become more independent–all bucket fillers for proud parents and guardians!