Many of us saw the fruits of focus and determination mature at our Sumac's Got Talent Showcase. We will see the same determination present at our Jog Wars Jog-a-thon on Friday. How do we sharpen our mind to support learning? Practice.
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Practice can take many forms in the classroom. Teachers walk students through visualization, positive self-talk, grounding activities, and guided reflection after recess and lunch.

Practicing mindfulness can also be brought into the home environment through apps like Headspace or taking a nature walk. One great website is Mindful Schools, where you can learn about engaging the five senses while exploring the world around us.

The basics of mindfulness:

1. Breathe. connecting to the rhythm of your breathe settles the mind
2. Acknowledge your feelings. There is no right or wrong here. We acknowledge our feelings to become self aware. 
3. Begin to focus on each sense. What do you feel, smell, see, hear, notice?

May the sense of awe and the growth of spring surge you forward toward more mindful moments. ​

Sumac L-STEM Elementary proudly facilitates the LVUSD six dispositions of our Student 360 initiative every day. We design the learning environment to promote autonomy and independence, collaborative communities, empathy and understanding, mindfulness and thoughtfulness, persistence and grit, and positive mindset. We know that the cultivation of these dispositions support learning and success in school and in life.

Our focus for April is persistence and grit. In our classes we will highlight the core practice of students engaging and persevering at points of difficulty, challenge, or error. We know that mistakes are a valued part of the learning process.

As written in the education blog, The Edvocate , grit, “ is defined by University of Pennsylvania psychologist Angela Duckworth as ‘perseverance and passion for long-term goals.’ According to Duckworth, grit is a better indicator of future success than IQ or talent. It’s a combination of determination, focus, passion, and resilience. It’s the ability to persevere in the face of challenges and failure.” At home you can continue this effort with many ways to develop grit in your child.

Here at school we will be building grit as we deliver the curriculum. For the next month, our grades will be focusing on the following:
 
The dual team has been working on oral language themes across the grade levels. J, First, Second, and Third Grade are enjoying the use of seesaw digital portfolios to showcase students' work.

First Grade will be focusing on Earth Day curriculum, opinion writing, measurement, time, our nutrition units learning about healthy choices, biographies, and practicing kindness in a variety of ways.

Second Grade will be focusing on good citizenship and becoming stewards of our Earth, celebrating Earth Day, and learning to take care of our planet and natural resources. The literacy skills developed will be point of view, summarizing, and continuing reading comprehension with a focus on theme. Math will center around money and time in English and Spanish. Opinion writing and writing an autobiography about their lives will round out the month.

Third grade will be focusing on raising mealworms and creating/editing videos of them. They will be working on engineering challenges (Tally: rockets; Seideman: billboards from The One and Only Ivan ) for the engineering fair in May. Miss Seideman's class will also be making creative booklets and videos to go with it on Seesaw. In addition, third grade Dual will be working on opinion writing, "All About" books, digital stories, and green screen movie projects to be showcased at open house!

Fourth and Fifth grade dual classes are in the process of publishing their own books. They have spent the last three months writing their own story and using peer editors to help with this. After spring break they will be designing a dedication page, about the author page, and drawing illustrations for their books. There will be an Author's Breakfast later in May where parents and students can view their books.

Fifth grade traditional has been working on opinion writing using their Outdoor Ed experience, designing their own fractional school playgrounds, and learning about Colonial America.

There are a number of areas where we made progress in February:

Penny Wars, January 17-20th

• Successful Event!
• Kids were engaged in change drive
• Used during Vortex lesson

Jump for Heart, January 27th

• All students participated in the event throughout the day
• Focus on education and activity versus fundraising

Black History Month

• Daily facts during morning announcements
• Music to celebrate throughout the month
• Bulletin board at entry of school will be decorated to welcome Black History Month
• Each class will be doing research and focus on influential individuals

Second Round of Intervention begins this week

• Intervention teacher will send a note home to parents introducing themselves and the program that the student will be participating in for the following 6-8 weeks.
• Between last year and this year we secured materials, established a dedicated time for intervention, and are working to assess students & train teachers on new structures.

Patriotic Songfest lead my Music Teacher

• Friday February 10 Grades 3-5 / MPR - 8:30 am
• Friday February 17 Grades J/K - 2 / MPR - 8:30 am

Pancake Breakfast

• Friday, February 24th
• WOLF Outdoor Adventures will provide griddle and manpower
• Great community event lead by the student council
• $3 pre-order / $4 at the door

Kindness Ambassadors

• Introduced during morning assembly last week
• Ambassadors will be spreading kindness by passing out Valentines to students on Valentine’s Day

Math Intervention

• After-school and being offered to 3rd-5th grade students
• Tally & Lorch to offer
• Recommendation made by teacher and invitations sent last week
• Starts next Monday

Valentine Grams

• Sales made by student council during recess and  lunch, February 6-10th
• $.25 per / 5 for $1.00

QUESTIONS / SUGGESTIONS?

• RTI Speech (2nd grade)
• Counseling update
• Intervention note / email to parents (folded and stapled - confidentiality)
• Bullying - Coherency
  • Program purchased   
  • Dates for implementations

There are a number of areas where we were focused in January...

Jump for Heart

• Kick-off starts on Friday
  
• Last year $3000 for American Heart Association
  

Pancake Breakfast

• Friday, February 24th
  
• WOLF Outdoor Adventures will provide griddle and manpower
  
• Great community event lead by the student council
  
• $3 pre-order / $4 at the door
  

Fully Staffed

• Welcomed 2 Sumac parents to our staff
  
• Julia Stratton will start tomorrow as our media clerk (M-F)
  
• Heather Moretti started Monday as an IA/Campus Supervisor (M-Th)
  

2nd Round of Targeted Instruction

• Starting our second round of targeted instruction January 16th
  
• Testing all K-2 grade students with BAS (Benchmark Assessment System) throughout first two weeks of January
  
• BAS levels will be used for guided reading instruction
  

Tech questions

• Brainpop (licenced renewed?)
  
• Grades 1/2: IXL math - will PFA support?
  

Dual Language Parent Network

• Wednesday, January 25th 6-7:30pm
  

Morning Carpool Duty

• 1-2 parents per week for morning drop-off
  
• Successful last year
  
• Continued effort
  
• Someone is hired for that position, but that will not continue next year
  

Parent Reading Workshops

• 1 Wednesday morning a month?
  
• Topics of interest
  
• Participation? Need?
  

Music

• CHORUS
  
• Grades 2/3: 12-12:30 (eat with Laura 12-12:10 at tables)
  
• Grades 4/5: 12:15-12:35
  
• End of year international
  

Brainstorming

• Parent support
  

Philanthropy

• Postcard Pick Me Up - Messages to students in a hospital
  
• Toy for Tots
  
• Santa Come to Agoura - Food Drive
  

Kindness Ambassadors

• 35 4th grade students applied and were accepted
  
• Welcoming new students
  
• Read aloud to younger grades