Friday, February 28, 2014

A Variety of Enriching Opportunities


What would you like to be when you grow up? Last Friday was Career Dress Up Day at Dryden. It was great to see all the potential careers the children might pursue as they grow up. Did you know that experts predict that this generation will go through over ten career changes in their lifetime? That's why it's so important to learn Habits of Mind and the 21st Century Skills of creativity, innovation, collaboration, communication and problem-solving at Dryden!  


The PTA's biennial Variety Show was a big hit! We are so proud of all of the students who stuck out their necks to share their unique talents and interests last Friday evening. We are so thankful for our dedicated, supportive PTA and music teacher Mr. Deptula to bring this special opportunity to our students. 






What an enthusiastic, energetic team of Dryden dancers at the Variety Show! :)

Our PTA is also sponsoring Book Clubs for the month of March. 



For Book Club, children are enjoying reading and discussing books by Andrea Beaty. Author Andrea Beaty will be visiting Dryden Elementary School on April 8th. Andrea will also be visiting the Arlington Heights Memorial Library around this time. Maybe you can see her there! We are looking forward to learning more about her craft from her when she visits. Following are some books by Andrea Beaty that our students are reading in preparation for her visit: 


March Madness isn't just about basketball. It's also about books! The March Madness Tournament of Books is an exciting reading promotion that's happening at Dryden. Brackets of popular children's books are posted outside the LMC. Each week, children vote for their favorite books. May the best book win! What are your predictions?

Thursday, February 20, 2014

February Festivities

Can you believe we celebrated the 100th Day of School?! There was lots to count, group and sort on this special day! Some classes dressed up like they were 100 years old and wrote about what it will be like to reach this age. What a valuable opportunity for young children to become aware that learning, making a positive impact and enjoying what life has to offer can happen at any age!







Valentines Day was a special time to celebrate friendship and express our appreciation of others creatively. Students wrote funny stories with phrases on candy hearts, played cooperative games, constructed creative mailboxes, and much more! Many thanks to our wonderful, supportive parent volunteers for making this a special day for children.


The Ecology Club also celebrated by creating these beautiful terrariums for the school office. I was so impressed by how careful the children were in putting these together through such a tiny opening in the jar. The children thoroughly explained how this terrarium sustains itself with its own water cycle. They are learning and doing great things to care for our planet in so many ways!

Thursday, February 6, 2014

What a Week!








What a week! We thank our PTA for bringing the Scholastic Book Fair to Dryden. Students and their families had an opportunity to browse and purchase many good books to read. Oh how I would have loved to spend the whole day in the hallways reading all these new books with the children!




Family Book Night was a fun night for all our families to come out to the Book Fair. The PTA provided an awesome DJ who entertained the children and had them dancing up a storm. 

 Can you believe we woke up to six more inches of snow on Wednesday morning? Thankfully, everyone made it to school safely. It was a stitch to see the fifth grade boys helping to shovel the black top during recess. Can you guess why they were shoveling? They wanted to play basketball!



On a more serious note, nationally renowned assessment author and expert Rick Wormeli spent Thursday and Friday in district presenting to teachers, administrators and parents about standards-based assessments. He talked about the power of providing specific feedback and teaching students how to self-evaluate. He explained that homework is beneficial when it's practicing and reinforcing skills a child can already do, but can be harmful when it involves new, challenging material and a child still needs support  from a teacher at school. He advocated that children should be allowed to make up tests and assignments on which they originally performed poorly until they can demonstrate mastery. Last year, our staff participated in a book study of his book, Fair Isn't Equal, and we are working hard to apply his principles of effective assessment to motivate students and ensure their mastery of  learning. It was a special treat to be able to ask Rick Wormeli questions and hear his specific advice in person as we strive to make best use of our students' time at school.