Volume 8 :: Issue 1 Fall 2014

Gateway the

a bi-annual newsletter of south city community school

Inside

This fall marks the fifth year anniversary for South City Community School! In just five years we have grown from 27 students (and nine homeschool students) in PreK-3 to 2nd grade, to 143 students in PreK-3 to 6th grade! The year before we opened, we had a handful of families who “caught on” to the vision for SCCS. We met with kids in office space in a Journey building across the alley from what would be the school. We told parents what classrooms would look like, and showed them our plans of sample schedules, curriculum overviews, and educational distinctives. With hearts full of imagination and gumption, families took the leap to enroll their children in our school. Many of those same “founding” families remain with us today, and many more have joined since then! As SCCS has grown by leaps and bounds over the past five years, we continue to be amazed by the blessing of serving children and families in South City and look forward to many more years ahead! As we continue to grow, will you consider partnering with us?! See inside for various ways that you can support SCCS. ~ Valerie Barclay, SCCS Co-Head of School

The Importance of Wiggling by Kelley Munger

Happy Birthday, SCCS! ~ by Valerie Barclay, SCCS Co-Head of School

Photos: Michael Pasatieri, Julia Wickes & Kristal Yancie

Editors: Valerie Barclay & Roshaunda Cade

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Poetry by the SCCS 3rd graders

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On Discovering SCCS by Julia Wickes

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Quotable Quotes by the students of SCCS

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Do I have to like Goodnight Moon? by Brandy Greiner

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Do I have to like Goodnight Moon? by Brandy Greiner, SCCS Co-Head of School

SUPPORT SCCS: 50% of the students at SCCS receive some form of scholarship or discount. We are also committed to keeping tuition low, making SCCS an accessible option for families!

Our Annual Fund goal for this year is $47,000. Your support towards the Annual Fund goes toward scholarships, technology in the classrooms, class enrichment trips… and a sign on our building! To make a donation or monthly pledge, see: www.sccommunityschool.org

To support us through your purchases, consider:

• using a Schnucks escrip card (local to St. Louis)

• saving Boxtops labels • shopping through

smile.amazon.com

Several years ago I was teaching a workshop about early language and literacy development and we were talking about reading aloud to our children. One parent asked, “Do I have to like Goodnight Moon?” If you aren’t familiar with this story for young children by Margaret Wise Brown, here’s a quick synopsis – we are given a description of a little rabbit’s bedroom, and then the little bunny says goodnight to the items and people in his room. It has a nice rhythm when read aloud but it is not everyone’s cup of tea.

It was a great question – we all know reading aloud is important for our children. Research has shown that reading aloud to children is the single most important factor in a child’s reading development. It can, however, be hard to be consistent with it, especially if we don’t care for the books we are reading aloud. Our children and those we care for are always watching us and will follow our lead in terms of how they view books and reading. One of the best ways to instill a love of reading in our children is to model a love for reading ourselves and to do that we need to read aloud books that we enjoy as well.

Another option families find helpful, especially when their children are ready to hear chapter books read aloud, is to purchase or borrow audio books and alternate between reading aloud and listening together as a family.

Resources for choosing good books: The Read-Aloud Handbook (Trelease)

Reading With Babies, Toddlers and Twos (Straub) Read for the Heart (Clarkson)

PlanetEsme.com SimplyCharlotteMason.com

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Recent research suggests that if we want our kids to focus (which is actually not quite the same thing as sitting still), we ought to give them more opportunities to move.

In a study released by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign last year, researchers found that children were better able to regulate themselves and focus after just 20 minutes of aerobic exercise. This makes a lot of sense, of course, but it is important for parents to acknowledge that our modern parenting culture does not necessarily support our kids’ need to wiggle, jump, hop, skip, run, spin and just MOVE. Just take a moment to catalog how much sitting still is required of our children (car rides, piano, school, meals….). In contrast, I often remind parents that if their child were growing up on a family farm 100 years ago, he or she would probably find it much easier to thrive and self-regulate because he or she would be running through fields and completing heavy chores!

While a Jersey cow with acreage might be a fun option, we can also find ways for our children to thrive and regulate in an urban environment.

Wiggle with purpose. As research continues on the subject of executive function (which includes skills like attention, working memory, self-regulation, and planning), researchers have discovered that wiggling is actually an effective strategy for maintaining attention. Sometimes, we just need to honor our kids’ need to wiggle their way through tasks.

Wiggle for fun. Create more wiggle time, especially if you see your kid getting disregulated (you know, when they have that crazy look in their eye). Dance to your favorite songs. Take walks after dinner. Run across a field. Go sledding. Rhythm and music often support the regulating effects of exercise.

Wiggle regularly. Try to do something active every day, preferably outdoors. Often, in our rushed culture, it is difficult to slow down and acknowledge this need, but ten minutes on a trampoline or at the park may give your kids just what they need to get back “online.” Make movement a part of your regular rhythm. It might be especially helpful to insert movement time into transitions, which can be a difficult part of the day for a lot of families. For example, instead of walking in the door from school and heading straight to tasks or homework, take a moment for a high-protein snack and a friendly game of whatever (badminton, push-up contests, riding scooters, jump rope). (article continued in sidebar to left)

The Importance of Wiggling by Kelley Munger, SCCS parent

Know that your child is getting wiggle time at school.

At SCCS, movement is integrated throughout the school day, not just during P.E.

Every class has at least one recess time per day where the kids are able to run and play unfettered in a large space.

Every class does in-class movement activities during the day at least once. We call these times "wiggle time,” "brain breaks" or "music and movement". Brain Dance is an 8-minute activity that involves lots of moving and stretching, and is used as a precursor for effective learning.

And don’t forget those stairs. This story may be apocryphal, but legend has it that SCCS was offered the first floor, but Brandy and Valerie refused, knowing that our kids would be more ready to learn after three flights of stairs several times a day.

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Poetry Inspired by Carl Sandburg by the SCCS 3rd graders

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One day in the spring of 2013 my oldest daughter came home from school with a laminated sign hung around her neck. It had the word consumer written brightly in crayon in her own handwriting. Ogling it in the rearview mirror on the drive home I asked her to explain what it meant. She said the first graders had turned their classroom into a store, with pretend money, and goods. Half of her classmates were the producers, and the other half consumers. As part of this project they took a field trip to local businesses and interviewed the shop owners. The project culminated in a spring concert at which they sang songs like, Shop! Goes the Consumer to the tune of Pop! Goes the Weasel. Certain parts of this impressively multi-faceted project seemed fine to me; children like to play store, and the trip to a dog grooming business was fun for my daughter. But seeing her labeled with the word consumer and hearing her young voice singing the praises of online shopping were jarring moments for me, to say the least. This project seemed to have nothing to do with children and their intrinsic needs and interests, but was suspiciously imbued with adult anxieties over a faltering economy. Some curriculum developer somewhere, I imagined, concluded that exposing first graders directly to economic themes was taking the bull by the horns. It would eventually bear the fruits of an economic upturn, and thus be of service to society. These kinds of experiences within a well-reputed public school system in St. Louis County troubled me and made me extremely uncomfortable. But in the end my restlessness was, with God’s help and guidance, a positive force that led me to Charlotte Mason and – ultimately – South City Community School. In A Philosophy of Education, Charlotte Mason says,

…The education we offer is not to be scrappy and superficial. We must have some measure of a child’s requirements, not based upon his uses to society, nor upon the standard of the world he lives in, but upon his own capacity and needs.

As a member of the SCCS staff, I now enjoy regular glimpses into what my children are learning in the classroom. While subbing for Ms. Anna’s third grade class in October, I was inspired to see that they are studying the life and poetry of Carl Sandburg, reading James and the Giant Peach and White Fang. They are studying the anatomy and behavior of wolves in conjunction with a field trip to the Endangered Wolf Center. They are taking care of a fall vegetable garden, and are impressively knowledgeable about the life and famous paintings of Renoir. It goes without saying that the math they are working on is also challenging and stimulating. To some this might seem like a meandering path toward the harsh adult realities that await our kids. But Charlotte Mason believed - and I also believe - that when children are fed a rich diet of literature, beauty, and ideas, their internal world will be nourished and built up to such an extent that they will be far more prepared and able to cope with the nuanced and troubling matters of adult life. I am thankful my children are spending their days at a school that is not shaped by societal anxieties, assumptions, or fads. And I am so thankful to be a part of the SCCS community!

On Discovering SCCS by Julia Wickes, SCCS parent & Admin Assistant

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Quotable Quotes by the students of South City Community School At lunchtime prayer… “Dear God, You know this place is SO! FUN! I like being here! Amen! Oh yes and thank you for lunch. Amen.” ~ Asha, PreK-4 During Doing Words time… “I chose the word ‘Jesus.’ He is so special to me because I just can’t live without Him!” ~ Penelope, 1st grade “My dad taught me everything he knows.” ~ Tate, PreK-3 On recounting their day to mom… “I did well on my math test today – I was focused and wasn’t afraid!” ~ AnnaGrace, 5th grade “My new school makes me feel safe.” ~ Cate, 1st grade “I LOVE school!” ~ Noah, Kindergarten A narration after the day’s Bible story… “And when Moses died, Joshua became the line leader” ~ Cora, PreK-4 “Ms. Maggie, why do three-year-olds ask so many questions?!” ~ Gabby, PreK-3

the Gateway :: south city community school Volume 8 :: Issue 1

the Gateway a bi-annual newsletter of

south city community school

4926 Reber Place St. Louis, MO 63139

www.sccommunityschool.org

find us on facebook www.facebook.com/sccsstl

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Christmas Program Tuesday December 10th :: 6:30 – 8pm The Journey Sanctuary Please join us to see the students perform, and enjoy a time of light refreshments & fellowship

Mon Nov 10th :: 10am – 12pm Tues Jan 13th :: 10am – 12pm & 5 – 7pm Open enrollment for PreK-3 to 7th grade begins November 10th! Join us to see the classes in action and meet teachers.

Open House Events

CM Discussion Night Tuesday February 3rd :: 7:15 – 9pm Hosted at the Munger’s home in South City rsvp to info@sccommunityschool.org