Teacher Margaret's "View From My Window" - March 16th

Dear Friends,

Second and Third Grade students have begun a new project. Earlier this week they gathered in the second-grade classroom where Mrs. Yearly and Teacher Rachael had displayed over 20 photos around the room. There were pictures of broken crayons, paintbrushes sitting in paint, a trash sorting facility, and children playing on Westfield’s playground to name a few. The students were each given post-it notes and asked to walk around the room stopping at each picture to write notes about the pictures and leave them on the wall by the picture. The prompts for the post-it notes were “I see…”, I think…”, and “I wonder”. 

After the children had finished leaving their notes, they were gathered together for everyone to see. Then the children were asked to make sense of the pictures and how they were connected. After some discussion, they came to the conclusion that they were asking a big question “How might we reduce the trash we produce at home, and at Westfield?” 

Today the students began to talk about the kinds of questions they will need to answer first. Examples include: “What is trash?” “What does it mean to biodegrade?” “What happens to the trash that goes to a landfill?” “What is a landfill?” “How does plastic get into the ocean?” “How can we inspire others?” 

A quick shout out to our 8th Grade students and their parents who helped transform the gym into a Glow in the Dark Wonder for the Middle School Dance last Friday. By all accounts, the kids had a wonderful time. Thank you to our Middle School faculty who joyfully spent their Friday evening supporting our students. 

8th Grade Cell Biology Analogy Project:

7th Grade held an Element Shirt fashion show! Take a look at a video of this chique and stylish event HERE.

We are Building Community: To help our students understand Ramadan, Brother Yusuf Memon from MACA Masjid in Voorhees joined us for Meeting for Worship this past Wednesday. He gave a brief explanation of what Muslims do during Ramadan and what the month means to them spiritually.

Queries for March Meeting for Worship - In what ways do we support each other in our spiritual journeys, in our search for God’s will, and in our efforts to increase understanding of humanity’s relationship to life on earth?

• How does my spiritual life integrate an understanding of a well-ordered relationship with the earth and deepen my reverence for the interconnectedness of all life?

Announcements:

• Parent and Guardian Council-sponsored community event “Pot of Gold Playdate” for current families in ALL grades, complete with a gold hunt, photo booth, music, and food truck on Saturday, March 18 - RSVP required
• Wednesday, March 29th “More Than Sad Presentation” for parents, guardians, faculty and staff. 7-8:30 pm on ZOOM
• Thursday, March 30th is the Kindergarten and First Grade Play. Starting at 10:30, this is an in-person event for our young actors' families. We will also stream the production on ZOOM.
• Save the date, Saturday, April 22nd is A Taste of Our Towns - plan on attending our spring community fundraiser. Enjoy time with friends, taste selections from surrounding restaurants, and bid on auction items.  Learn more here.
• Save the date, Friday, April 28th we are bringing back Grandparents Day. Look for more information before spring vacation. 

Warmly,

Margaret

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