Upcoming Dates
October 30-Nov. 3 Student Holidays Parent/Teacher Conferences Nov. 5 Report Cards sent home with students for whom conferences have already been held Nov. 9 PTO Meeting, 5:30-6:30pm Nov. 12 Harvest of the Month Talent Show Rehearsal, 2:30-3:45pm Nov. 13 Student of the Week, grades 3-4 Nov. 16 Talent Show Rehearsal, 2:30-3:45 Nov. 17 Thanksgiving Lunch End of Session 1 Clubs Nov. 18 3rd Grade to Monticello, 8:30-1:30 Talent Show Dress Rehearsal, 2:30-4:15 Nov. 19 1st, 2nd 3rd Grades to Paramount, 11:45am Talent Show, 6:30pm Nov. 20 Picture Make-Ups Student of the Week, grades 1-2 Nov. 23 Last McGuffey Tutoring Session Nov. 25-27 Thanksgiving Holiday. No School. Dec. 3 Harvest of the Month Dec. 4 Student of the Week, grades 3-4 Want More Dates? Click Here to Access the Venable Parent Calendar at the Charlottesvilleschools.org website with the most up-to-date information about what's going on at Venable. Thank you to Panorama Farm
For donating a truckload of leaf mulch to Venable for use in our nature gardens. We are getting ready for winter! |
Super Star Crew Starts This Month
Congratulations to all our fourth graders who participated in our first round of applications and interviews for the newly launched Super Star Crew! Students had to write a friendly letter explaining their interest and qualifications, obtain a faculty reference, and participate in an interview with two Venable staff members. Thank you to Tabitha Enoch, Marlin Paschal and Michael Terry, each of whom spent a morning with our 4th grade classes to talk to them about how to interview for a job and put one's best foot forward. Thank you to our Super Star Crew faculty committee (Mr. U, Ms. Paige, Ms. Cartwright, Ms. Tatel-McMillen, Ms. Martin, Ms. Schrank, Ms. Houchens, Ms. Kershner) for putting together a realistic experience for our students and matching them with service opportunities around the school. Soon you will see students helping in the library, helping preschoolers, recycling, raising flags, leading prospective parent tours, and counting and collating Thursday folder flyers, to name a few jobs. The following students are members of our inaugural Super Star Crew:
Building Math Confidence and Avoiding Math Anxiety
The NY Times recently reported on a study that found that so-called math-anxious parents who provided frequent help on homework actually hurt their children by passing on their anxiety. (Square Root of Kids' Math Anxiety: Their Parents' Help, Aug. 24, 2015) Statements such as "I'm not good at math" are fairly common and acceptable in our society...and we need to change that! (After all, we wouldn't accept such a statement about reading.) This year at Venable we are diving deeper into conceptual understanding in math and asking students to show proof of their answers and explain their thinking. We want to grow confident, flexible thinkers who can use math to explain and interpret the world around them. Our school-wide goal for math this year states: Students will solve problems accurately, flexibly, and efficiently AND communicate clearly using math language and representations so that they can demonstrate skills and knowledge on performance assessments as well as standardized tests. What does this look like? How can you help at home? Below are some resources that can help.
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