Re: Last Minute Request for Gex

Hi everyone!  Just to let you know, Gex has a home for the break!

Thank you all for everything,

Erik

On Thu, Dec 21, 2017 at 4:03 PM, Minnesota River <minnesota@greatriverschool.org> wrote:

Hello Dear Minnesota River Community,

Would any of you be willing and able to bring Gex home for the break?  I know this is last minute.  Let us know if you can do it, and we'll find a way for you to pick him up (any time) tomorrow.

Best,

Erik and Patrick

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Erik and Patrick

Co-Guides Minnesota River Classroom

Great River School

St Paul, MN

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Erik and Patrick

Co-Guides Minnesota River Classroom

Great River School

St Paul, MN

Last Minute Request for Gex

Hello Dear Minnesota River Community,

Would any of you be willing and able to bring Gex home for the break?  I know this is last minute.  Let us know if you can do it, and we'll find a way for you to pick him up (any time) tomorrow.

Best,

Erik and Patrick

--

Erik and Patrick

Co-Guides Minnesota River Classroom

Great River School

St Paul, MN

Minnesota River Newsletter

Hello Minnesota River Families!

It has been a very busy and productive several weeks in the Minnesota classroom.  The students are fully engaged in their activities and forming bonds amongst their peers.  Some of the curriculum is outlined below.  Please let us know if there are any questions.

A note about snack.  We have attached a slightly modified snack procedure with the notable changes marked in red.  Please take a minute to review the procedure and the schedule.  Thank you and let us know if there are questions.

With the change in the weather there is a need to address protective clothing for your student.  We will plan to go outside when it is safe to do so and your student will be much more comfortable with appropriate clothing.  Please help your student bring a hat, warm gloves and jacket as well as boots every day to school.  ON WEDNESDAYS we will go to the park and it will be necessary to provide snow pants and perhaps a scarf for their face.

Also, it will be necessary for your student to have indoor shoes to wear in the classroom.  Please check in with your student to make sure they have a pair that is in good condition.

We are in need of more paper towels for the classroom as well as Crayola air-dry clay.  If you have the means to pick up these items to donate to the classroom it would be greatly appreciated!

Quick note on academic lessons:

• The first years received lessons on the "ha-ha" game (for reading), decagon and circle, map of North America, and vertebrates/invertebrates.
• The second years received lessons on antonyms, angles, land and water forms of the world, and plant species stories.
• The third years received lessons on finding parts of speech in sentences, height of a triangle, beginning the note-taking process for their geography research, and first knowledge of animals (observing the traits of animals).
• All students received differentiated math lessons.

Best to you all!!!

Patrick and Erik

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Erik and Patrick

Co-Guides Minnesota River Classroom

Great River School

St Paul, MN

Fwd: Lesson on death, dying and gratitude Thursday

Dear Minnesota families,

I'm writing to let you about some work I will be doing with your child's classroom this week around responding to classmates who are experiencing death and dying outside of school.  Many Great River families this fall have been facing the death or severe illness of a loved one, perhaps this includes you.  There is one student in Minnesota whose younger sibling has just entered hospice and this family's experience in particular is why I am developing the following intervention.

I will be giving a lesson in Minnesota on Thursday about how we support each other in community when someone loses a loved one and the ways that we take care of ourselves in our emotional responses.  This will include some discussion of death and may bring up an emotional response from all students in the classroom.  The essential message will be around cultivating gratitude for each other and the lives our loved ones have lived as we consider the mysteries of death. 

If your child comes home and talks about this lesson, please take the time to sit with them and process their response.  I've been scouring my resources for a solid guide to talking with your children about death with little success, I did find this article helpful:

https://www.handinhandparenting.org/article/mommy-do-kids-die-helping-children-with-death/

I will be available to all the children in Minnesota to support as needed throughout this week, please let me know if your child may need support.

Best,

Saleha

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__________________________________

Saleha Erdmann, MSW, LICSW

Great River School

Social Worker

(651) 305-2780 x36

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Erik and Patrick

Co-Guides Minnesota River Classroom

Great River School

St Paul, MN