If you have any questions please call Stephen in the office at 879-7483.
]]>Starting at 5pm - We will have a Kindergarten forum with Susan Whittlesey addressing the sense life in the Kindergarten Child.
Then starting at 6:30pm Blue Oak teacher Shannon O'Laughlin and Games teacher Daebin Gilmore share their insights into the importance of Movement in the Waldorf curriculum.
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Your child’s teacher will have posted a list of grade level appropriate books that will make wonderful additions to our library. This list is also available in the binder on the back counter of the library. Please use this list as a guideline for books you would like to gift.
What better way to celebrate a child’s birthday than with a book donated in their name to the Blue Oak Charter School Library? Book plates are being made so that your child can give a gift to the school in honor of their birthday. What a wonderful Blue Oak tradition!
As space is limited in our library, we have to be selective about what books can be shelved. Please consult the list provided by your child’s teacher. Also, the Chinaberry Catalog is another excellent resource. If you have questions about a book that may not be on the Blue Oak list, please consult with Tiffany Wilhelm (tiffwilhelm@yahoo.com or 343-1113) or Carol Fegte. Also, if you would like to volunteer in our library to help catalog books or straighten the shelves, please contact Tiffany or Carol.
Your support is appreciated!
]]>Sould you have concerns about school policy please come to our next charter council meeting. We have monthly meetings typically the first Tuesday of each month and starting at 6:30pm. In each meeting there are two opportunities for the public to address the Charter Council members. If you are unable to attend these meetings or have an issue that cannot wait please feel free to email the Charter Council at the address below.
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Closures
Every attempt will be made to decide the closure of school prior to 6:30 a.m. of the day of closure.
Early Dismissals
In situations where school is dismissed early due to inclement weather and/or an electrical outage, we will utilize our “One Call Now” phone system and ask that parents come pick up their children.
On days following a school closure or early dismissal there will be no re-opening announcement. Regular schedules will resume the next school day unless announced otherwise.
If no announcement of closing, early release, or delayed start is made through the school web site and/or “One Call Now” assume school will remain in session.
]]>As we know, many children gravitate to fairy tales and animal fables in the early years because these stories reflect the world that they inhabit. Everything is magical and the children are not so self-conscious yet, and they have the ability to unite with their surroundings and not feel separated from anything. For this reason, fairies and gnomes can feel very real to children at this stage in their development.
As they grow up, the children become more and more aware of themselves as separate beings, it is a sign that they are developing their ability to reason and think critically. This intensifies predictably around age 9 that we often refer to it as the nine-year change.
Rudolf Steiner describes this time as "a process of emancipation with consequences of greater import than we often realize." He also has stated, "In the ninth year the child really experiences a complete transformation of its being, which indicates an important transformation of its soul-life and its bodily-physical experiences."
Although children react differently to leaving the sweet, dreamlike world of early childhood, one response is nearly universal: children become more conscious of their surroundings. It’s an awakening and what was once passed by unnoticed is suddenly focused on and questioned. This awakening to the world may be met with quiet astonishment or sharp criticism, depending on the child's temperament. Unfortunately, we parents are usually the first recipients of our children's critiques and judgments! When they were younger, they needed to see us as powerful and loving authorities because were completely dependent upon us, and that belief served a purpose. But now they have more developed egos and a clearer sense of themselves as individuals. We want to celebrate, as this represents the strides our young ones take as they build their sense of identity and assert their new boundaries. However, it’s not always easy listening to your child point out your faults!
In addition to recommedning that children not begin formal schooling until age six, the report criticizes Britain's mandatory standardized test for elementary students, the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SATs) [equivalent to California's STAR testing], usually given to children at ages 7 and 11. The authors argue that British schools create un-necessary anxiety forboth teachers and students by focusing learning on preparation for the SATs. The report also strongly advocates better and more comprehensive teacher training. Writtten by Robin Alexander and 13 other authors, the report (three years in making), 'Children, their World, their Education: Final report and recommendations of the Cambridge Primary Review' (Routledge, 2009), draws on more than 4,000 published sources going back to 1960 to 2009. Go to http://www.routledge.com/9780415548717 for details."
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