Chesterbrook Academy Elementary

1. Chesterbrook Academy Elementary 1571 Oswego Rd. Naperville, IL 60540 630-527-0833http://naperville.chesterbrookacademy.com Dear Families, The school year is underway and our classrooms are already abuzz with lots of activity. This first month of school lays the foundation that begins our journey of achieving our mission as a school community for entire school year. It is important that everyone understands and follows our routines, procedures, and expectations. These are in place so that we can create a safe and nurturing environment for everyone. Thank you for reinforcing these concepts here at school and home. Together, this will guide our students towards our ultimate goal of success.Beyond procedures and routines, this month we will be beginning our Character Education program which will provide experiences at the classroom, school and home level. September’s trait is positive attitude. Be sure to watch for more information in the coming weeks from Mr. Cline. Thank you for sharing your child with us and please reach out to myself or any member of our staff if you have any questions, comments or concerns. Mrs. Kemp SeptemberCharacter Trait: Positive Attitude“Our attitude changes how we see things.” John Lyly 9/1/11 6:00pm Curriculum Night 9/5/11 Building Closed Labor Day 9/9/11 6:30-10pm Parent Night Out9/13/11 CAPA Mtg. 5:30pm9/16/11 Spirit Day – Football theme9/23/11 Picture Day& Progress Reports9/30/11 Spirit Day – School Colors International Night MissionOur mission as a school community of students, teachers and parents is to create a safe and nurturing environment that provides an engaging, authentic educational experience built on data, current research and innovative instructional techniques. To develop the whole student; academic, social, emotional and character growth while meeting individual needs and learning styles. Foremost, acting as a catalyst for ongoing achievement and success as lifetime learners.

2. A Book Study: Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs by Ellen Galinsky Being a parent is a life-long learning experience. From the time our children are born and until early adulthood, we find ourselves reading articles, magazine, journals, and books to better understand how to “parent”. We are concerned about nutrition and health, social and emotional development and certainly academic success. Most of all we want our children to be well rounded and happy; we want to make sure that they reach their full potential and can be resilient when challenges are presented. We want them to be able to communicate effectively, and to enjoy healthy, long-term relationships with others. Ellen Galinsky, President and Co-Founder of the Families and Work Institute, has spent her entire career researching the changing world of work and the changing family. In her most recent book, Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs, Ms. Galinsky has grouped the information gleaned from over a hundred researchers in child development and neuroscience into seven critical areas that children needs most. Skill One: Focus and Self-Control Focus and self-control involve many executive functions of the brain, such as paying attention, remembering the rules, and inhibiting one’s initial response to achieve a larger goal. The online video of children in classic study “The Marshmallow Test” is an excellent example of this skill Skill Two: Perspective Taking This requires inhibitory control or inhibiting our own thoughts and feelings to consider the perspective of others; cognitive flexibility to see a situation in different ways; and reflection. Skill Three: Communicating While families talk and communicate in many different ways with their children, some ways promote future literacy more than others. Three particular communication attributes are : (1) when talking at the dinner table, parents talked about issues beyond the “here and now”; (2) parents used a sophisticated vocabulary; and (3) there was support in the home for children’s literacy. Skill Four: Making ConnectionsParents can help children see connections in their everyday lives by playing matching games and asking how two things are the same or different. Making unusual connections is the basis of creativity. Skill Five: Critical Thinking Critical thinking guides beliefs, decisions, and actions. It involves developing, testing and refining theories about “what causes what” to happen. Skill Six: Taking On Challenges Challenges can cause children stress. Researchers have found that children who enjoy challenges and find them to be positive experiences are those who have safe and dependable relationships with people who support them. Moving students from a “failure avoidance” mindset to an “error recovery” mindset is critical. Skill Seven: Self-Directed, Engaged Learning Children who enjoy a school or classroom where a community of learners—parents, students, teachers, staff—enjoy learning as well are often more motivated and interested in having a voice in their own learning. Over the next seven months we will take a deeper look at each of these essential skills and learn together how parents and teachers can work together to ensure that every student masters each of these skills. Ms. Galinsky provides simple, everyday things that we do to promote these essential life skills.

3. Thursday, Sept. 22nd9:30-1:30 1st Quarter 21st Century Theme is … Global Understanding This quarter our students will be exploring the theme of Global Understanding through projects or activities within their classroom and specialty classes. Global Understanding is defined as;-Using 21st century skills to understand and address global issues . -Learning from and working collaboratively with individuals representing diverse cultures, religions and lifestyles in a spirit of mutual respect and open dialogue in personal, work and community contexts -Understanding other nations and cultures, including the use of non-English languages. Be sure to watch our hallway bulletin boards as the quarter progresses to see what countries and concepts are students are exploring. At home, incorporate current events as appropriate to expand their exposure to the world. Be sure to join us on Friday, September 30, 2011 for our International Night . All classrooms will be participating. What is CAPA?CAPA is an acronym for Chesterbrook Academy Parent Association. All currently enrolled families are welcome to attend our meetings that will discuss upcoming events, allow for discussion with the building administration and occasionally provide presenters or speakers. This is a great way to meet other parents and be an active part of our school community. Our first meeting will be on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 at 5:30pm in the gym. Childcare will be provided. Visit our website to review the agenda and feel free to send input and ideas even if you cannot attend. October Character Trait: RespectBuilding Closed: October 10, 2011-Columbus Day Friday October 28, 2011- Noon Dismissal, Family Halloween Event AdvancED Accreditation visit November 4, 2011 Reminders! Be sure to check your email daily, but especially on Fridays when newsletters and updates are sent out.