School to Home Connection

September

Learner Profile attribute of the month, September: Inquirers. Inquirers are curious and ask important questions to inquire into the world around you. They explore topics of interest independently and love learning throughout life.

School-Home Connection

Encourage intrinsic inquiry at home by encouraging students to explore topics of interest and help students to become an expert in a topic. Encourage students to ask questions and model active listening.

October

Learner Profile Attribute of the Month, October: Reflective: Reflective learners think carefully about how they learn through different experiences. By being able to recognize personal strengths and limitations, they are able to set goals for further learning and development.

School-Home Connection

Encourage students to reflect on their school day, their learning, and their personal life by asking probing questions. Instead of, “How was your day?” try “Tell me about something good and something not so good that happened today.” Rather than “What did you learn at school today?” Try, “Tell me one new thing you learned in school today and one thing you already knew.”

November

Learner Profile Attribute of the Month, November: Thinker. Thinkers as learners think both critically and creatively to help solve problems and make responsible decisions.

School-Home Connection

Encourage critical thinking at home by sharing different approaches to problem solving. Work together to analyze solutions.

December

Learner Profile Attribute of the Month, December: Caring. Caring learners are considerate towards the needs of others. They are committed to making a positive difference to others and to the environments.

School-Home Connection

Encourage understanding by engaging in these conversation starters: How can we end extreme poverty? Who are “the poor” in today’s world? What does it mean to be poor? Why is wealth distributed unevenly in the world? Poverty has impact on daily life. Try this: Consider you family’s budget for food, transportation, shelter, entertainment and other expenses. Find out what the “average” family spends in the community, country, and geographical region where you live (and be sure to think about how you will define “average”). Compare these figures with those for a family living in extreme poverty. What are the consequences of poverty in people’s daily lives?

January

Learner Profile Attribute of the Month. January: Balanced. Balanced learners recognize the importance of caring for yourself by balancing your physical, emotional, and intellectual selves.

School-Home Connection

The new year is a great time to reflect on school-life balance. Discuss the priorities of your family and the time devoted to each. Is there a balance. How much time is your student spending on homework? Too much may mean a lack of understanding and too little can signal a need for more academic challenges or a lack of engagement with learning.

February

Learner Profile Attribute of the Month, February, Open Minded. Open minded learners take pride in who they are. They are respectful of others’ opinions, traditions, and values. Open minded learners consider more than one point of view when making decisions.

School-Home Connection

Discuss the following: How do culture and values influence the creation of a sustainable society? How does tourism affect the three pillars of sustainability- economic, social, and environmental? How does international tourism foster a better understanding among people of differing backgrounds, cultures, and values? How do social and cultural understanding contribute to the strengthening of world peace? Try this: think about tourist who visit Portland, OR. List the ways Portland benefits from tourist from around the world. Now think of a developing country and determine how tourism would strengthen their economy and bring awareness to their culture and heritage.

March

Learner Profile Attribute of the Month, March: Courageous. Courageous learners are confident and show courage in new situations. You are willing to try new things. You defend your own beliefs strongly.

School-Home Connection

What does your child do when they witness bullying? From the website, iamawitness: More than one in four children a year experience bullying. I Am A Witness aims to stop bullying by activating the “silent majority” of kids who witness it each day, transforming them from passive bystanders into an active collective that speak up against bullying. Now, taking a stand against it and showing support to someone in need can be as easy as a stroke of the keyboard. For more information with interactive elements visit http://iwitnessbullying.org

April

Learner Profile Attribute of the Month. April: Communicator. Communicators able to understand and express yourself confidently in more than one language. They work well and enthusiastically in team situations.

School-Home Connection

The Communication Equation: A How to Guide for Outstanding Communication, by Emma Sterlin, states that messages we receive are about 40% what we hear (tone of voice, verbal clarity, verbal expressiveness), 50% what we see and feel (facial expression, dress and grooming, posture, eye contact, touch, gesture) and only 10% words. Discuss to what extent text messages changes that? According to livestrong.com in 2018 about 75% of kids ages 13-19 own a cell phone and 75% of those kids regularly text.

May

Learner Profile Attribute of the Month, May: Principled. Principled learners demonstrate honesty, a sense of fairness and respect towards others. They take responsibility for their own actions.

School-Home Connection

Cedar Park students are aware of expected behavior and are great about meeting expectations when an adult is present. This month relate student behavior to being principled. The old adage, “Integrity means doing the right thing even when no one is watching.” still applies. How does your student perceive his or her actions and to what extent are they demonstrating principled action? This a great opportunity to revisit bullying and the way students respond to incidences. You can use the I am a witness site anytime for resources and activities and some other sites that may be helpful are listed: http://www.pacer.org/bullying/, http://www.thebullyproject.com/, https://www.thetrevorproject.org/, https://www.glsen.org/

June

Learner Profile Attribute of the Month, June: Knowledgeable. Through keen exploration of local and global issues knowledgeable learners build an in-depth knowledge and understanding across all subject areas.

School-Home Connection

Take this opportunity to help your student reflect on the knowledge he/she has gained this school year. Some probing questions encourage deeper reflection: Tell me about a topic or unit of study you really enjoyed this year? Why did you enjoy it? What knowledge did you gain or deepen? Conversely, discuss a topic or unit of study that was less enjoyable. Often, adolescents will talk about units or topics that they struggled with. This an opportunity to strengthen the growth mindset of your student by discussing what strategies he/she used to overcome difficulties and by highlighting student effort.