Arcadia This Week 1/25/2021
Hello, Arcadia families,
Here is what’s up at Arcadia this week!
Monday, 1/25: Day 3--First Day of 3rd Quarter
Tuesday, 1/26: Day 4
Wednesday, 1/27: Day 5
Thursday, 1/28: Day 6
Friday, 1/29: No School
Speaking of this week…
Governor Walz has proclaimed January 25-29, 2021 Paraprofessional Recognition Week! Take time this week to send a note of thanks to one (or many) of our AMAZING paraprofessional staff! We are grateful for the many ways they contribute, from providing direct support to students, to making Arcadia a welcoming, fun place to work. They have been absolutely critical to our success this year as a community! Thank you, paraprofessional staff!
Abby Benusa
Adam Wille
Alex McFarlane
Christine Honoré
Ellyn Benhamida
Jena Duncan
Jennifer Koktavy
Maggie Fessler
Morgan McCarty
Schedule for Third Quarter
Here is our current plan for the upcoming quarter.
January 25-28: Third Quarter begins in Distance Learning
January 29: No School (this was already on the calendar)
February 1-5: Distance Learning
February 8-12: Distance Learning
February 15-17: No School--planning days for the shift to hybrid
February 18-19: Asynchronous Learning; Spring Conferences
February 22-25: Hybrid Resumes--HS Week
February 26: Catch-up Day (all students; no forward movement in classes, teachers available to help students get caught up)
March 1-5: MS Week
March 8-11: HS Week
March 12: Asynchronous Learning AND Picture Day!
March 15-19: MS Week
March 19: End of Third Quarter
Announcements
Grading for 2nd Quarter
Final grades for the second quarter are due February 2nd and will be published for families February 5th. While our grades are typically due the Tuesday following the end of the quarter, distance learning demands more flexibility on our part--and a lot more 1:1 work to support students. This gives students and teachers a bit of breathing room and time to clean up any missing assignments, or other work from the quarter, before final grades are posted.
Goodbye, and thank you to Kim!
Many thanks to Kim McMillan, who has been an important part of our middle school advising team and our physical sciences teacher, for everything that she has done to support Arcadia’s students in her time here! Kim decided to leave at the end of 2nd quarter. She will be missed!
Welcome to Christopher Hunt!
We are welcoming a new teacher and advisor, Christopher Hunt, to the staff! Though he only recently completed his MN teaching license, his background in physics and communications, along with his years in higher education, including college level teaching and coaching experience, will serve him well in his new position as our physical sciences teacher and advisor! We are excited to have him joining us!
MS Advising During the Transition
Lori and Amy provide strong leadership in the MS advising program, and that will continue. In this time of transition, Laura will initially be taking on the third middle school advising role. Students who met with Kim in Green Advisory will now have Laura. Over time, Christopher will move into the advising role, but we wanted to give him time to learn the ropes, and to provide students with support from a familiar person. Bob, an experienced MS advisor, will continue to be involved to support the transition, as well.
Picture Day Rescheduled for March 12th
Picture day has been rescheduled! It will take place March 12th from 8:30am to 2:30pm. We’re doing a signup just to make sure we spread ourselves out, but pictures typically go quite fast, and we will have spots marked on the floor to ensure appropriate distancing. Sign up for an appointment time here: Picture Day Sign Up
Attendance Form
Please report attendance-related information (appointments, illness) through our website, even during distance learning! Go to “Current Families” and then “ Report an Absence.” You can fill out as much as is relevant. If your child is ill, please make sure to report symptoms, as we are required to track a lot of information on illness this year! If you’d rather just save a link to the form somewhere accessible to you, here is a link to the form.
Mission Spotlight
This coming Saturday, January 30th, the Board is holding a retreat to work on creating a rubric that we can use to measure how we are doing in our effort to achieve our mission. One of the categories on the rubric is “progressive education.”
This past week, I had the opportunity to watch part of the inauguration ceremony with the seventh grade students. We discussed the idea of a peaceful transfer of power and why that matters in our democracy. This was an important moment for understanding how democracy functions, and also a conversation in keeping with our mission. Progressive education is focused on citizenship--producing citizens capable of building and sustaining a democratic society.
Though their website is rather dated, a University of Vermont project from the early 2000’s on progressive education includes a useful and brief history of progressive education that begins with this paragraph:
During most of the twentieth century, the term "progressive education" has been used to describe ideas and practices that aim to make schools more effective agencies of a democratic society. Although there are numerous differences of style and emphasis among progressive educators, they share the conviction that democracy means active participation by all citizens in social, political and economic decisions that will affect their lives. The education of engaged citizens, according to this perspective, involves two essential elements: (1). Respect for diversity, meaning that each individual should be recognized for his or her own abilities, interests, ideas, needs, and cultural identity, and (2). the development of critical, socially engaged intelligence, which enables individuals to understand and participate effectively in the affairs of their community in a collaborative effort to achieve a common good. These elements of progressive education have been termed "child-centered" and "social reconstructionist" approaches, and while in extreme forms they have sometimes been separated, in the thought of John Dewey and other major theorists they are seen as being necessarily related to each other.
Schools can choose to focus on a great many things. Progressive schools choose to recognize the significance of the role education plays in a democratic society. At Arcadia, we strive to both develop students’ individual strengths and interests, and help them to put those strengths and interests into a community context, where they learn how they can contribute to and support the whole with what they bring to the table. Individual and community needs are balanced with each other. Based on what the students I observed were paying attention to as they watched the inauguration last week, and the way they treated one another, we are working with some wonderful future citizens. I can’t wait to see how they grow with the support and encouragement of their teachers and peers.
Upcoming Events
Jan. 25: Third Quarter Begins (See Schedule Above)
March 12: Picture Day (Sign Up Form)
Jan. 30, 9:00am-12:00pm: Arcadia Board Retreat (online); https://meet.google.com/tmk-nfcx-szi
Or join by phone: (US) +1 513-796-6467 PIN: 493 475 105#
Sincerely,
