Hello Families!
I hope you are having a great weekend.
I spent my Saturday getting caught up on household chores while listening to an audio book. I would like to recommend that book to you.
It's called The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, by Jonathan Haidt. I was hooked by the introduction and binge-listened through an epic housecleaning! The well-researched book explains the circumstances that have led to the increasing number of children and young adults living with anxiety and other mental health challenges and gives us great insight into what kids need in order to grow into strong, confident people who can handle--rather than fear--the disappointments, uncertainty, setbacks, and risks that life inherently holds, especially in the online environment. Though the book focuses a lot on the tweens, teens, and young adults (many of them parents themselves) of Gen Z, it also lays out the conditions of early childhood that are essential to helping children of any generation grow up strong, anxiety-free, and ready to learn.
I'm pleased that, at Marcia Buker, we are providing many of those essentials, including our cell-phone-free policy; our strong outdoor education and project-based curricula in which children explore and learn together; our twice-daily outdoor recess that allows children ample unstructured playtime; our limiting of screen time in favor of hands on and in-person learning, our daily greeting and connecting circles in classrooms; and our play-based PreK curriculum.
Whether you are a parent, an educator, or interested in the cultural dynamics that affect human growth and development, I encourage you to read or listen to this important book. I will be ordering a couple of copies for parents to borrow. I would love to hear from anyone who has read or does read the book; it's the kind that makes you want to talk about it!
You can explore other resources, including practical guides for parents at the Resources page of the Anxious Generation website.
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Below you will find all the reminders and notices you need to close out October and usher in November on Friday! I wish those families who participate a Happy Halloween on Thursday!
In partnership with you,
Mary
Mary Paine
Principal, Marcia Buker ES
28 High Street
Richmond, Me 04357
School (207)-737-4748
Mobile (207) 557-0062
Dates and Notices
Oct. 29th Picture Retake
Oct. 28th - Nov, 1st Spirit Week (see themes below)
Nov. 1st Candy Bar Bingo, 6:00 PM - 7:00 PMPicture Retakes (10/29) - Please remember to send in your child's original picture packet to return for retakes. If you would like to order pictures on retake day and either didn't order a packet before or your child wasn't here for picture day, please use INTER-STATE.COM/ORDER and Enter Code: 91704TC.
Reminder: of November Parent-teacher conferences date change: We have changed the date of our November conference night from November 14th to Thursday, November 21st to bring it more in line with the end of Trimester 1. We will send sign-up information well in advance.
Spirit Week Themes
Monday: Your Favorite Color and Hat day
Tuesday: Yellow for Friendship
Wednesday: Green for Recycling and Crazy Socks
Thursday: Orange and Black for Halloween
Friday: Maroon for Bobcat Pride and Crazy Hair
The best way to report bus incidents
If your child tells you about something that takes place on a bus that you feel should be brought to the attention of an administrator, your first course of action should be to directly contact Transportation Director Frederica Shorey. Ms Shorey is in the best position to respond quickly to any bus-related concern. You can email Frederica at fshorey@richmondpk12.org. Please note: This message is not in relation to any specific incident; we simply want to ensure the quickest, most efficient response in the future.
November Menus
Breakfast
Lunch
It Takes a Village
The culmination of our Unity day celebration on Wed. Oct. 16th is this giant collective work of art on our cafeteria wall, constructed from the orange chain links each grade made. Every child in our school is represented in this wonderful reminder of the power of connection.
Bobcat Sightings
Grade K-2 teachers and students working on their morning phonics lessons
Have a great weekend, Families!
