Well fall seems to have finally arrived and has brought with her some cool, crisp weather! Much better than rain.
This week I had the opportunity to experience so many exciting learning moments including:
- The Schlembach family harvested the last of the summer vegetables from the Teaching Garden including many, many pounds of carrots, cherry and plum tomatoes and sweet potatoes! Students were able to enjoy the carrots and tomatoes on salads our cafeteria and the staff enjoyed roasted sweet potatoes Tuesday afternoon thanks to the cafeteria staff. Yum!!! I can’t wait to see how our garden develops throughout the year.
- Thank you to the classroom teachers and PTA for helping to support field trips over the last two weeks for grades 3, 4, and 6. Third graders enjoyed an exciting trip to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Fourth grade attended the Fairfax Symphony at GMU and sixth grade has recently visited the Woodson HS Planetarium. It is wonderful to extend the learning to venues outside of our classrooms and allow students to experience what they have read about!
- Did you ever wonder what teachers do to stay current with best practices and make sure they understand how their students learn best? This week a group of teachers led by Ms. Wright, fifth grade Oak Hill teacher, conducted a lesson study with fifth graders. The group of teachers constructed a lesson together, observed it in action with Ms. Wright’s students, talked to the students about their thinking, and then reflected as a team on how they could revise the lesson. I had the privilege of sitting in on the discussion and observing part of the lesson. It is amazing to listen to student verbalize their thinking as well as to observe teachers as they thoughtfully collaborate about teaching and learning!
- The Chantilly Pyramid Choral Concert that was held last night was a phenomenal occasion. Thanks to Brianna Calhoun and Cristen Dimas, music teachers, for preparing our sixth grade choral students to perform so brilliantly at the concert. If you haven’t had the chance to attend this event, I encourage you to do so next year. Choral groups from all six feeder elementary schools, Franklin and Rocky Run Middle schools, and Chantilly High Schools perform. It is a great way to support the fine arts and encourage students to continue their pursuit of music knowledge throughout their school years.
I hope to share with you on a regular basis what I notice as I visit classrooms and interact with students, staff and families at Oak Hill community events. If you ever want to know more about something I have written about, feel free to email me at atgoodloe@fcps.edu.
Happy Weekend!
-A.G.
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