Reassurance

When you are working in the classroom, it is really hard to know if you are doing a good job. Do higher or lower test scores reflect how well or poorly I am teaching, or are they more indicative of the student's sugar intake that week, or how things are going at home? When the kids have a rowdy day and I have to raise my voice to be heard over them, do they understand I am only trying to be heard, or do they think I am shouting at them? And, most importantly, do they understand that when I redirect their behavior, it is only the behavior that is bad, and not them? 
Obviously, much of the success or failure of our work is a balancing act, and it is really hard to know just when the balance is quite right. 
My reading groups, for example, seem to be walking the line between fun and work pretty well. My math group may be a little on the chatty side, but they also continue to successfully get through work and participate well. But how do I know I am really doing a good job?
This month, I was having a funky day, where everything seemed to be slipping my mind. At one point, I just started laughing and told my teacher that is wasn't my day today. As I shook my head at my own confusion, one of the kids reached out and grabbed my wrist. He looked up and said, "Miss Jill, you are doing a great job today."
Feedback from our director and supervisors, our teachers, and our teammates are good, but feedback from the kids is the best kind. 
So, thanks kids.

- Jill

Excitement at the Landfill

"Who would have known that the landfill would have been this fun," one of the six grade students stated as we headed back to Highlander Charter School. The six grade class went on a science field trip to the Central Landfill in Johnston, RI. In science class the students are learning about the Eco System, Waste Management, and Environmental Degradation.

Students had the pleasure of viewing the assembly line for sorting and packing recyclables. While on the tour of recycling center students was astonished to learn that the United States number one export to China is paper and scrap metal. Students then was able to observe where materials such as tires, refrigerators, microwaves, scrap metal, oils, antifreeze, and other hazardous waste are contained.

Three hundred and sixty feet high the landfill stood. Headed to the top of the landfill students were excited to see that cows roaming around, they saw methane from the waste water being burned off from the pipes, as well as getting a first view of the layering it takes to contain the waste of the landfill. At the very top of the landfill was one of the most precious sights of Providence. We saw the city of Providence, the Newport Bridge Southern Massachusetts and Northern Connecticut; the sight was truly breath taking.

"What a way to end the field trip" one of the six grade students stated as the tour bus turned around and we headed down the landfill and to the recycling center.mone of the most important things we all learned at this field trip is that the life expectancy of the landfill is between 20-25 years. It may seem like a long time but it isn't so we need to continue to recycle to sustain a longer expectancy time.

RECYCLE..... REUSE..... RENEW..... REDUCE....
.

- Brandford

You're A Grand Old Flag

This week at ICS we decided to devote our craft time to celebrate the flag of the United States! Tuesday was Election Day, and so it was a fitting task for a very patriotic week. (Perhaps some of us might view this activity as a celebration of the end of bombarding political ads for the next four years or so… good riddance!). Regardless, the kids were proud to make their stars and stripes, and to think about what it all means.

A kindergartner begins by drawing his stars and stripes.

Ms. Lu, the K-3 Portuguese after school teacher taught the students that once a flag is created, it should never touch the ground as a sign of respect to one’s country. We looked at the classroom flag, and it made me think of how little attention I pay to the U.S. flags around me every day. And truly, they are everywhere, especially in a school! It definitely made me mindful of our freedom, and how lucky we are to live in a place grounded upon liberty and equal rights. I believe that’s something we don’t think about too often.

A 3^rd grader embellishes her flag with colorful sequins.

Before making the flags the students had a short discussion about their nationalities, and to my surprise, these very young kids knew exactly where their families were from. It’s nice to see that they have a strong sense of identity like that, and that at ICS their diversity and culture is so widely celebrated. If anything exemplifies the freedom given to people in the U.S. for community development and the blending of cultures, it is a certainly a school like International.

 

Voilà! Get ready for a lot of flag waving, people.

--Leah