After School Enrichment Classes

MADY PLUMER: RESOURCE

Dear Parents & Students,

My job was created as part of the school improvement process, and I work with students who need extra academic support (parent and/or teacher referral) and also those who might benefit from some school enrichment.  If you are interested in setting up a conference with me, then all I ask of you is to first confer with your child's homeroom teacher.  I work collaboratively with most of the teachers at St. Patrick's and would not want to lessen the trust between us.

In addition to working with students in most of the elementary classrooms, I organize the After School Enrichment program.  This program begins with a registration period (two times a year) in September and January.  Then the classes with registered students meet twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday (only school days), for one hour (3:05-4:05), for twelve sessions from October through November and from February through March.  In addition, beginning in the fall of 2008, we will be working towards offering a reading club, providing after school reading support for children in grades 2 and 3. The math remediation class will now be called Homework Club, for those students in grades 4-8 who need any additional school support. If you are interested in teaching one of these classes and/or learning more about this program, please e-mail me at the Saint Patrick School e-mail or call me at 272-2297 (ext. 15).

All students will benefit from working in the areas of analysis (looking at the parts of any concept studied), synthesis (creating a product), and evaluation (judging and choosing based on certain criteria).  Higher level thinking skills, creative problem solving, and ownership in project may be fostered when a parent is more "the guide on the side" and not "the sage on the stage".  Through this approach, a child becomes empowered and develops a strong sense of self. Furthermore, the parents are one step closer to raising an independent child.

I hope each and everyone of you in the Saint Patrick community have a healthy, relaxing, and fun-filled summer

Mady Plumer
Resource Teacher

What is a writer's notebook?
A writer's notebook is like a ditch- an empty space you dig in your busy life, a space that will fill up with all sorts of fascinating little creatures.  If you dig it, they will come.  You'll be amazed by what you catch there.

A writer's notebook is NOT a diary.  It's NOT a reading journal in which your teacher tells you to summarize the main idea of a book, or write a letter to a character.  A writer's notebook is different from any journal you've ever kept before.

Writers are like other people, except for at least one important difference...Writers react.  Writers need a place to record those reactions.  That's what a writer's notebook is for.  It gives you a place to write down what makes you angry or sad or amazed, to write down what you noticed and don't want to forget, to record exactly what your grandmother whispered in your ear before she said goodbye for the last time.

A writer's notebook gives you a place to live like a writer, not just in school during writing time, but wherever you are, at any time of day.

What does a writer's notebook look like?
There's really no right answer for this except that your writer's notebook should reflect your personality.  Some writers prefer a pad small enough to stick in a back pocket.  Others have beautiful notebooks with wildflowers on their covers, and others with plain brown covers.

Your notebook is uniquely yours, like your wallet or your backpack.  Only you can decide what to put in it.  A writer's notebook is nothing more than a blank book, but within those pages you've got a powerful tool for writing and living.

Enjoy filling your writer's notebook if ever and whenever you decide to begin one.