The last half of the year...

OK...so I'm a little behind in posting all the exiting events that have happened over the last few months! Time has flown by so quickly and I can hardly believe this school year is about to close. Here are some pictures to highlight a few things from the last couple of weeks.
From the Garden:

Thanks again to our over 270 volunteers who helped out at the Big Dig. The pictures above show what we already have growing in our garden. The students are enjoying their time learning. The high tunnel will be up soon as well giving us year-round grown capabilities. We will also have some work days over the summer for students and families to come and work in the garden.

Last weekend Kingsway United Methodist Church hosted a work day here at Field. It is amazing how much work they completed.

They really cleaned up our landscaping and added new mulch and rock. They painted our Learner Profile and Attitude words out on the track and lanes on our basketball court. They also painted 4 bathrooms inside along with the APR. Additionally, they provided some storage on our stage. The students were certainly buzzing about all the changes they noticed today! We are so blessed to have community partners willing to be involved with our school.

Thanks for reading! Dr. B.

Sorry...not my house.

I've received many questions about if the Bagwell's light display is mine. Sorry to tell you, but that is not my house. I do know Mike Bagwell from church, but he is of no relation.  My husband's idea of Christmas lights is swapping out the lights on either side of the garage for a red and green one. So I can take no credit for the beautiful display Mike and his family put up each year for the communities enjoyment.
Here is a link to Mike Bagwell's display  if you don't have the opportunity to go check it out yourself.

Bagwell Christmas lights

Thank you to everyone who came out to Chick-fil-A last week. We raised around $275! When added to our money we have raised through Domino's Pizza nights we were able to go a head and purchase  listening centers for 8 classrooms!! Thank you to our Singing Sensations who were delightful throughout the evening. It was a great way to start the holiday season.

Today we were blessed with the beautiful sounds of Glendale's choir caroling in our hallways.
In this busy time, take the time to stop and just enjoy those around you.

Invention Convention & Kindergarten Feast

We have had a great day today at Field! This morning our 5th graders hosted an Invention Convention. Over the last couple of weeks students have identified a problem and then created an invention to meet the need. Their creativity and critical thinking skills were certainly highlighted in their final products.

This afternoon our Kindergartners had a feast where they made necklaces, tepees, turkeys,  and ate snacks. They were having a splendid time working through the different activities.

Thank you to all the parents and grandparents that helped make these events possible! I know your students love it when you can come and participate in their learning.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Random November Thoughts

Time is certainly going by fast this month! I have lots of random thoughts rolling around in my head today.

Over the last couple of weeks many of you have come in for parent/teacher conference. Thank you for spending this time connecting with your student's teacher and supporting them in their learning.

In the last couple of weeks I have been working with a group of 5th graders to plan our attendance celebrations for the year. The traveling trophy has started making its rounds to the class with the highest attendance for the week. The team also decided to celebrate the class with the highest attendance for the quarter. The class who wins for each quarter will get a special lunch celebration. Congratulations for Mrs. Brown's 4th grade class who won for first quarter with an average attendance of 97.9%. Several classes were close behind: Aho with 97.63%; Vann with 97.38%; Nasby with 97.24%; Goings with 97.04%.
Mrs. Brown's class will have a pizza party to celebrate.

This week have a couple of opportunities for you to get involved and be informed about IB. Thursday, November 17th from 4:00 - 5:00 we will begin a parent inquiry group. This study group will be exploring how students acquire a second language and ways we might expand our Spanish beyond the Spanish classroom. No reservations needed. Everyone is invited to come and learn with us. On Friday, November 18th we have Principal's Coffee. We have guests this month from the MYP program at Pipkin Middle School and Central High School. This will be a time of learning about the IB program past the elementary level. This is not just for parents of 5th graders and all parents are encouraged to attend and learn more about the future opportunities for their students.

Last, but certainly not least, thank you to everyone taking a part in the Days of Sharing. I encourage you to involve you student in the process as much as possible so they may gain that feeling of contributing to their community.

I hope your family is enjoying these beautiful fall days we have had this year.
Thanks again for your support of Field.
Dr. B

Site Council & Nerd Day

This has certainly been a busy week here at Field. The students (and staff...see pictures below) have had a great time being creative and dressing up for the different spirit days. I'm looking forward to Fall Festival on Friday evening and hope to see you there. This will be a great time to celebrate the end of first quarter and build community among our families.

Earlier this week we had our first Site Council meeting of the year. Thank you to those parents and staff that participated. You can find the complete minutes posted on the Site Council portion of our web page (http://sps.k12.mo.us/field/site_council.htm). One of our agenda items was a discussion about our needs... great and small.  While it was determined that all items were worthy of completion, there were a few highlighted as possible starting points. These items included: listening centers, risers for use with Smart boards in lower grade classrooms, additional computers for student use in classrooms, and funding for Spanish related field trips.  The complete list of needs is posted on the Site Council page on the Field website. After viewing the list, please let us know if there is a need you believe you can help us see through to a reality.

Thanks for reading!

Hola! We had a great day today at Field.

We were honored to host Paco and His Band today from Tlaquepaque, Mexico. They are here in Springfield this week through the Sister City Organization. Here are a few pictures from the assembly. Our 5th graders did a wonderful job singing a song for them to close the assembly. Have a great weekend!

Parent Survey Results & Attendance

Thank you to everyone who participated in our parent survey a couple of weeks ago. You provided us with good information to use as we move forward in the PYP evaluation process. Here are some of the comments shared by parents about Field:

"The students see themselves as global citizens and they have an active interest in how to make things better for people all over the world. Also, they are true inquirers and they love to ask questions and find answers."

"I've seen more parental involvement at Field Elementary than I have at any other school. It really feels like a community."

"My child is motivated to think on his own."

We also received some good feedback on areas for growth including communication about the PYP program with parents and community, continuity between grade levels, and concerns for the school's growing population and lack of space. All of these ideas will be enveloped into our Action Plan developed through the evaluation process.

As you all know, attendance at school is vital to a child's success in school. So many valuable learning experiences occur during the day that can not be replicated at home. Here are our classrooms with top attendance from the beginning of the year through mid 1st Quarter:
1. Fisher - 98.63%
2.  Aho - 98.31%
3.  Brown - 98.07%
4. Goings - 98.01%

The SPS goal for attendance is 95%. Please help your child reach their full potential through being at school everyday.