El Carmelo Dragon Tales

New School Year - 2010-11

2010-08-14T21:16:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to school! In only a week and a couple of days we start the school year 2010-11. We are getting ready to have a wonderful year of learning and new experiences. The teachers and I have been working all this month on a wide variety of projects in literacy, math, science and technology. We have new programs in store in character education. I am looking forward to sgharing details with you all; be on the lookout for a calendar-ful of opportunities to hear more,

We've only just begun...

2009-09-11T20:11:00.000-07:00

A new school year represents a lot of change, of course. Young people may embrace change or not depending on how secure they're feeling. New friends, a new teacher, new academic and social challenges are all opportunities for self-development, which is exactly where young people are positioned, especially in elementary school. These changes can be somewhat stressful, but we shouldn't view the stress as all negative. The trick of dealing with stress is not necessarily trying to eliminate it (some stress can be a good thing) but learning to deal with it. Many wonderful things come from dealing with challenges, such as resilience, patience, self-confidence, responsibility, the ability to problem-solve, and increased learning. Let's commit ourselves this year to finding ways to help our young people successfully navigate some new challenges. That sounds like a challenge ;-)

Summer 09

2009-06-26T20:45:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since the last post. Four months actually. Now, at the end of June, several weeks after the students left for summer, and a week after the office officially closed for the summer, I have had some time to take care of paperwork and to reflect on the year.

To say that I experienced a lot of learning is almost an understatement. There were lots of new people, new activities, new curricula, and other new things to learn. What made it not only doable but enjoyable was the tremendous support from staff and parents that I received this year.

Thank you all for your encouragement, help and welcome to El Carmelo. Year One is over and we are speeding on to 2009-2010. I am excited about where we are headed. More to come...

Responsibility

2009-02-26T10:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we had our monthly assembly. Our dress up activity was "look-alike" (Mr. Walton and I looked very sporty in our jeans and white dress shirts) and our community theme was "Responsibility". Most of our students know that "be responsible" is one of our three basic school rules, along with "be safe" and "be respectful". We made up a little responsibility 'ceremony' using an object made out of overlaid sticks. The object, a diamond shape, is held together with tension from the pressure of the overlap (okay, okay, the kinder and 1st grade objects MAY have had a little super-glue help).

Anyway, the object of the ceremony was to show 'responsibility' for the care of the object by safely passing one through the hands of each student by grade level. One by one. Carefully. The kinder and first grades proudly finished first and second respectively. Fortunately I had made back-up objects for when the objects fell apart, but several teams just continued passing the pieces along, carefully handing them on down the line (I liked this a lot - in May we are talking about "perseverance").

Just wanted you to know, in case you hear about the 'special artifact' from 'a faraway forest'. And thank you for all that you do in collaboration with us to teach your children to be responsible, both as individuals and as a group.

Lego Night

2009-02-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday a group of Legomaniacs took over the MP room. We played Lego Bingo, Lego car racing, Lego counting, Lego tossing, and of course Lego building. The Lego masterpieces were exhibited in the Lego Museum (the MP stage) of which I had the honor of serving as curator. Students received certificates for their creative efforts.

Also, a phenomenal apple pie (baked by our own Alan Leong) made the rounds at Lego Night, enticing hungry Legomaniacs to make their PIE donations at the event so that they could participate in a PIE pie drawing (I can tell you that the lucky winner was VERY happy). This was so successful that we are coninuing PIE pie drawings through the rest of this week. If you haven't done so so far, you can still make a PIE donation and have your name put into a drawing for a delicious pie. Benefitting PIE.

Pie for now,

Chuck Merritt

Inauguration in the classroom

2009-01-20T09:41:00.000-08:00

It occurred to me this morning that it is a very good thing that the inauguration is also a school day. I had the privilege of seeing the events of this morning in classrooms across the grade levels.

I saw the motorcade and large shots of the immense crowd on the mall in a fifth grade classroom. I joined a kinder classroom for the procession of dignitaries onto the platform. I heard the new vice-president and president take their oaths in a 4th grade classroom. I listened to President Obama's address with 3rd graders. Elizabeth Alexander read her poem for the inauguration while I was in a 2nd grade classroom. And I finished watching the proceedings with a 1st grade class.

I am so glad that El Carmelo students had this opportunity. In one classroom, the teacher had written on the whiteboard some key phrases from the President's address: "imagination joined in common purpose"; "we are the keepers of our country's legacy"; "find meaning in something greater than ourselves". Our students have something that they can take away from this morning that is very special. Kudos to our teaching staff for seizing the opportunity.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-29T11:03:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting in my office, looking out at a quiet campus, knowing that all of the members of the El Carmelo community are doing something different (hopefully all fun) at this moment. I'm also thinking of what we have to look forward to in 2009, again so many different expectations and future experiences, from kinder to fifth grade, but all focused on the growth of our kids.

My very best wishes to you at the end of this year and into the next. See you in 2009!

Chuck Merritt

Snowball the Guinea Pig

2008-12-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

I want to acknowledge an little-known, but helpful contribution to El Carmelo School. I learned this morning that Adobe Animal Hospital on First Street in Los Altos regularly donates medical procedures for classroom pets. Our own seven-year old guinea pig, Snowball, who lives in Mrs. McCoy's room 6, recently had surgery. Adobe took care of the surgery (outpatient, in this case) for free as part of their commitment to hands-on science education in schools. A big thank you to the staff and management of Adobe Animal Hospital!

Congratulations all you leprechauns!

2008-11-23T18:18:00.000-08:00

I had a great time at last Friday's performance of "Blather, Blarney and Balderdash". The story of a lovesick shepherd and the leprechauns that come to help him win the hand of his beloved was delightful and wonderfully performed by a large and strong cast of El Carmelo 4th and 5th graders.

So many things to praise! The cast's delivery of their lines had me laughing out loud (hope I didn't disturb anyone). The set looked great and did everything it needed to do (I really liked the hole in the hedge and how it was used). Great costumes (I'm sure that represented many hours of parent work alone). The student actors not only sounded great and looked great, they knew where to be and at what time to enter and exit which was no small feat with an involved story and lots of parts.

Producers Rebecca Davis and Anna Maria Dias along with Director Jonathan Shue should be very proud of their work and the work of the many students and parents responsible for the success of the school play. It was a very good time and I for one am grateful that all of these folk made this effort. It really paid off for the audience and, I hope, for everyone involved. Well done!

Getting ready for PIE?

2008-11-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is just over a week away. Has anyone else jumped the gun by having pumpkin pie before the big day? I confess I have (along with pumpkin scones, pumpkin lattes, well... enough said). Pie is a big part of this time of year.

Another slice of PIE (Partners in Education) is the important work being done by El Carmelo volunteers to support the work of the Palo Alto Unified schools, including ourselves. I want to thank everyone that has worked to organize this year's effort and to all of you that have contributed so far this year. Did you know that we count the contribution level by percentage of families? Any contribution of any size goes to show how committed our school community is to education. Thanks again for your contribution, particularly during a time of uncertainty.

And do enjoy your Thanksgiving holiday. The one constant of mine has been that, in whose ever house we celebrate, whatever we are eating, we always bring our loved ones together. May your families cherish the time you spend being thankful .

Rainbows and Pumpkins

2008-10-31T16:26:00.000-07:00

Some of you were able to share Wed. 10/29 at El Carmelo as we posed for the annual Rainbow Picture. Thank you, Chris, our wonderful photographer who dared to be creative on a 10-foot ladder for the sake of a beautiful picture and a fun time.

Even more of you attended the Thu. 10/30 Pumpkin Project and shared in the enjoyment of several dozen finely carved pumpkins, many of which were donated later to elder-care facilities. Thank you to the kids that carved pumpkins and to the PTA volunteers that made that event as well as the coffee and chat table nearby possible.

And even MORE of you were able to take off some time this morning to attend the Halloween Parade. I hope you all had as much fun as I did. The costumes were great and the rain even provided a new way to hold the parade that seemed to be enjoyable for all. Thank you to everyone that helped our kids have a good time this morning.

One last thing. As I went in to classrooms this afternoon, intending to help teachers with whatever end-of-Halloween issues might have arisen, I discovered a calm, productive hum of activity everywhere I went. No drama. I have rarely felt so satisfied by being superfluous. All of which to say that we have here the most talented, skilled and generally fantastic teachers at El Carmelo. Thanks to you all for a wonderful week!

On Ice

2008-10-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

Another sign that El Carmelo is a wonderful place. What a fun time at the annual Ice Skating Party. I had a blast! Every age was represented on the ice (I noticed this principal guy with a white goatee; he looked a little shaky) as well as every experience level in ice skating. Several kids I skated with had never been on the ice before and ended the evening skating on their own. Thank you Linda and Yi-Mei for this wonderful Fall treat!

Techology Staff Development

2008-10-13T18:39:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, the staff met at El Carmelo in the morning to learn a new information management application called Cruncher and collaborate on the new science curriculum. The group used their laptops (Thank you, PTA!) on the wireless network in the library. This time of large group and small group learning and planning was very useful.

At the end of the morning we carpooled up to Foothill College's Krause Center for Innovation (KCI) for lunch and a tour of this remarkable learning center. The KCI is a technology center that provides computing for Foothill students but, more relevantly (for us), provides opportunities for professional teachers to learn to use technology with their students. There are many courses offered there that focus on how to integrate technology into the various curricula of elementary education. We received presentations on online resources for math, language arts and other subjects, learned about various kinds of content management systems and discussed our future technology needs by grade level.

Bike Safety, Part Two

2008-10-06T22:05:00.000-07:00

I have to tell you about tonight's Parent Education event, "Bringing Up Bicyclists". 50 parents attended Richard Swent's talk about bicycle safety at El Carmelo. Richard's presentation has everything; videos, diagrams, demonstration (Richard said "I got to ride my bike on the stage!"). It was great. In addition to our own EC families, we had attendees from Escondido, Hoover, Ohlone, Duveneck, Walter Hayes, Barron Park, Stratford School and JL Stanford Middle School! Congratulations to Richard, Carrie Manley, PTA officers and the EC community: you're awesome! Don't forget to participate in Wednesday's Walk and Roll to School.

Bike Safety

2008-10-05T16:31:00.000-07:00

Dear parents,

I have been spending a lot of time thinking about traffic, and particularly bicycle, safety this fall. Many of you have spoken to me out in front of the school both before and after class. We talk about the safety practices put into place in recent years; the red curbs for bus drop-off, the yellow curbs for parent drop off, the work of the city-staffed crossing guard position, bicycle parking, etc. All of these practices cumulatively provide a safe environment for our kids' getting to and from school. But if our children are not keeping themselves safe, these practices will not be enough.

This is why we as a school community are focusing this month on training our kids in bike safety. On October 6, El Carmelo's PTA is sponsoring "Bringing up Bicyclists" at 7pm in the MP room. A bicycle expert will explain to us how we as parents can help our students keep themselves safe. Also that week, Oct. 6-8, the Walk and Roll to School program will encourage walking and biking to school. On Oct. 16, the 3rd graders will receive bike safety input at the annual Bike Rodeo, with a word from the PD, FD on safety and practical training from volunteers with students' own bikes on the field at school.

Please support our bike and traffic safety program by talking to your child about safety and by supporting our various efforts this month and throughout the school year.

Chuck Merritt

Lifeskills

2008-09-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

In the last Carmeletter, I mentioned the lifeskills program that our El Carmelo social climate committee is developing (thank you, committee!). The plan is to address a series of lifeskills through all-school assemblies throughout the year. The lifeskills are:

COOPERATION
EFFORT
FRIENDSHIP
CARING
PROBLEM SOLVING
RESPONSIBILITY
FLEXIBILITY
INITIATIVE
PERSEVERANCE

The first assembly will feature Cooperation. Do you have an example of student cooperation that you find especially interesting? If you do, please consider emailing me a summary and a contact teacher that would be able to give details? Thank you!

cmerritt@pausd.org

Sept. 13

2008-09-13T10:09:00.000-07:00

Dear El Carmelo community,

This is my first post to Dragon Tales, a blog that I have begun in order to provide an informal communication with parents of students at El Carmelo School in Palo Alto. I have chosen this name partly thinking of the subject of this first post; the Dragon Library that I've begun. You may have noticed the books in the window of my office at school. You probably saw that they are all about dragons (although there is a lot a variation in content...including Math!). I am trying provide a wide range of reading levels within the collection, so there will be books that appeal to our kids K-5.

Your children are welcome to check these books out from me. I will be asking too if they will write a brief comment on the book they read (or that you have read to them). Some of those comments on what they enjoyed about the book may even find their way to this blog! If I do post comments, they will be identified only by initials.

So, please take advantage of the books your daughter or son likes. And if you have any suggestions of either dragon-themed books or of other themes your child is interested in, please let me know.

cm