Dear Parents/Guardians,
Our students have enjoyed another active week of learning and celebrating successes. We are looking forward to the Haycock Auction on Saturday night and hope to see many of you there. Students have begun to enjoy the Spring weather!
With the onset of the warm weather, there are many more people out on the sidewalks and streets. Please be aware of children and pedestrians as you drive near schools. Follow safety rules and be cognizant of driving protocols in the Kiss and Ride area. Student safety is our utmost concern.
Augie, Scott, and Heather
In our current digital-age, the reliance on our devices and not books or periodicals has increased. Does this change in practice have affects on our brains and how we process information? The article below has some insights into how we balance text vs digital in educating our children.
Swimming Against the Powerful Digital Current
In this Education Next article, Doug Lemov (Uncommon Schools) reviews neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf’s new book, Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World (Harper/HarperCollins). When humans invented reading and writing about 5,000 years ago, says Wolf, our brains were rewired, making possible more sustained and logical thought, improved perspective-taking, and less impulsivity and violence. Now, under the influence of our ubiquitous smartphones and tablets, our gray matter is being rewired again. We are reading less – and differently.
“On the digital screen,” says Lemov, “we read fleetingly, flittingly. Our brains have what scientists call ‘novelty bias’… Reading on screens sets up a cycle of expectation and gratification. We are repeatedly distracted by whatever pops up, rewarded for each distraction with a tiny surge of dopamine. This attraction to ‘the new’ crowds out reflection, creative association, critical analysis, empathy…” Wolf reports that she could no longer sustain the attention required to read a Herman Hesse novel she had enjoyed in her youth – until she forced herself to slow down and read the book three times.
There are some benefits in the digital culture, says Wolf, and her hope is that students can be taught to be “bilingual” – able to be disciplined and self-aware as they switch between screen and print, reaping the advantages of each. But Lemov is worried that the schools’ increasing use of digital textbooks, laptops, tablets, and smartboards makes this very difficult. “It is true that schools are one of the few places that could ensure time and space for deep reading,” he says, “sustained and meditative. But this would require a changed vision: school as a place apart as much as a place connected; school as bastion against technology as much as acolyte; school as a place that shapes rather than merely accepts social norms. Not easy work, in other words.”
“Book Reviews: Forgetting How to Read: A Neuroscientist Examines Reading in the Age of Screens” by Doug Lemov in Education Next, Spring 2019 (Vol 19, #2, p. 78-79),
Haycock Faculty Basketball Game
It's time to buy your ticket to the Faculty Basketball Game - Come cheer on Haycock against Spring Hill! This year's game will be Thursday, March 28 at 6:30 PM at the McLean High School gym. Buy tickets or sign up to volunteer here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0a49a4aa2da57-haycock. $8 general admission (No charge for kids under 5, Haycock faculty and staff, and parents volunteering at the event). Advanced purchase only - we are not planning to have tickets available at the door (In the event of a weather cancellation, all purchases will be refunded.). Food and school spirit items will be available for purchase - Cash only!
Odyssey of the Mind
Four teams from Haycock competed in the Odyssey of the Mind competition last weekend and performed well.
* Congratulations to the Fifth Grade Team B who placed FIRST place in their division and will go to the VA State tournament in early April!
Good luck to the following members: Aarushi Kanigicherla, Adelaide Thomas, Alexa Krystopolski, Annika Ryerson, Kathryn Thomas, Maddie Gruber
* Congratulations to the Fifth Grade Team A who placed second in Division 1, Problem 3 at the Odyssey of the Mind regional competition. The team members are: Ellie Rosenzweig, Aashna Kapur, Isabelle Elders, Anna Gray, Nora Yang, Lucianna Nuzzo
* Congratulations to the Third Grade Team - Charlotte Hahn, Elizabeth Davis, Karin Leverett, Lindsey Krystopolski, Mady Mowry, and Sabrina Rosenzweig
* Congratulations to the Mixed Grade Team - Adrith Kamat, Henry Arnholt, Julian Prescott, Ivan Nguyen, Mayhir Dhillon, Karan Suri, and Nihal Dhillon
Tornado Drill and Lock Down Drill
We will participate in the statewide Tornado Drill on Tuesday, March 19. We will hold our quarterly Lock Down Drill on Wednesday, March 20.
VIP Summer Program
Registration is now open for the Value In Prevention (VIP) Summer Program at Carson Middle School. Families can register on MySchoolBucks. The program is open to all rising 7th graders attending Longfellow, Cooper, Herndon, Hughes, and Carson Middle School. The cost of the entire program is $50 and includes breakfast, lunch, transportation, and 4 field trips. The program will take place July 1st-August 1st and students can choose from a variety of activities including Basketball, Cooking, Soccer, STEAM, and Theatre. If you have any questions, please contact Riley Barrows rtbarrows1@fcps.edu
Reducing Anxiety: Strategies to Interrupt the Worry Cycle, featuring Lynn Lyons, LICSW
Monday, April 1, 2019, at 7 p.m. McLean Community Center Alden Theater
Childhood should be a joyful time of carefree play, active learning and spontaneous exploration, yet a growing number of children are trapped in a cycle of anxiety that literally paralyzes them with fear and affects whole family. The good news is that anxiety disorders are highly treatable, and current research shows that children, teens and adults can be trained to successfully manage anxiety given the proper tools.
As part of a yearlong focus on youth anxiety, the Safe Community Coalition is pleased to present an evening with nationally-recognized speaker Lynn Lyons, LICW and author of Anxious Kids Anxious Parents: 7 Ways to Stop the Worry Cycle and Raise Courageous and Independent Children. Lynn will provide practical and straightforward strategies that parents and educators can use to break the cycle of anxious worrying.
Tickets are available at https://reducinganxiety.brownpapertickets.com/.
A limited number of books, as well as a companion book, Playing with Anxiety: Casey’s Guide for Teens and Kids will be for sale. A book signing will follow the presentation.
In addition, both McLean High School and Langley High School are hosting book discussions prior to the evening event. The Langley discussion will be led by Principal Greer on Monday, March 18 at noon and the McLean High School talk will be led by Dr. Melissa Sporn on Tuesday, March 26 at 10 a.m.
Please visit the Safe Community Coalition website (mcleanscc.org) for more information on the evening event or book talks.
Celebrating "Pi" Day on March 14 (3.14)
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