June 1, 2020
Dear GRCDC Families,
As a school leader, and (just as importantly) as a mama, it is hard to put into words the feelings and experiences of the last two weeks in our country and our city. Our shared values at the Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center are inspiration, potential, connection, and equity. All of these values are challenged in the face of police brutality, racial violence, and senseless loss of life. We, as a community, cannot be silent in such times. I want GRCDC families of color to know that our school community stands with you and against oppression and violence and I want to challenge our white families to continue the work of education, activism, and acts of solidarity that are so important for change.
Talking to children about the killing of George Floyd, the actions of Amy Cooper, the protests across the country, and the historical and current context of all of this can seem daunting as a parent. However, at GRCDC we hold the image of the child as strong, full of potential, and powerful. We know that children can grapple with complex ideas and are wired for justice. We also know that in our silence, children will fill in the blanks. Children of all races need to have conversations with their families, caregivers, and educators to process what they are seeing and hearing.
Here are some resources that you may find helpful:
In addition to talking with and supporting your children, this is a difficult time for adults as well. The trauma of COVID-19 has been compounded in many of our families and stress is high. Please remember, help is available:
Resource List WMCAT has created a robust list of resources available in West Michigan and beyond. Categories on this list include:
Also, GRCDC staff are here to help support you and your children, as well. Please fill out one of these surveys to request support. OR, just email me or call/text me and I will connect you with resources for what you need- heynel@childdiscoverycenter.org or 517-206-3868.
GRCDC families- you are loved, you are missed, and you are heard. Our work continues.
Onward,
Lisa Heyne
Hello Narwhals!
Here is our last set of optional, enrichment activities to keep your learners actively engaged while our staff prepares for a more structured distance learning beginning April 20. Below you will find direct links to grade specific non-technology based activities by grade level. Please let your child’s teacher know if you have any questions!
We are happy to announce that our Continuity of Learning Plan was approved yesterday! We are spending this week in professional development and clarifying all the details with teachers and staff. I am so proud of the hard work, courage, and love being shown by the GRCDC staff. We are truly building a Distance Learning experience that we hope is flexible and experience as a good addition to your family life right now, and not a stressor.
The week of April 20: Your child will have a class meeting and check in time with their teacher which is not optional. You will receive an email from your child’s teacher with an invite to the class meeting. These will be at the same time every week and will be scheduled on a different day for each grade level, so siblings won’t have conflicts in sharing one device. This week will be a time to connect to the teacher, to connect with classmates, and begin having a more structured schedule. We will also post a Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Lesson and a virtual Community Meeting.
The week of April 27: Each day students will have two, on demand video mini lessons to watch and assignments based on the common, school-wide schedule below. These lessons and assignments will not be optional enrichment- this will be new content organized on our grcdc.org website. Classrooms will continue to have weekly LIVE class meetings. Stay tuned for more details!
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
| Math
Literacy |
SEL Lesson
Literacy |
Math
Literacy |
Math
Literacy |
Math
Studio |
| Enrichment:
Reading Movement Activity or Outdoor Play
|
Enrichment:
Reading Movement Activity or Outdoor Play SEL Extension |
Enrichment:
Reading Movement Activity or Outdoor Play |
Enrichment:
Reading Movement Activity or Outdoor Play Studio Extension |
Enrichment:
Reading Movement Activity or Outdoor Play |
This Week’s Enrichment:
Click here and save this link for free access to a digital library for all the readers in your house!
Kindergarten
Reading Enrichment and Reading Log
Sight Word Activity and Sight Word List
1st Grade
2nd Grade
Create a New Page in Your Book
Making Characters Come to Life
Giving Advice to a Struggling Gardener
Word Study Tasks and Word Lists
3rd Grade
Word Study Menu of Activities and Word Study List
Scavenger Hunt and Scavenger Hunt Directions
Jackie Robinson Article and Response Organizer
4th Grade
Word Study Activities and Word List
Time For Kids and Time for Kids Quiz
5th Grade
Chemical and Physical Reactions
March 31, 2020
Check your email today for a detailed message from your child’s teacher. All teachers are sending a third set of grade level specific enrichment activities that do not require technology. Direct links to these optional activities are below or visit the Our Blog section at grcdc.org. Please let your child’s teacher know if you have any questions!
Kindergarten Activities
Ms. Kay’s K-1 Studio Challenge
Mr. Metcalf’s K-1 Movement Challenge
Setting up a Writing Shelf at Home
1st Grade Activities
Ms. Kay’s K-1 Studio Challenge
Mr. Metcalf’s K-1 Movement Challenge
Writing from an Ant’s Perspective
Plan a Virtual Visit to a Favorite Place in Michigan
2nd Grade Activities
Ms. Kay’s 2-3 Studio at Home Challenge
Mr. Metcalf’s 2-3 Movement Challenge
Create a New Recipe (Parent Approval Needed)
Reading Response: A Lifetime Tale in Pictures
Michigan, Oh Michigan! and What is Geography? Text
3rd Grade Activities
Ms. Kay’s 2-3 Studio at Home Challenge
Mr. Metcalf’s 2-3 Movement Challenge
Math in Action: Use the Four Operations
Word Study Activities and Word List
Parts of Speech Scavenger Hunt
4th Grade Activities
Ms. Kay’s 4-5 Studio Challenge
Mr. Metcalf’s 4-5 Movement Challenge
Math in Action: Multiplication in Word Problems
How is COVID-19 Impacting Our Economy
Word Study Activities and Word List
Time for Kids Informational Text and Text Quiz
5th Grade Activities
Ms. Kay’s 4-5 Studio Challenge
Mr. Metcalf’s 4-5 Movement Challenge
Math in Action: Area and Perimeter
Hello Narwhals!
Check your email today for a detailed message from your child’s teacher. The email includes enrichment activities to keep your learner active while we are away. These are totally optional and will include a mix of technology based and no technology required opportunities to practice skills already taught. Here are direct links to the non-technology based activities! Please let your child’s teacher know if you have any questions!
Kindergarten Enrichment Activities Not Requiring Technology
1st Grade Enrichment Activities Not Requiring Technology
2nd Grade Enrichment Activities Not Requiring Technology
3rd Grade Enrichment Activities Not Requiring Technology
4th Grade Enrichment Activities Not Requiring Technology
5th Grade Enrichment Activities Not Requiring Technology
Dear Families,
February is Black History Month! Of course, every month is Black History Month (and women’s history, Latino history, LBGTQI history, etc.), in that we know that all people throughout history and in current times have stories to be told and from which we can learn. However, the stories of the historically (and currently) oppressed are not told with the same frequency and volume as the stories of others, so it can be useful to shine a light on a particular group of stories in order to ensure they are told at all! Enter Black History Month.
As a school, it is our responsibility (as educators and people) to work hard to elevate the stories and experiences of people who are black during this month and ensure this continues throughout the year. However, students also need to learn and hear about Black History Month at home and in discussion with their families in order to grasp its true importance. Let’s all work together throughout this month to find ways to highlight Black History in our lives. Here are some resources that you may find useful:
General Resources:
Raising White Kids:Bringing Up Children in a Racially Unjust America– book by Jennifer Harvey
Teaching Your Child about Black History Month– Website for Parents, PBS Kids
Why Parents Should Talk to Their Kids about Black History Month– On Parenting, from the Washington Post
Black History Month Books for All Ages– Scholastic
GRCDC’s Anti-Racist Book Club Books:
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
How to Be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X Kendi
Families frequently ask me, “Is my child too young to talk about race?” The short answer is, “No.” In our Reggio-inspired philosophy, we believe that children are whole and capable of handling complex ideas, cognitive struggle and big feelings. In fact, our school’s core values of connection, inspiration, potential and equity call us to talk with our children about real history, current events, diversity, social justice, and our role in making our school and the world a better place. Whether we talk to children about race or not, children notice race, they are talk about it, and they absorb messages from what we don’t say, just as much as what we do say.
In the book How to Be an Anti-Racist, which we are reading for our staff and family book club, Ibram X Kendi writes, “The opposite of racist isn’t ‘not racist.’ It is ‘anti-racist.’ What’s the difference? One endorses either the idea of a racial hierarchy as a racist, or racial equality as an anti-racist. One either believes problems are rooted in groups of people, as a racist, or locates the roots of problems in power and policies, as an anti-racist. One either allows racial inequities to persevere, as a racist, or confronts racial inequities, as an anti-racist. There is no in-between safe space of ‘not racist.” Given this, let’s allow February to push our anti-racist thinking and actions, so that eventually “black history” will simply be “history” and everyone’s experiences are recognized and shared every single month of the year.
Respectfully yours,
Lisa Heyne
Dear Families,
For the last 2 and a half years, the staff at GRCDC have worked hard to build a strong foundation of consistent academic and culture/behavior systems, processes and programming. This foundation represents “Tier 1” of our school. As a school, we think about 3 Tiers in all we do. Tier 1 is what everyone experiences across all grade levels and defines the life of the school. Tier 2 is for students (10-15%) who might need something a little extra, either in academics or class culture/behavior and typically these extra supports are designed and delivered by the classroom teachers and paraprofessionals. Tier 3 support, both academic and behavioral, is for a small percentage of students (3-5%) and is designed and delivered by specialists in partnership with teachers- academic interventionists, Mr. Trevor, Ms. Heyne, Ms. Cooper and sometimes our special education teachers and staff.
For our Tier 1 Positive Culture and Behavior focus, in the past two years we have:
We are so proud of the work that has been done so far and can see our students growing and learning everyday about what it means to be a contributing member of our school community. In conversations with staff and parents, we have realized we have come to the point where we are ready to take our work to the next level! It is time to continue to strengthen our Tier 1 practices, while also building out consistent Tier 2 and Tier 3 processes for culture and behavior across the school and in each classroom. This level of refinement will help us all be on the same page when students are facing either a one-off conflict or an ongoing issue.
In order to guide the next phase of this work, we have formed a Positive Culture and Behavior Team. This team is lead by Ms. Heyne and will be working on 3 main issues which the team identified as the most important right now:
| SEL/Responsive Classroom and bullying prevention Extension and Resource Group | Ms. Hegarty
Ms. Elly Ms. Abby Mr. K |
| Parent Connection/Communication/Outreach/Learning Group | Ms. Ruth
Ms. Aimee Mr. Metcalf |
| Tier 2 and Tier 3 Programming, Systems, Communications and Accountability | Ms. Amash
Mr. Trevor Ms. Lantinga |
I wanted to share this because our staff does SO MUCH behind the scenes work to continue our growth and school improvement. This work is outside of school hours and teachers and staff generously volunteer their time and talents to ensure that our school is a place where every single child grows at least a year in a year’s time academically and feels safe and valued every day. As a parent, I know that the “behind the scenes” work of the school is not always transparent and I want to make sure I use our Narwhal page and the Link to keep you updated on our continued progress. We will be asking for parent input in our work with the groups above, so be on the lookout for a survey and other ways to engage. Without your participation, support, and ideas no system we build can be complete! We each have something to contribute to the process as this school community pushes to reach our full potential. As always, if you have questions or ideas, email me at heynel@childdiscoverycenter.org or call 616-459-0330 to set up a time to meet.
Sincerely yours,
Lisa Heyne
Dear Families,
Wow! I can’t believe week 1 is already in the books. We have had a fantastic start to the school year- connecting with new students, reconnecting with old friends, practicing our routines, and really thinking about what it means to “share our planet”.
Our school-wide study theme this year is: how we share our planet. Adults and children together will be studying our rights, responsibilities and the conflicts that arise as we share resources with people and with other living things. This concept is aligned with ideas we have been working on for the past two years- what does it mean to be a member of the GRCDC community? How does our community at GRCDC impact our broader community and vice versa? How do we build a sustainable and equitable community? How do we take care of our spaces? How do we work together? These questions are worth thinking about and talking about for ALL of us.
At the most basic level, that means making sure we all observe our school rules and processes and live into our core values of inspiration, potential, connection, and equity. This allows us to be in harmony with one another while supporting our children and our school to continue to grow into a vibrant, dynamic, and richly diverse place. Doing this together takes time and intention.
I have been “wowed” every day by the different ways our families and children have been showing what our core values and 3 Bs (be kind to yourself, others, and the environment) look like in action. From comforting a lonely friend, to picking up litter in the playground, to eagerly welcoming our new families, to working hard to get back into the school routine after summer- our children and families amaze me everyday. Thank you for the way you show up to this community.
As we work to share the GRCDC planet together, there are some NEW faces in our community! We have 3 new teachers and 3 new paras! Please welcome:
With an Education Based on Relationships, it is important that staff and families connect. If you see a staff member who looks new to you, introduce yourself! We will always be as healthy and strong as our connections are.
I am wishing all of us a great year ahead. With the intention that we are already showing around how we share planet GRCDC, I know we will all learn and grow together so much this year. I am honored to be in this community with you!
Respectfully yours,
Lisa Heyne