Happy Fall

Dear Lab School Families

As Week Two comes to a close students (and teachers) seem to be settling nicely into the routine. I find it always takes a few weeks for children to get adjusted to school.

Our 6th graders are finally finding their way around the building - they have mastered the fourth floor, located the library and are able to get to gym class. You may laugh but I can tell you from personal experience that this building can be very confusing for newcomers.

Our 7th and 8th graders are experiencing the change in homework load and complexity of assignments. Middle School is only three years - in that time we must change students from being elementary schoolers to high schoolers. Each year the work will become much more challenging, much more demanding and challenge the students to push their own understanding. To support this challenge Lab has designed a number of structures and interventions for student learning. Next week Academic Study Groups will be starting for 7th and 8th grade students (6th grade will start one week later). Letters will be backpacked home on Monday and letters will also be mailed to families. Teachers built the groups based on student need. The groups are fluid and will change throughout the school year. Parents should contact their child's homeroom teacher or guidance counselor if they have question.

Success in school also relies on you and what your child is doing at home. I included this is a lesson that was shared in the NYTimes blog http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/13/learn-your-lesson-using-effective-study-strategies/. I found it incredibly interesting and thought that much of this could be applied at home. There are also other links to some great resources that you might be interested in as parents.

We had a wonderful turn-out to the Inclusion Information Night on Tuesday. It was great to see so many of you there. I loved hearing the students' and teachers' reflections about our Collaborative Team Teaching program - it was also great to have so many parents share their own experiences. This is annual event at lab School. We feel that it is important to share information about our inclusion program because it is central to our work. We also find that there are lots of questions from gened parents whose children are in these classes. If you were unable to make the night and have questions please let me know.

Sports try-outs started yesterday with Flag Football. Pleas make sure that your student has the appropriate paperwork so that are eligible. Please contact the coach or Mr. Jessup (our Athletic Director) if you have any questions. Our Lab Afterschool Programs will be starting next week. There is information on the website and a flyer is being backpacked home today.
Signing off for now...I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Warmly, Meg