Congratulations to iSTEM teacher Teresa Amasia and Burnley-Moran Elementary, winners of the SCHOOL category in the Future Ready Schools Film Festival.
This humorous video, written, produced and directed by Amasia, illustrates how our schools are empowering (and preparing) future ready students. Watch the video to see what happens when a teacher finds himself inexplicably in the future. Or does he?
Charlottesville City Schools celebrated student artistic achievement with the annual division-wide Jeff Suling Art Exhibit March 4-13 in the Charlottesville High School small gymnasium. This year, the exhibit also included a special opportunity for City students to work with renowned letterpress artist Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr.
Known as “ArtConnections,” the exhibit aims to illustrate how art relates to and connects diverse areas of school curriculum and students’ everyday lives. Selected student artwork from preschoolers through 12th graders was featured and the community was invited to three public receptions which included two evening open houses and a Saturday celebration with hands-on art activities.
More about Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. and “Finding Wisdom” letterpress printing project
Charlottesville City Schools participated in a large scale community printmaking project called “Finding Wisdom,” led by Detroit-based printmaker Amos Paul Kennedy, Jr. Kennedy conducted both in-school workshops as well as created a display of original prints based on ideas generated by Albemarle County and Charlottesville City Schools students. Earlier this year, both school divisions collected aphorisms, statements, and words of wisdom from students which Kennedy printed in his signature style from handset wood and metal type, and eco-friendly and affordable chipboard. Prints are on display at various locations including CHS, Buford and Walker Schools.
Members of the community were able to engage with Kennedy on March 9 at the “ArtConnections” celebration at CHS, where he led a printmaking workshop. This event was free and open to the public (more details about “ArtConnections” mentioned above).
Throughout the month of March, Kennedy will be conducting in-school workshops working with art students at six city schools (CHS, Buford, Walker, Burnley-Moran, Johnson, and Venable). Prints generated during the in-school workshops will also be displayed at each school.
The “Finding Wisdom” residency coincides with the VA Festival of the Book and is supported by Virginia Humanities Virginia Center for the Book. It involves many facets of the Charlottesville-Albemarle community including Boys & Girls Club, JMRL, PVCC, Jefferson School Tenants, Descendants of the enslaved at Monticello, UVA, and other local cultural organizations.
Charlottesville City Schools will offer a second evening of Parent University to city elementary families on March 14 at Greenbrier Elementary from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
“We are always trying to find creative ways to further connect families with resources and updates about our curricular work,” said Charlottesville City Schools Family Engagement Facilitator Velvet Coleman. “Parent University will give families an opportunity to learn more about what is happening in the classrooms in areas such as math, literacy, social emotional education and special education.”
Free and open to all preschool through fourth grade families whose children attend Charlottesville City Schools, the event will include workshops, encourage questions from families, and provide take-home materials. Additionally, the school division is providing dinner, childcare, and transportation for participants. Assistance and translation services will also be offered to attendees who have limited English.
Click here for Bus Transportation Routes
“Because we serve such a diverse population, accessibility is important to us as we seek ways to serve all our students well,” said Coleman. “We want to make it as easy as possible for families to be able to get the support they need to help their children reach their full potential.”
A variety of community vendors will be present, including the Piedmont Family YMCA, ReadyKids, Region Ten, UVA Children’s Fitness, and Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital.
We hope to see you at Parent University on March 14! Please remember to RSVP.
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There are many activities going on this month to celebrate Black History Month ranging from classroom decorations to special morning announcements to Soul Feasts and assemblies.
Like several of our schools, Clark Elementary held its annual Soul Feast, which featured a full menu of fried chicken, collards, and more. This year the “Ladies of Soul” (all Clark staff members) gave a special performance.
Burnley-Moran will host a Career Day that features African-American leaders from throughout our city. Last year’s event brought more than 40 local professionals together–many of them CHS alumni.
CHS is hosting its annual speaker series featuring a variety of guests like documentary photographer Ruddy Rowe. Additionally, CHS will host a film screening to tell the story of Drewary Brown to a new generation of Charlottesville residents, and CHS’s African-American history students visited Jefferson School for a special program with Monticello and other community partners.
Meanwhile, we want to applaud the efforts of our teachers, librarians, and World History Coordinator Annie Evans for their year-round work to incorporate local and African-American history across the curriculum all year long. From preK-12th grade, our students encounter diverse voices, stories, and experiences in classroom materials, the arts, and student activities.
Charlottesville City Schools is one of six school systems statewide involved in Changing the Narrative, a Virginia Humanities initiative that aims to explore black history and culture in schools and encourages young people of color to explore and highlight their heritage.
The start of 2019 has been a busy one for our creative and innovative elementary students in Charlottesville City! Keep reading for some of our recent elementary activities.
And looking ahead, mark your calendars now for Parent University! All PK-Grade 4 families are welcome to attend either night for parent workshops, information booths, and a chance to connect with other families. Jackson-Via will host the first night on 3/5 from 5:30-7:30, or join us at Greenbrier on 3/14 from 5:30-7:30.
Math and STEM nights are a big hit with families as they come to school to design, build, play math games together. STEM stations include a Bee Bot obstacle course, a parachute drop, straw rockets and a photo booth!
Students are using their critical thinking skills to solve challenges at Clark Elementary. A team of third- graders worked together to complete a challenge from BreakoutEDU. Fourth-graders at Clark also worked in teams to explore the effects of mass and force on motion and energy.
Clark students and staff also made a thank-you video to show how much they are enjoying and benefiting from their summertime classroom renovations:
Jump! Hop! Push-ups on the wall! Jackson-Via students have a new way of releasing energy as they walk the school’s new sensory path in their hallway. For more details, see the following video or click here for NBC29’s coverage:
And a successful book swap at Jackson-Via collected 1300 books, sending home 3 books per child!
Happy birthday to Martin Luther King Jr.! Greenbrier held its annual MLK Jr. birthday celebration on January 25. For the assembly, each grade level created a mural with a famous quote from MLK Jr. and spoke about what the quote meant to them. After a presentation of the “I Have a Dream” speech with pictures of Greenbrier students showing examples of character, the students sang “Happy Birthday” to Martin Luther King Jr. and enjoyed cake with their lunch.
What materials dissolve in water? At Venable, first-grade scientists worked together to experiment with the solubility of different liquids and solids including cornstarch and rocks.
Bobcat Buddies in third grade and first grade at Burnley-Moran worked together to design and build a representation of the Great Wall of China.
Families, math games, and pizza were abundant at the Greenstone Community Center for Johnson’s K-second grade Quest Math night. The stations were led by third- and fourth-graders who wore “Johnson Math Teacher” t-shirts and “teacher” badges. Students left with math games to play at home.
In art class at Jackson-Via, Pre-K and second-grade students constructed sculptures with an assortment of materials.
Third-graders across the city recently participated in Market Day at their schools. They learned about economics and ancient civilizations while creating items to sell at a school “market.”
Elementary students from Burnley-Moran, Johnson, Venable, and Walker went to the historic Paramount Theater to attend the play Phantom Toll Booth on Thursday, January 24. They enjoyed watching the actors bring the classic by Norton Juster to life!
At Walker Upper Elementary School, 15 sixth-grade student groups presented proposals of how they would spend a $6,000 grant as a part of a participatory budgeting program. (Yes, 6,000 real dollars generously donated by CFA Institute.) On January 16, students hosted a referendum, and the winning project was a proposal to have soccer and basketball tournaments at recess. The project was organized by parent Serena Gruia For more details, check out the story on Cville Tomorrow.
Fore more updates, follow @CvilleSchools or your own school on Facebook or Twitter!
“It’s like a home away from home,” said one fourth grader, referring to her new classroom space at Clark Elementary.
Fourth grade classroom renovations at Clark Elementary School were completed this fall as the first project in a division-wide plan to modernize facilities. The project, completed by VMDO Architects, included upgrades to classroom furniture, lighting, and flooring, along with new cubbies, library nooks, and shelving.
“We are so grateful to the City of Charlottesville for supporting these efforts to upgrade our schools,” said assistant superintendent Kim Powell. “As we turn our attention to the next phase of design at Jackson-Via Elementary, we are confident that next year’s project will be just a strong and impactful.”
Now that the Clark students have settled in, here is what some of them had to say about their new learning spaces.
Kreth, Gracie. “$1M Clark Elementary Classroom Modernization Kicking Off.” Daily Progress/Charlottesville Tomorrow. 20 Jun. 2018
On February 21, 2019, the Charlottesville City School Board will appoint an interim member of the School Board to fill the vacancy created by the January 10, 2019 resignation of Ms. Amy Laufer. The interim member will hold that office until the end of Ms. Laufer’s term on December 31, 2019.
Nominations of qualified Charlottesville City voters are sought for the interim appointment. Applications (with information about the process, qualifications, and more) can be found here and are due by 4 p.m. on Friday, February 1, 2019.
On Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 5 p.m. at CHS, the School Board will hold a public hearing to receive input from applicants. All candidates who wish to be considered must be present at the February 7 meeting. At CATEC on Thursday, February 21 at 5 p.m., the Board will vote and announce its decision.
Comments and any questions for clarification should be submitted to the Clerk of the Board, Leslie Thacker, either by emailing thackel1@charlottesvilleschools.org or by calling (434) 245-2945.
Charlottesville City Schools and its work to support the whole student is featured as an exemplary approach to supporting students’ social, emotional, and academic development in a report released this week by a prestigious national commission.
The Aspen Institute National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development published “From a Nation at Risk to a Nation at Hope” which argues that our nation is at a turning point, understanding that social, emotional, and cognitive development underpins children’s academic learning. This breakthrough understanding about how people learn is fueling a growing movement to educate children as whole people, with social and emotional as well as academic needs, the report says.
Charlottesville City Schools’ community-driven strategic plan with a focus on social and emotional wellness was specifically cited in the report. In addition, they note that Charlottesville Schools have begun explicitly teaching social-emotional skills and implementing related evidenced-based practices. Also highlighted was the school division’s partnership with area agencies, such as our Community Services Board, Region 10, to provide school staff training in the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training program (ASIST).
“I am pleased that our school system — and our community — recognize that learning is not just about academics, but about the whole child,” noted Patrick Farrell, Intervention and Support Coordinator. “And just as we have learned from other school divisions, I’m glad that our work in this area is a resource for others.”
Charlottesville’s tiered systems of support for academic, behavior, and mental wellness have previously received state attention and recognition in a separate report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. These school-wide supports complement the division’s efforts to teach social and emotional skills, to implement trauma-responsive practices in our schools, and to promote both wellness and positive school culture.
More information about the Aspen Commissions’s report is available at NationatHope.org.
To conclude a semester-long participatory budgeting project, sixth grade students at Walker Upper Elementary School hosted a showcase Wednesday, January 16, 2019 . to present a variety of student proposals for school improvements.
Visitors, along with students and school staff, voted for their favorite project, and the winning proposal was awarded a $6000 donation to help fund the project by the CFA Institute.
A proposal to organize student basketball and soccer tournaments and award prizes received the most votes. See the proposal here:
Basketball and Soccer Tournaments Proposal
“CFA Institute is excited to support the Participatory Budgeting Project to help students discover how finance can transform lives and communities” said Kelli E. Palmer, director of corporate citizenship for CFA Institute.
Participatory budgeting, a process that has gained national and local attention, engages members of a community to deliberate and make decisions on how to use resources. The entire sixth-grade class began this project in the fall with the prompt, “How might we improve the school experience at Walker?”
“What I love most about this project is that it is an activity that includes everyone,” said Principal Adam Hastings. “Oftentimes, special projects such as this are only accessible to a handful of students, but in this case, we wanted every student to have a voice.”
Serena Gruia, Walker School parent and founder of Creative Might design studio, developed the Participatory Budgeting Program (#PBatWalker) and, along with social studies teachers and volunteers, led students through a series of collaborative efforts using the framework, “Discover, Dream, Decide, Design, Do.”
“The intention behind this project is to build community, demonstrate the need for and power of student agency, and create a space for students to make a valuable impact on their environment,” said Gruia.
Proposed school improvements included a school garden, upgraded bathrooms, and offering athletic tournaments. To see student-produced videos of all 15 proposals and learn more about #PBatWalker, visit www.PBatWalker.com.
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Dear community members—
2/14 TheatreCHS presents “Mamma Mia!” though 2/17
