News
It is no secret that the involvement of parents in a child’s schooling is imperative to his/her success. To help you maintain an active role in your child’s education, we have created this “News” page, keeping you informed of the latest happenings at Park Elementary.
Mrs. Williams got a Donors Choose project funded for next year’s K-2 students! She currently has a project open for next year’s 3-6 grade students and is accepting donations with much appreciation! If you would like to donate or know someone who would like to donate, you can find a link on Mrs. Williams’ Twitter or the Goblin and Eagles Specials Facebook pages. You could also go to donorschoose.org and search for Angel Williams in Summitville, IN. The project is “Musical Masterminds: Using STEAM, Sensory, and Social-Emotional Learning in Music.”
Madison-Grant announces its partnership with Waterford.org as an addition to their early childhood curriculum as yet another piece of curriculum to round out a cutting-edge education through their early childhood programming. Waterford.org “seeks to blend the best aspects of learning science, mentoring relationships, and innovative technologies to form community, school, and home programs that deliver excellence and equity for all learners.” The program is currently being offered through Madison-Grant’s early childhood education programs and is being utilized in the classroom. Dr. Scott Deetz explains how Madison-Grant uses the tools provided by Waterford.org, “it's a vehicle for pre-k students to deliver curriculum that lends to academic development for our students. It’s part of our foundational curriculum that is in concert with live teaching. In our pre-k classroom, for example, a teacher is working at a center, then we'll have some students working independently through the software and monitor the progress on teacher assigned lessons based on level and interest that can adopt to students.”
Madison-Grant extended their offerings in their community this year with the addition of the Argyll Adventure Academy, a STEM focused pre-k. Dr. Scott Deetz says, “The intent of our early childhood programming, regardless of the program, is to develop a sound social and emotional foundations that will last through their career.” The addition of a STEM specific preschool is only one aspect says Deetz, “The steps we have taken is to have STEM related activities in each one of our pre-k programs. We went above and beyond to find outside funding through the Department of Education and grants to help develop our teachers professionally and also provide them with top notch resources like additional robots, computers, circuit boards, and software to deliver hands on experiences to our pre-k classes so our transition into our k–12 program is virtually seamless because this is the same focus we have in the rest of our system.” Waterford.org is an exciting part of this STEM focus in supporting teachers and students to be kindergarten ready as Waterford.org believes, “while every individual has the capacity for growth at every stage of life, childhood academic experiences are uniquely critical for setting a lifetime learning trajectory.”