“Technology
is just a tool. In terms of getting the
kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is most important.”
~Bill Gates
~Bill Gates
Technology and classical education are often thought of as
an unlikely pairing. There are many
philosophies on the role of technology in classical education. Some classical schools chose not to use any
technology in their classrooms, while others use it as a tool for
teaching. In the Eagle Ridge Academy
Lower School, we believe in the latter.
Technology is a tool to be used to enhance the education of our
students, nothing more. Teachers use
that tool to support our curriculum, not to replace it. At Eagle Ridge Academy, we understand that we
live in a world where it would be an injustice not to expose students to
technology. While we do not offer direct
technology instruction, we do use our computer lab, laptop carts, and iPads as tools
in our instruction.
Two years ago the Eagle Ridge Academy PTO raised Gala funds for technology. With those funds and matching Give to the Max fundswe purchased a set of 10
iPads and a charging cart for classroom use. This year Eagle Ridge Academy has added to the
iPads by purchasing 15 more to complete a class set. We now have 25 iPads for use in our school as
a tool for students and teachers to enhance our curriculum and instruction, thanks
to the generosity of the community and the school.
At some point during the next two weeks your students will
be taking their fall NWEA tests. Your
child’s teacher has a schedule of the exact date and will be communicating that
with you (if they have not already), so watch for it in newsletters, on
websites, or via email. Once the testing
cycle is complete, we will communicate when and how the results will be sent
home to families. In conjunction, the
topic at the next Lower School Parent Coffee (December 10th at
8:00am) will be reading and understanding the NWEA Student Progress Report sent
home to parents.
Aquila, the eagle, traveled to Mrs. Palm’s kindergarten
class last week. Liam W. helped his
class earn the eagle for the week.
Mrs. Palm’s class filled their CIPHER poster last week and
had their CIPHER celebration. The
students chose to have arts and crafts time.
I am continually impressed with the types of celebrations the students
choose to have when filling their CIPHER posters. Here are a few pictures from the event.
Students in Mrs. Trow’s second grade class have been talking
and writing about friendship. Some of
their thoughts on their friends and friendship are hanging in the hallway
outside of their classroom. Here are a
few of them.
The 5th grade students are filling a bookshelf! The 5th grade teachers have instituted an outside reading recognition program. For every hundred pages the students read they fill out a book spine. Those book spines are put on their "bookshelf" in the hallway. Below is a picture of the hallway bookshelf. The goal is to wrap around and fill the 5th grade hallway with all of the books students are reading.
Next Thursday, is the State of the School Information
Night. We look forward to seeing you
there at 6:00 to hear more about academics, classical education, student
services (Targeted Services, ELL, and Special Education).
Monday, November 11th is Veteran’s Day. It is an Eagle Ridge Academy tradition to
honor our veterans on this special day. All
students should wear formal dress on Veteran’s Day. Below you will find more information about
the programs we are having.
We invite
all families to Eagle Ridge Academy’s 2013 Veterans Day Celebration. We
encourage you to bring a veteran that you know. We will take time to honor all
veterans in attendance. The celebration includes performances from our choir
and orchestra, a presentation from veteran and ERA parent Mrs. Samantha
Sommerness, and honoring of our veterans in attendance.
Program
Times:
·
8:10-8:35 Kindergarten through
3rd grade
·
9:00-9:25 4th grade
through 8th grade
·
9:55-10:20 9th
grade through 12th grade
Have a wonderful week!
Mrs. Baier
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