News
Please enjoy this fall update from our Librarian, Sarah.
We are happy to share that we have a beautiful new library. It is located on the second floor across the hall from the Red Room. Custom-made wooden bookshelves house our collection.
The move to the new space gave us an opportunity to update and grow our library. Our goal continues to be to engage the children with quality picture books, both fiction and non-fiction. Inspired by the words of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, we want our children to see books as mirrors, windows and sliding glass doors. Mirrors where they see themselves, windows where they can look into and wonder about other people’s lives, and sliding glass doors to open and walk through to new and engaging worlds.
Every week, I bring a selection of books into the classrooms based on conversations with the children and their teachers. These books reflect the children’s interests, classroom learning and project work, and spark curiosity - helping to nurture a love of books and exploration.
I invite you to chat with your child about the new library and books they’ve read at school. Some questions to ask include: Have you seen the new library? What did you notice? What books have your teachers read to you? Has Sarah, the librarian, visited your class? What is your favorite book right now? Why do you like that one?
Happy Reading!
Sarah
Parent Teacher Conferences
Parent Teacher conferences are coming up on November 5th (all day) and November 12th (evening). You have already received an email from your child’s teachers to sign up for a conference. School will be closed for conferences on Tuesday, November 5th, with no children in attendance. During your conference time, childcare will be available in the gym between 8:30am and 3:00pm.
School is open on November 12th with a regular schedule. There is no childcare for evening conferences.
Conferences are a wonderful opportunity to gain insights into your child’s life at school and help formulate goals for the school year with your child’s teaching team.
Talking About Race with Young Children – Parent Talk with Lori Riddick
For the past several years, Plymouth faculty have been working closely with Lori Riddick, an equity and leadership expert, on how to talk about race and racial justice with young children. We have invited her to talk about these important issues with you, our families, on November 15th at 9:00am. This is essential work that we are doing as a community and we want all of you to attend.
We often avoid talking about race with our young children but, whether we like it or not, children notice similarities and differences between people. When we are silent, they are left to draw their own conclusions about what “different” means. Without coaching or support, their conclusions often reflect and reinforce biases. Fortunately – when we are intentional – we can impact the ways that our children see, categorize, and make meaning about race.
Please join us to begin to build a foundation of common language and common strategies that can be used by the community to support ongoing conversations about race.
Lori Taliaferro Riddick is an equity and leadership expert who works within school communities to bring an anti-racist lens to teaching and learning. Lori co-founded Raising Race Conscious Children, and leads workshops with school leaders, teachers, and families on how to talk about race with young children. Her workshops focus on building practical knowledge that educators and family members can quickly implement in their classrooms and homes respectively. Lori is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where she received a B.A. in Urban Studies and a Masters of Science in Education.
Admissions Begins
Please complete our online application for any sibling applicant by going to the admissions page on our website: www.plymouthchurchschool.org. All applications for siblings should be completed by November 15th. As always, our current families are a priority! If you have any questions, reach out to Mindy mgoldstein@plymouthchurch.org. Re-enrollment for current students will take place in the new year.
Fall Family Day
Come celebrate fall with the Plymouth community at our Fall Family Day on Saturday, November 9th from 10:00am to 12:00pm. There will be fun activities for the children and cider and doughnuts! What a wonderful way to connect with other Plymouth families. We hope to see you there.
We would love your help! If you can, please sign up for 45 minutes to help make the event successful. The volunteer slots are all small windows, so you will still have time to enjoy the event with your family.
Label All Clothing
Now that the weather has gotten cooler, your children are wearing more layers to school. Please label all clothing, shoes, bags, scooters and helmets with your child’s name. This greatly increases the likelihood that a missing item will be returned to you and helps teachers keep all those articles of clothing organized.
Family Handbook
For your reference we have uploaded the 2024-2025 Family Handbook to the Families tab on our website: www.plymouthchurchschool.org.
Our website now has a News tab where you can view the News from Plymouth.
Important Dates to Remember
November
1 – School Closed for Diwali
5 – School Closed for Parent/Teacher Conferences
9 – Fall Family Day
12 – School Open – Evening Parent/Teacher Conferences
15 – Parent Talk with Lori Riddick - Talking About Race with Young Children
15 – Priority Application Deadline
22 – Family Chapel
27-29 – School Closed for Thanksgiving
