Friday, September 8, 2017


THE POWER OF A GROWTH MINDSET: 
Gold Rush teachers are committed to creating critical thinkers who take risks.  Research affirms that making mistakes furthers students' cognitive development.  Jo Boaler, professor at Stanford, defines a mathematical mindset as a belief that anyone can learn math and be a strong mathematician. She contrasts a mathematical mindset with a fixed mindset that suggests only some people are born with the ability to do math well.

Boaler argues that all children are capable.  She cites brain research that shows brains are constantly evolving.  She refers to research that notes that individuals develop synapses by making mistakes and those that have a mathematical mindset learn more from mistakes than those with a fixed mindset.  Boaler encourages teachers and parents to explicitly promote a growth mindset.  She states, "if we believe that we can learn, and that mistakes are valuable, our brains grow to a greater extent when we make a mistake."

GRE teachers believe all students need rigorous tasks that provide them the opportunity to learn from their mistakes.  We also talked about the importance of valuing mistakes in the classroom.  In addition, teachers reflected on their ability to communicate and celebrate their own mistakes.




Listen to fifth grade students talk about the importance of a Growth Mindset.


First graders reflect on when they grew from a mistake.



Stanford professor, Jo Boaler, talks about the impact of having a growth mindset in math.

  



STUDENT LEADERS SHINE:
Fourth and fifth graders interested in serving as Student Council officers participated in grade level elections this week.  Students shared reasons why they would best represent their classmates and their ideas for improving our school.  We are proud of all of the students that expressed an interested in serving others.  We thank Ms. Holtzer and Ms. Lautenbach for facilitating Student Council this year.



GOLD RUSH ROCKS!
Gold Rush students and teachers rock!  To show our school pride students and staff are coloring rocks for our school garden.  We are excited to beautify our grounds and show our spirit.





GRE PRIDE
Fourth and fifth grade students who participate in running club marched in Legend High School's homecoming parade Wednesday.  We thank them for their enthusiasm and spirit!  We also thank Mrs. Warner, Ms. Lautenbach and Mrs. Holtzer for participating!





UPCOMING EVENTS:
* September 8: Legend High School Homecoming Game (See Electronic Thursday Folder)
* September 12:  PTO Mtg @ 8:45-10:00
* September 15: Western Night
* September 21: SAC Mtg @ 4:30-5:30
* September 22: No School - Teacher Training
* September 27: Parent Teacher Conferences
* September 29:  Digger Dash
* October 5:  Parent Teacher Conferences