The Parent Backpack - Supporting your Child's Elementary School Experience

2400 Pilgrim Square Drive,Brookfield WI 53005

29 September, 2022

Description

Parent Network will host "The Parent Backpack - Supporting your Child's Elementary School Experience" on Thursday, September 29th from 6:30-8pm at Dixon Elementary. Join us to learn how to promote academic growth, foster a confident, connected and resilient child, communicate effectively with educators, make the most of parent/teacher conferences, build bridges with teachers and schools, and advocate for your child’s needs. Childcare is available and will be provided by the Brookfield Central Key Club in the Dixon Elementary Library. The intention of this presentation is to share with parents and caregivers of elementary-aged children the accumulated wisdom that can only come through lived experience. Learn about the essence of these formative years, skills to navigate new situations and strategies to support your child’s elementary school experience from two expert educators and two experienced parents. Based on the work of ML Nichols’ work “The Parent Backpack for Kindergarten through Grade 5,” this team of presenters will discuss how to help promote academic growth, foster a confident, connected and resilient child, communicate effectively with educators, make the most of parent/teacher conferences, build bridges with teachers and schools, and advocate for your child’s needs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Speakers: Wanda Boggs is a 30 year veteran of Elmbrook Schools. She is grateful for opportunities to earn degrees related to elementary, special education, and English As A Second Language. She taught at Brookfield Elementary throughout her career. Over the last five years of her teaching experience, she began to notice patterns of behavior in her students that she found concerning. Many students struggled with optimism, anxiety, bullying issues, lack of confidence, immature response to failure, inability to persevere through difficulty, and struggles with empathy and compassion as well. She began to incorporate lessons, neuroscience concepts, and a specific instructional process. Students learned to navigate their emotions, social relationships, thoughts about self, and analyze their responses to both positive and negative events. She found through newsletters, and parent conferences, many parents were eager to apply these ideas in their homes and communities. She found it extremely rewarding to see students and their families move from surviving to thriving. Laurie Leahy, M.Ed., in agreement with Plato’s words, “The beginning is the most important part of any work, especially in the case of a young and tender thing,” chose to earn a degree in Early Childhood Education. In 1993, after a variety of teaching positions, she came to Elmbrook, teaching third grade for nine years and kindergarten for sixteen. Her work there always kept “what’s best for children” in mind and heart. Laurie retired in 2018 and has discovered new adventures as a volunteer at a Milwaukee Public School. Laurie’s two children are Elmbrook alums. Silvia Costa Pasquini is a mother of two children, residing in Brookfield since 2005. Born and raised in Brazil, Silvia has lived in the United States for almost 25 years. She is passionate about child development and the essential role parents, teachers and communities play in nurturing children and their fundamental right to be, to become, and to belong. She sees this as the fundamental building block of a healthy democratic society. Her curiosity has led her on a self-directed learning journey on the cutting edge of neuroscience, psychology, faith and human flourishing. She is a mindfulness practitioner at Rooted In Mindfulness, a mindfulness community center dedicated to the learning and practice of meditation and mindful living. In addition, she is currently participating in the Timeless Wisdom Training with Thomas Hübl, and hopes to further understand the role that trauma plays in individuals, communities and societies, preventing healthy human flourishing. She is grateful for all the opportunities she has received to grow and give back to the Elmbrook community by volunteering in many different capacities. Robyn Rubenstein has been a parent in the School District of Elmbrook since 2009. She has held parent leadership positions in the District as a PTO Board member and club leader, and has volunteered in numerous roles at the school and district level. She is the current President of the Elmbrook Parent Network and runs the Monday Morning Mindfulness club at Swanson Elementary.