Two field trips and a ton of fun! Last week Haven took two field trips to experience the beautiful outdoors and learn about the history of the land! The Maple and Willow classes explored the Barefoot Trail in our very special backyard, the Coconino National Forest. The kids had a blast and learned about the power of grounding. They also worked together as a team to build a fort! Meanwhile, the Ponderosa 4th graders kicked off their social studies unit about Indigenous Peoples of North America with a visit to Elden Pueblo @eldenpueblo_flagstaff. We are so lucky to have such rich resources available to us right here in Flagstaff! The students were given a tour of the pueblo with many questions for them to find the answers to, which boosted their engagement. After their tour, they got to experience hands-on excavation! Every group unearthed some sort of pottery or other evidence of the Sinaguan People here before us. They also learned how to respect each item found, and how to respect the land and space we were visiting. Last, they got to try their skills at using an atl-ltl and a rabbit stick! It was a great experience and the guides at the pueblo commented on how wonderful our students are. (fb)

This year, Haven is excited to launch a new school-wide reading intervention and enrichment program! Three days a week, students will take part in a short reading lesson by familiar educators. Groups of our young readers will follow a curriculum designed either for enrichment or intervention. In the intervention groups, students who benefit from additional support will be using an evidence-based curriculum aligned with the Science of Reading. If you’d like to learn more about this approach, here’s a helpful article: https://www.readingrockets.org/blogs/shanahan-on-literacy/what-science-reading Students in enrichment will strengthen their fluency and comprehension skills through activities like teacher-led novel studies and exploring a variety of text genres. We are excited to see all our students grow their reading skills this school year! (fb)