Weekly Updates
Hózhó Families:
Hózhó Harvest Festival - Join us Friday, October 27th from 6:30-8:30. Food, music, and fun! More details to come.
Book-O-Ween - On Tuesday, October 31st students can dress as a book character or author of a great book. They must have the title and author labeled on their costume. Any K-6 classroom parties will be up to the classroom teacher.
Winter Jackets - The community pantry has winter jackets available through the Food for Kids program in sizes: 14/16/18 youth. If you have a student who would benefit from a new winter jacket this year in these sizes, please email Mrs. Tanner at atanner@hozhoacademy.org
A key component of the Literacy Essentials curriculum that we use at Hozho, is handwriting. It may seems strange that so much dedication and precision is put into teaching your child proper letter (and number) formation.
Why does it matter if my child can't even read or write?
Why does it matter if my child is reading below grade level?
My child is exceeding in spelling, who cares about their handwriting?
All these are questions often asked about this attention to handwriting.
Handwriting, is in reality, a rather complex skill. It requires a lot of subskills to be able write. Everything from fine motor skills such as pencil grip to efficient posture and paper positioning effects your child's ability to write and understand what they are writing. Starting in kindergarten, we teach these specific skills as part of the critical, multisensory approach used in Literacy Essentials.
So let's break it down:
Firstly, teaching handwriting while teaching phonograms and spelling words allows the student to understand what they are saying and writing through a hands on approach. It reinforces what they are learning in literacy, registering it into their long term memory. It provides a solid foundation in the brain for your child to continue building their understanding of the English language.
Second, research has shown that being taught proper handwriting greatly supports students with learning disabilities (such as dyslexia). Common confusions, such as switching /b/ and /d/ are often are minimized when students learn how to properly write each letter. Did you know that the letter /d/ is actually supposed to start with the curve, and not the top line? I did not learn this until college!
Lastly, especially for the students who are excelling in spelling for whom handwriting seems pointless, we teach handwriting because it is the pursuit of something beautiful by doing something good. Every day, the students pledge to Do the Good, Learn the True, and Love the Beautiful. We teach them to take pride in a job well done, especially when it requires perseverance. We want our students to learn that everything we do, must be done to the best of our ability, resulting in something beautiful to love.
Book of the Week:
Frankenstein
By Mary Shelly
(note: the original story is an advanced read, abridged versions are available through Classic Starts and Great Illustrated Classics)
Continuing with our series of spooky reads comes another wonderful classic! Frankenstein is a well-known monster that often surfaces around Halloween, but do you know the original story behind this popular costume? Through the letters of a ship captain to his sister, we read the story of Victor Frankenstein. The grief-stricken scientist who uses science to create his first living 'creature.; However, this creature is so horrifying that he abandons it, hoping that it will disappear forever. When suspicious murders begin taking place revolving around his creation, he must decide...will he reveal the existence of the monster, or keep quiet?
Hózhó Academy Charter School
Email: office@hozhoacademy.org
Website: https://hozhoacademy.org/
Location: 515 Park Ave, Gallup, NM, USA
Phone: (505) 722-8922
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hozhoacademy
Twitter: @HozhoA
Transportation Department: (505) 458-4923 or email khillock@hozhoacademy.org
Afterschool (After 4 PM): (505) 488-8758