Lower School Header 09-10 
 "In Partnership with Families..." 
1/12/10
 
2nd grade working 
 

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Grade Level Coffees

   
 
 
Grade Level Coffee Dates 
As the year flies by, we invite our families to join us for a glimpse at what next year has in store. Each year, our lead teachers host an hour-long Parent Coffee highlighting next year's program and expectations. Each coffee begins at 8:05 a.m. and runs to 8:50 a.m. Please note the schedule below for dates and locations.
 
 
K going into 1st    -Keith/Von Busch          Tuesday, February 2    Rm. 6
 
1st going into 2nd  -Fiely/Blevins                 Thursday, February 4   Rm. 4
 
2nd going into 3rd -O'Neal/Epstein              Tuesday, February 2    Rm. 3
 
3rd going into 4th  -Strull/Aboud                 Thursday, February 4  Rm. TBA
 

 
 
A Visit From The Child Connection
 
On Friday, January 22, a representative from Louisville's The Child Connection will be on campus from 8:15 to 9:00a.m. to talk to first through fourth graders about stranger safety and abduction awareness. While the speaker takes student ages into consideration, her delivery is frank and to the point. The organization visits about every other year and has received good reviews from attending parents. We are offering several alternatives to parents who would rather their child not attend or would like to be with their child at the time of the presentation.
Because our classes will not begin until nine, families have the option of bringing students to school an hour later without incurring a tardy. We will also have one or more supervised classrooms open for students who are not attending to have a study/center time. Please let your child's teacher know ahead of time if you intend to bring your child in after the assembly or would like him/her to sit out.
 
If you are a kindergarten parent, and you would like your student to attend, we ask that you attend with your child.
 
In addition, all Walden families are invited to attend the talk. Immediately following the 1st-4th grade assembly, The Child Connection will speak to middle school students about stranger and online safety. Parents are welcome to attend this assembly as well.
 
Again, please let us know if you would prefer alternate arrangements for your child during this event. Unless we hear otherwise, your child will attend the assembly.
 
Thank you, and feel free to call with any questions or concerns.
 
Brian Archibald
 



 
 Spotlight On... Mrs. Fiely
 
       


Nikki Fiely

 
This if Mrs. Fiely's sixth year teaching second grade at Walden.

So Far...
 
I grew up in a small town in Carlisle County, Kentucky with my parents, twin brother, and little sister.  (Yes it is true that my maiden name is Potter, although unfortunately we don't think we're related to Harry.)  Carlisle is very rural, located in the western part of the state.  For college, I attended the University of Louisville.  I loved the city as soon as I moved here and quickly decided to make it my home.  I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology as well as a Master of Arts in Teaching, both from UofL.  During college, I married my high school sweetheart, Paul Fiely, who is also a teacher in a local private high school.
 
 
Why Walden?
 
While closing a chapter of my life by finishing my last semester of graduate school, I googled local elementary schools online and Walden was a result (kind of a happy accident!)  Unbeknownst to me, that search opened the next chapter of my life.  I scoured the Walden website and realized I had to see this school for myself.  From the moment I stepped through the doors, Walden extended its arms and welcomed me into its family.  I knew this was the place that I wanted to be.  Students were comfortable, people were smiling, and I felt at home.  Sitting in the front office, I read the mission statement and felt that it was written directly from my own personal educational philosophy.  I knew from that first day that I belong here.
 
Favorites...
 
Could this really be my sixth year in 2nd grade?  Wow!  The students are without a doubt the best thing about my career.  I really enjoy their eagerness and excitement to learn.  In 2nd grade we have fun and are all friends.  We meet new characters and enjoy spending quality time with them.  We fall in love with different authors, wanting to read all of their books.  We discover a whole huge world of interesting facts, cultures, and people.  We work to express our thoughts and feelings through fictional and real life experiences in writing.  We learn and practice foundational math skills to open the world of mathematics to every student in our classroom.  It is a gift to share that with my kiddos everyday, every week, and every year.
 
 
 
Secrets...
 
One thing the students may not know about me is that my first job when I was in high school was at Chuck E. Cheese's hosting birthday parties.  My car always smelled like pizza but I got as many tokens and any ticket prize that I wanted!  I became very good at skee-ball.  Sometimes I even got to go on outings with Chuck E.- the big mouse himself- to things like a skating rink and a parade where we sat on top of a fire truck!
 
Another little known fact is that my foreign language in college was American Sign Language, which was very interesting and fun to learn!  I really enjoyed working with the deaf community and volunteering at a summer camp.  I can teach you how to spell your name in sign language if you ask me! J
 
The students also may not know that I grew up in a farm community and when I was their age and a little older, my grandparents had goats (Snowflake, a white pygmy goat was one of my favorite pets as a child), pigs, cows, horses, chickens, dogs, and barn cats.  I've planted gardens and worked in fields planting tobacco, tomatoes, and corn.  I loved walking behind a tractor as it turned over the soil and feeling my bare feet sink nearly to my ankles in soft, cold, damp soil.  During the summer months off of school, we would explore the creeks and fields behind our house or retreat to the barn.  It was always a treasure trove of odds and ends that had been picked up at a flea market, an auction, or left there from the "good ole' days."  If it got too hot outside, we could always lay in a shady spot in the hay loft or dairy barn with a cat or two and a good book.  I'm glad I live in the city now but I loved growing up in the country too.
 
 
If?
 
During the summer when I'm not being a teacher, I love to travel and spend time with my husband and family.  Even when we're not visiting someplace far away, we don't stay home very often.  We go to our lake house on Kentucky Lake and enjoy boating, swimming, water-skiing, tubing, fishing, cooking, reading on a picnic blanket, and sitting around a campfire at night talking.  I love that my cell phone doesn't work and we don't watch T.V.  We also don't spend time indoors except when we're sleeping.  Traveling is my favorite hobby.  I love to explore new places, meet different people, and see new landscapes.  St. Augustine said that "The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page."  I agree!