Our lucky kinders are about to begin a five-week pilot program with Aaron Redner called Kinder Strings.  Last week, Aaron measured all the children and this week he is picking up a complete set of small violins, one for each child.  Our students will receive instruction 2-3 days a week in the afternoons, with (obviously) no experience necessary! This is a great opportunity for our youngest students to be exposed to musical instruction and to experience the joy of creating music. Dozens of studies have proven the link between music instruction and academic achievement (as measured by standardized tests).  More importantly, this experience is destined to be a great deal of fun!

On Thursday, April 18 at 8:30am, school parent Suzie Cook will be speaking in the Presentation School library on  Mindfulness. Mindfulness is the mental faculty of purposefully bringing non-judgmental awareness to one's experience. Studies suggest that bringing the skill of mindfulness into schools:

 Increases Attention Span: creating more focus & higher academic

achievement

 Improves Impulse Control: making classroom management easier, increasing teaching time

 Reduces Stress: leading to happier and more effective kids

 Builds Community & Empathy: leading to a healthier school community

Susie Cook is certified and trained by Mindful Schools to teach mindfulness to children. She has her Masters in Counseling Psychology and is currently renewing her Marriage and Family Therapist's license in California. For more information about this research and further studies on the benefits of mindful practice and children:  www.mindfulschools.org

Our 7th grade class had a great time last week at the Castello di Amoroso. This castle is 121,000-square-ft with 107-rooms and a dungeon. It took 14 years to construct the castle using historically accurate medieval building techniques. The end result is an "authentic" 12th- and 13th-century Tuscan castle with a drawbridge and moat. The frescoes in the Great Hall and Knights' Chamber are hand-painted, some 8,000 tons of Napa Valley stone hand-chiseled, the Hapsburg-era bricks, hand-forged nails and chandeliers, and 500-year-old fireplace all tediously imported from Europe.  Our students learned a great deal about the defensive features designed into typical Tuscan castles.  The biggest hit with our students was the "torture chamber." 

Athletic sweatshirts:  Stop by the office today to buy a sweatshirt!

Free Soccer Clinics:  Whether your young player is preparing for competitive tryouts or simply wants to get in some field time, SVYSA is hosting a series of free soccer clinics for all Sonoma youth players on Saturday, April 6 and Sunday, April 7 at  Hanna Boys Center.  The clinic will be  overseen by local coach, Doug Thompson, and an experienced group of  adult players and trainers from Northern California.  Attendees should arrive a few minutes early, as all participants (parents) are required to fill out a short  insurance form in order to play.  Cleats and shin guards are required;  water is recommended.