The Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education, Mitchell D. Chester, visited Bagnall School on Friday, January 15^th, to learn more about 21^st century skills, or Habits of Learning as we refer to them in Pentucket. From PreK-Grade 6, Commissioner Chester got to see through displays of student work how the Habits of Learning are being explicitly taught in every classroom. The Commissioner also observed a lesson in Amy Lopata’s and Ashley Tiller’s third grade classroom on the Habits of Learning. He had the opportunity to talk with the children about the work they are doing in using the Habits of Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Independence and Creative Exploration. Commissioner Chester also heard second grade students sing their Communication Song during Second Grade Sings about the skills and strategies they are learning to become effective communicators.

As a school community, we feel honored and proud to have been asked by Dr. Livingston and Dr. Hart to represent the district’s work on Habits of Learning and professional collaboration by hosting the Commissioner. As parents, we hope that you feel the same way! The response of our children to as one student phrased it, “this new way of learning” has been quite impressive to see. Bagnall students are thinking deeply, collaborating, learning to communicate their learning effectively, developing independence, and creatively exploring topics of interest, all skills that they will need to be successful for the future.