Greetings Mountain Lyons!
It has been incredible to start the year in person, Monday-Friday. It’s significant to reflect on how far we’ve come despite the continued prevalence of COVID-19 and this global pandemic. Students have done a great job reintegrating into our daily routines and school culture. We have noticed some learning gaps, particularly in the area of writing. Students just didn’t get enough time with paper and pencil tasks, and we are focused on rebuilding their stamina. We’ve got a plan to help bolster students’ skills, which we will share with you in an upcoming communication.
Our Preschool-5th grade Jogathon is tomorrow, and conferences are around the corner. This is our 37th year of hosting this event! Our PTO has done an incredible job of reinvigorating our students, staff, and community with the joy that comes with the Jogathon. It’s a really tough job to plan and execute such an event, and it’s with huge appreciation that I write; it is a labor of love for our volunteers! Thanks so much to our Jogathon Committee members Chastidee Bolkovatz, Jayme and Eric Friedman, Amy Teten, Josie Wratten, Kelly Russell, Jen Ward and Heidi Johnson.
Our PTO is also organizing meals for our fabulous teaching staff during the upcoming conferences! We’ve set up conferences to include virtual meetings as well as in person. We are working hard to ensure that we have 100% participation, and we are prepared to meet with you at a time that works for you. Please let us know if you need us to adjust our schedule to accommodate your needs. These conferences are such important touch points for our community. Thank you for your participation!
We had our first Science and Leadership Late Start day in September. Throughout the course of upcoming communications we will feature each grade level’s year long project. Our aim is to share our learning and excitement with you as we build towards our end-of-year student demonstrations of learning. Each grade, K-5 will be sharing their work and learning with families in the spring.
In addition to grade level academic projects, we also incorporate a series of ‘challenge’ activities each month. Trained high school students lead these activities to our elementary students, and then teachers repeat the activities throughout the month, cementing the communication and teamwork skills needed to succeed, thus further developing our classroom and school culture. September’s activity was a jump rope challenge; the goal was for t
he entire group to successfully jump through a double-dutch rope at the same time!
Here are some Kinder students getting ready to jump!
We are so proud of our preschool team’s ability to adapt and grow our program. This is the first year we’ve been able to welcome full day students. This has created added opportunities for time outside, enriched activities, and academic learning. This has been such a highly desired experience that we have a waitlist! Great job to Ms. Evans and Ms. Becky!
As always, we appreciate your diligence and safety in sending your students to school with an extra mask, water bottle, in good health, and ready to learn. It is a privilege to serve this community. I’ve never been more excited by this incredible opportunity. So, thank you, new and returning families, for all of your support. Please reach out if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.
Yours in Education,
Principal Moore