On this 7^th day of school, the minds and bodies of our Almond students are already being exercised and stretched.  Mrs. Leach has been visiting classrooms to speak about the Tinker Club that will soon launch at lunch.  Students have visited the STEM lab to begin computational thinking with bee bots.  Our Eagles are expanding their vocabularies through enriching reading and writing activities in their classrooms.  Fourth graders are beginning the design thinking process by identifying challenges in the classroom that need to be solved.  Our sixth graders logged-in to Edmodo, a tool that will serve as the online classroom component to organize and guide their learning journeys for the year.  The multi was filled with sounds of music as our strings group rehearsed together for the first time this year.  Mrs. Alber got student’s hearts beating faster through outdoor physical education. That, and more, is already taking place in our classrooms!  As a staff we will continue pursuing every method grow these opportunities exponentially.

This zero-to-sixty jump into learning is only possible because of the foundation that has been poured over the past many years.  The solid sense of community was evident in the turn out at the Friday ice cream social.  Families were not only able to fill their stomachs with scrumptious sweets, but were also able to reconnect and share stories about their summers.  Our existing families have demonstrated genuine hospitality by welcoming in our new families and staff.

This same spirit carried through at Back to School Night.  Our teachers shined!  They spent countless hours preparing their classrooms and their presentations to show you their unbridled commitment to your children.  We have great plans for your children’s learning this year and are grateful for your partnership in that effort.  Your presence, through standing room only classrooms, was a clear indication that together there is no endeavor that is unattainable.

From an operational standpoint, I’d like to ask for your support on a few items that will strengthen our basic function as a community.  Please keep in mind that we do not have supervision for children until 8:15am and therefore ask that students not arrive on campus before that time.  It’s great to see so many families alleviating traffic congestion by riding bikes or walking to school.  Please remind your children to walk their bikes on campus.  Please emphasize that when crossing Almond Avenue, to do so at an appropriate location that keeps them safe.  Finally, please do not leave your car unattended at any time in the drive thru or in a space that is not designated for parking.  This impedes traffic and creates an atmosphere of frustration.  We are a community and one way to demonstrate that is to support these guidelines.

Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!  Enjoy the extra day together as a family.  I can’t wait to hear from you and your children about how the day was spent.