Notable Fine Print: 

• Lady Gaga will not be leading us in the WE Day dance at this Friday’s assembly.  Not to worry though, she will come to Almond.  We are selecting a new date because many students will be on a field trip. 
• Lost and found items will go to Good Will this Friday, so get your clothes now or say goodbye to them forever.
• Please see attached Almond policy regarding student placement for 2014-15.

It is common knowledge that human beings have 5 senses.  Almond students know this because per the CA state science content standards, kindergartners will “observe common objects by using the five senses.”  The Next Generation Science standards up the ante by taking a more sophisticated approach and outlining that at the 4th grade, students will, “use a model to describe that animals receive different types of information through their senses, process the information in their brain, and respond to the information in different ways.”

My point?

Of the 5 senses, three have the primary function of receiving information (sight, hearing, smell); while 2 have the ability to receive and express information (touch, taste [the mouth]).  Interesting.  Our inherent human design is such that we are created to take in more than we output.  I often reflect on how much I honor that principle.  How often do I listen to the needs of others?  How often do I notice the expression on another’s face?  Our ears and eyes have the incredible capacity to transform our understanding of the world and to connect us with others.  To do this, we must really LISTEN, and really SEE.  We must suspend judgment as we gather this information and let it sit inside our minds prior to processing it with all of our experiences.

One of the many reasons that LASD is an amazing place is because this district values to voices of children, staff, parents and community members.  In the last several months our district has been on a path to determine next steps in revolutionizing learning for students.  LASD has undergone a thoughtful need finding process of listening and observing.  Interviews have been conducted with these various stakeholder groups, site staff input gathering sessions were held and opportunities were arranged for community feedback.

At tomorrow’s (April 4th) Principal Coffee, I will open my ears and eyes to partake in the process of empathizing with topics that are important to you.  We will begin by watching this video together to set the stage for our listening to each other.  Dr. Brené Brown outlines the 4 qualities of empathy: perspective taking, staying out of judgment, recognizing emotion, and communicating.  Our time together will be structured in such a way that all who attend will have the opportunity to share ideas and express priorities.  There will be prompts to guide input gathering and a mechanism to ensure no one voice overtakes another (including my own J).  Should questions be presented, those will be collected and by the end of the hour I will distill which are able to be answered and which require follow up. 

Quick review.  What tomorrow is?  It IS time for us to work together as a community in unison towards the singular goal of ensuring that learning is maximized for our children by listening to parent voices around educational priorities.  What it is not? It IS NOT a time to speak about concerns about a particular child or issue that would best be addressed in a private meeting.

I look forward to seeing and hearing you there!