Sunday, May 22, 2011

Principal's Newsletter 5/22/11

Last Thursday evening a dozen or so parents and their kids gathered in the commons to find out more about Destination Imagination, a competitive/creative design-focused program. We were blessed to have the State Champion team present a q&a accompanied by a demonstration of the program. They put our kids (and their parents) through the paces of a design challenge.

The picture above shows a team of Riverdale parents attempting to use the scant materials available to raise an apple as high off a table as possible. And, by 'attempting' I mean 'failing miserably.'

I strongly encourage families looking for after school activities for their children to check it out. Michelle Janke is happy to talk you through the steps necessary to start a team (painless), the costs associated (not much -- THANK YOU PTC!), and the benefits (many).

I am personally thrilled that this is taking off just now. Everything I read about the next twenty years in education suggests that what we need most of all is a sense of redirection in terms of allowing children access to creative outlets. To that end I believe Destination Imagination, LEGO Robotics, and the ilk, are precisely the kind of activity we need more of down the road.
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Speaking of creativity...

Mrs. Molly Scholz will be presenting the Spring K-4 Music Concert in the gym this Thursday evening, and I encourage you attend! Molly's work with the entire scope of our student body is incredible, and I always leave the concerts knowing something new about the developmental process of music education.
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It seems we are facing economic challenges the likes of which have rarely been seen here. The fact is, the world has been dealing with these challenges for three full years now. We have been buttressed by the more stable platform this community chooses to implement to support its children -- generous giving to the Foundation and PTC, a local option levy whose support never seems to waver, increasing numbers of families realizing the differences of the program and coming to us on a tuition basis. I appreciate your patience as we work through the finer points of the reduction in force that was announced in the last school board meeting and discussed at length in the budget process.

You can expect a great deal of forthcoming information about some programmatic changes, especially as it relates to the combination of "singleton" and "multi-age classrooms" in primary, and the adjustments of moving from four to three positions at the 5-6 level. I'd like to invite you to reply here with any and all questions you may have, in order that I might post responses to as many as possible in the short term. I realize there may be additional questions which come to mind once the reduction is formalized, and will post subsequent requests down the road.
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I would like to close by acknowledging the grace and poise our faculty continues to show through this process. I lead tours through the school at unprecedented levels and am constantly reminded of the professional dignity and capacity of this staff. I am blessed to work with them, and for your children. Looking forward to a dynamic and fun-filled last three weeks!