The below letter was sent following the Halloween weekend. It is a testimony to our entire South Middle School community. We feel very privileged to work with your children each and every day!
Last year, students on 6-West wrote and sent books to Kibera, which is in in the Nairobi Area of Kenya, Africa. We just recently received a thank you and pictures of the students opening their books. Kibera is near the city of Nairobi. Most of Kibera residents live in extreme poverty, earning less than $1.00 per day. Conditions in Kibera are extremely poor, and most of its residents lack access to basic services, including electricity and running water. As a result, resources in their schools are very limited. This writing project is one way the children regularly receive "books" and literature to help them in their studies of English. At South, we are always working to promote the understanding that we are global citizens. This project is another wonderful example of the importance of service learning.
As we move into second quarter, this seems a good time to highlight all the ways we try to promote ongoing communication between school and home. School Information We use the South web page to post our daily written/video announcements, weekly Friday Packet links and messages, and our Twitter page. Additionally, we use the School Messenger email system to send home important messages and timely news and reminders. Class Information To start the year, we invited all parents to sign onto Edline, which is our online grade portal and link to class web pages. It is not too late to set up an account! We encourage parents to add email addresses to their Edline accounts. In addition to teachers updating grades on Edline by each Friday, teams will make phone calls and send home mid-term reports to alert families to academic or behavioral concerns. Home-School Communication We are looking forward to Parent-Teacher conferences later in November. However, we always encourage parents to reach out to teachers or administrators anytime there are immediate concerns. Our District 25 Parent-Student Handbook reinforces important communication channels on pages 4-5. "It is the district’s philosophy that issues can best be resolved if the individuals most closely connected to the problem work to resolve it." Teachers welcome ongoing feedback. As a staff, we would all rather be proactive and partner with families while issues are small, rather than waiting for them to become bigger or more pronounced. This month, I will introduce different Coffee and Conversations dates with Parents. I also look forward to the monthly PTA meetings to stay connected with families regarding school happenings and school improvement goals. |
AuthorMs. Boston is the new principal of South Middle School in Arlington Heights, Illinois 60005. CategoriesArchives |