Principal’s Letter

February marks Black History Month – a time to honor the history, achievements, and lasting impact of Black Americans, and recommit ourselves to listening, respect, and justice. Here are some resources to help you lean in and learn more about the pivotal roles Black Americans have played in shaping our history: Learning For Justice, PBS Kids, National Musem of African American History&Culture, Kids National Geographic.

We are at the halfway point in the year, and despite February being a short month, it is a pivotal time in our academic year. We suggest taking a look at the progress reports, which went home with your students last week, celebrating their hard work, identifying some areas for growth, and setting some attainable goals. Academics in the classroom begin to shift from learning skills to applying these skills. Students will be working on large projects, like the Economics project in 3^rd grade, Habitats in 1^st grade and NHD in 8^th grade. Projects like these require critical executive functioning skills, and your student may need additional help at home to stay on top of these projects – learning to break them down into manageable chunks of work.

As you may recall, one of the school’s strategic goals is to develop a schoolwide plan to improve student learning/achievement in the area of technology, and tomorrow, our teachers will be participating in a professional development workshop: AI – Professional Productivity & Ethical Student Use. Offerings like these equip our teachers with the necessary knowledge and tools to ensure we are continuing to provide our students with a first-rate educational experience.

Enjoy your 3-day weekend. We will see you for a packed 4 1/2 days next week before our mid-winter break.

We all have something the world needs,

Principal Mansfield

GO, HAWKS!