Greetings Fairmeadow Community,

 

It was a pleasure to welcome so many parents and guardians for Back to School Night at Fairmeadow. Thank you for joining us to learn about your child's upcoming school year, and to spend some time in your child's classroom. If you have lingering questions following presentations last week, please reach out to your child's teacher.

 

During our Whole School Assembly last Friday, I asked students to brainstorm a list of goals they would like to accomplish over the course of the school year, and welcomed students to share their goals with the group. A number of brave children and teachers stood up in front of the school and shared goals they had set for themselves. One student set the goal to read 20 chapter books during her school year, another student shared her goal to make new friends this year. A first grader committed to improving his eating habits. These goals, and many more shared, reflected a commitment to grow and improve in a variety of important areas.

 

There is something about sharing a goal that you've set for yourself with others that makes that goal more real, and at times can make us feel more accountable for our work toward reaching it. Similarly to a runner who announces to friends and family a plan to run a marathon, articulating a goal and laying out a plan of how one will reach it can lead to more positive results. Moreover, when we are aware of the goals of our loved ones, our classmates, and our friends, we can take intentional steps to support those around us in reaching their goals. Those around us can help us too. So, take some time with your children this fall to identify goals they would like to achieve this year. Be vulnerable, share your own goals, then listen, and encourage your child. Capture your goals in writing somewhere in your home where you can revisit, check-in, track progress, and celebrate success. This year will be an amazing year of growth and learning for all of us!

 

Speaking of goals, our learning community sets goals for our school, and a vision for success as a school system. For our first Principal's Coffee of the year I plan to review these important goal areas with our community, and gather feedback about our areas of strength and our opportunities for growth. Our three focus goal areas for the year are High Quality Teaching and Learning, Equity and Access, and Wellness and Safety. Please plan to join me this Friday, September 9th at 8:45 am in the Fairmeadow Multipurpose Room for a discussion of our three goal areas and a vision for our school. I'll bring the coffee, please consider bringing a reusable mug!

 

For current 4th and 5th grade families, the Palo Alto Unified School District will be sending home individual student Smarter Balanced Assessment (CAASPP) score reports from the 2015/16 school year in early September. You should receive these results at some point over the next few weeks. Palo Verde, El Carmelo, Hoover, and Fairmeadow families are invited to attend a Parent Education Event entitled Understanding Your Child's CAASPP Scores. Please plan to join our schools' communities, as well as PAUSD Director of Research and Evaluation Chris Kolar, for an evening discussion about interpreting student score reports. This event will take place on Tuesday, September 20th from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm in the El Carmelo MP Room. Please let me know if you have any questions prior to this event.

 

As we fully embrace the routine in our lives now that school is in full swing, it's critical to acknowledge the importance of regular and consistent school attendance. We all know that the more time students spend in school, the more they learn, but school attendance is also a protective factor, encouraging student engagement, inclusion, and overall well-being.  Research shows that consistent school attendance has a huge impact on a student's school success starting in kindergarten and continuing through high school. Even as children grow older and more independent, families play a key role to make sure students get to school every day and understand why attendance is so important for success in school and in life.This year Palo Alto Unified School District will continue to focus on efforts to align and increase attendance notifications and communication to parents from schools. To that end, should your child accumulate unexcused absences or tardies this year, you will receive a letter from the school to inform you about attendance expectations and strategies to remedy attendance concerns. Thank you for your partnership around consistent and regular school attendance for your child, and for your communication with our office staff if your child needs to be absent.

 

I look forward to seeing you at Fairmeadow soon. And, maybe I'll be lucky enough to hear about one or two of your goals for the year!

 

Grant Althouse

Principal