Volume 29,| March 22, 2020
Lower School News
Hello Lower School Parents,
I hope you are all doing well in these trying times. Yesterday Governor Pritzker made the announcement that none of us wanted to hear, but expected it to happen. We will stay on remote learning until the end of the academic school year. All the teachers were sad to hear this news, but they want you all to know that they are still here for you and the children. The children will do fine. This I promise you. There was a wonderful letter that went viral on FaceBook that I want you all to read.
Dear Parents
Don't stress about school work. In September I will get your children
back on track. I am a teacher and that is my superpower. What I can't
fix is social emotional trauma that prevents the brain from learning.
So right now I just need you to share your calm, share your strength,
and share your laughter with your children. No kids are ahead and no
no kids are behind. Your kids are exactly where they need to be.
With love,
All the teachers on the planet

Please take this to heart and especially here at Roycemore. Our teachers are truly super heros who care about your children deeply. I promise when your children return to class next year, they will experience the true Roycemore love and magic so they will be fine!!!! Meanwhile help them to join the synchronous meetings and complete their work if possible, but do not get into power struggles! They will be fine when they return.

Our teachers are so committed to the children, but also to you. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to them. I know they will help. You can email or join their help hours. I too am available if you want to reach out. I can email you or we can talk on the phone. Just because we are physically distant, we are not emotionally distant. We are all here for you!

Lower School Head Search
As most of you know, this will be my last year as Lower School Head. I am retiring at the end of the school year. I loved working with you and know that the next head will experience the same warmth and love that I received from all of you.
During the weeks leading up to our remote learning, the search committee was fully engaged in the search for the next Lower School Head. There timeline got thrown off quite a bit but I am pleased to share with you that the search committee has invited four finalists to interview in the next two weeks. Their interview times have been set up so that they will spend the first half of the interview with parents and the second half with faculty. The schedule was sent out in an email from Adrianne. Hopefully you can join in for all or part of the interviews. Following each interview, Adrianne will send out a feedback form for you to share your impressions.
Admissions Morning - Tuesday
Our first ever Virtual Admissions Morning is coming up! Please tell any friends and neighbors interested in finding out more about the Roycemore experience and what makes our school unique.
Virtual Admissions Morning
Tuesday, April 21st
8:30am
Registration Required

FAN Events - Upcoming
Roycemore is a proud sponsor of FAN,  Family Action Network . All of their in-person events have been cancelled, but they still are offering amazing presentations by industry professionals on a number of topics including:

  • Parenting in the Age of Inequality
  • Navigating the New Masculinity
  • Parenting the New Teen in the Age of Anxiety
  • How Economics Explains The Way We Raise Our Children

Link:

S cholarship Fundraiser: A Live Stream Experience
Auction items will be live starting next week. Volunteers are still needed, especially those with live streaming experience. Please email  Sara McGuire  if you would like to join the fun!

Videos for Scholarship Fundraiser
Feeling inspired? Make a flipgrid video about your favorite teacher that can be used for the auction!  https://flipgrid.com/scholarshiproycemore

New "Roycemore Family" Page Launched
Our new Chief Griffinity Officer, Early Childhood staff member  Justin Bailey , launched a new webpage! This is another way for students and families to stay connected and continue to share our school spirit. Share your shelter in place experiences with us:  https://roycemoreschool.org/family/

Website for Remote Learning:

Coronavirus Response Page:

What's Happening Around Lower School
Over spring break, many of the second graders created book share projects. After choosing a favorite book, they then created a board game, trading cards, diorama, or comic strip that represented important plot points and characters from the book. They got to present it to their classmates during our daily Zoom morning meeting!
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Here is a screen shot of the 2nd graders Zoom Morning Meeting. Dr. Glader, our consulting social worker also joined the meeting to support the kids.
Even though we are in doing remote learning, that does not keep the students from their classroom jobs. Here is a Junior Kindergarten weather person.
Reminders
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  Please remember that Roycemore Lower School is a nut/peanut-free environment.  Please remember this when you send in birthday treats and snacks for your children.  There are many other allergies, specific to individual children, so please check with your classroom teacher before sending in treats.   Thank you in advance for caring about all of our children.


Please remember when you need more information, such as lunch menus, the weekly bulletin, and reminders of upcoming special events, go to the Parents' Page on our web site at  http://www.roycemoreschool.org/parents

As usual, if you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to call or e-mail me.