December 16, 2022

Dear Lower School Families,

Today is the big day – the last day before our winter break with the Winter Closing Program at 2:00 p.m. There have been lots of engaging projects and fun activities our students have been engaged with the  past few weeks leading up to this, and we are all looking forward to the holiday break.

Winter Closing Program

We are excited to welcome all parents and guests to our annual Winter Closing Program today (Friday, December 16) at 2:00 p.m. All students in Pre-Kindergarten through Grade 5 will be performing in the Mack Gym. Parking in the athletic lot will be limited, so please use other lots and plan your timing accordingly. Security will be present to assist with parking and traffic flow.

At the conclusion of the program, please allow children to leave the Mack Gym with their teachers. Parents, please wait until all children have been dismissed before you leave the Mack Gym to give them time to travel through the hallways and return to their classrooms.

End-of-Day Dismissal

• Bus: students will go to the bus as normal at the end of the day
• CASE: students will go to CASE as normal at the end of the day
• Carline: please collect your children from their homeroom classrooms at 3:15 p.m. If you are not joining us for the Closing Program, you may use the carline to pick up your children as normal.

Reading Update

A new initiative this year in the Lower School has been to focus our attention on math instruction by implementing Math Journals as a tool for students to share math methods and explanations. Our next curricular goal as a Lower School is to continue to improve our instruction in reading and phonological awareness. With a new schedule that has allowed us a longer, more consistent reading block, we want to ensure we are continuing to focus on current research to teach best reading practices. We will be bringing in a reading consultant later this year to work with teachers in each grade level to best meet the needs of our student population. More information will come later in the year.

Lost and Found

Our Lost and Found is growing again. Please stop by the lower school lobby to look through the tables of items after picking up your children from their classrooms. Reminder: it is important that all clothing items are labeled with your children’s first and last names so we can return items to them.

Parent Book Club

Our next selection is entitled “Hunt, Gather, Parent” by Dr. Michaeleen Doucleef. We will meet on Wednesday, January 4, from 8:30-9:30 a.m. in the dining hall (fireside) to discuss chapters 1-8. It can be found online as well as in local libraries. Please use this form to RSVP.

I wish everyone a lovely holiday enjoyed with family and friends! Be safe and enjoy this time with your children.

Mark L. Hansen

Head of Lower School