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February 23, 2024
Dear Lower School Families,
Mrs. Kelly Black
We were deeply saddened to learn that the husband of second grade teacher Kelly Black passed away last week. Here is a link to Steve’s obituary. His visitation is today (Friday, February 23) from 4:00-7:00 p.m. at Schoedinger Funeral Home, 1051 E. Johnstown Rd., Gahanna, Ohio 43230. A memorial mass will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 24, at All Saints Episcopal Church, 5101 Johnstown Rd., New Albany, Ohio 43054. Kelly, her daughters (Zoey ’21 and Quinn ’23) and their extended family are very appreciative of the support our community has given them. They welcome area restaurant gift cards or grocery cards from Kroger, Giant Eagle or Costco. Cards from Grubhub or DoorDash are also welcome. Please send electronic gift cards to Michelle Saling. Physical cards can be dropped off in the lower school office, and we will ensure they are delivered to Mrs. Black at the appropriate time. Thank you for all the support you have provided the family during this time of great loss and sadness.
Note from Our Nurses
We realize these past few weeks have been filled with viral colds, pink eye, flu and some COVID cases, and we thought it would be beneficial to send general illness protocols for the Lower School. Please use this link for all of the details from our school nurses.
Thank You to Our Parents
We would like to thank our parents who sponsored the recent Lunar New Year activities for our lower school students, parents who helped with the recent Valentine’s Day parties, and parents joining homeroom classes this month to read stories during Black History Month. We appreciate your support and participation in our lower school community!
“Owl Moon” Winter Hike
We had a large response from families that were on the waitlist for the campout last fall and now have a full roster for the Owl Moon Hike; therefore, we will not be able to add additional families to the Owl Moon Winter Hike. The 2024 Lower School Campout will be on Friday-Saturday, September 20-21, 2024.
Mark Your Calendars for Spring Parent-Teacher Conferences
Hopefully you have already signed up for your child(ren)’s conferences. Our spring Parent-Teacher Conferences are scheduled for March 7-8. All conferences are in-person and on-campus only. Please click here for additional information and instructions for signing up for conferences. School is dismissed at noon on Thursday, March 7, and there is no school for students on Friday, March 8. It is important that you schedule your children’s conferences by noon on March 1 for one of these two days.
- Thursday, March 7: 1:30 to 8:00 p.m.
- Friday, March 8: 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Lower School Parent Book Club Is Changing
We will try a new format and time for what has previously been known as the Lower School Parent Book Club. Recognizing that not everyone has time to read the book we are reading and that the time may be inconvenient for some, a few changes will be made. Rather than read a book for the next book club, I will share a video/podcast to listen to or watch. It will be between 30-60 minutes long, and we will then meet in the evening to discuss it. While we cannot provide childcare for this meeting, we will see if an evening time is preferred to our established morning time. For our first meeting, we will discuss an episode from the podcast Flusterclux entitled “Parenting Phrases We Love to Use All The Time.” It is just 45 minutes long and can be found using this link. Lynn Lyons is the podcast host, and she spoke here at Academy this winter and had a virtual book club meeting on Wednesday evening for Academy parents. We will meet on Tuesday, April 2, from 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the dining hall (fireside) to discuss it. Please register using this link. Light snacks will be provided.
Parenting Article
This week’s article is from the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley and is entitled “What Happens to Kids When Parents Fight.” It can be read following this link.
Celebration of Accomplishments
This celebratory event will be held on Tuesday, May 28. This is a time for you to meet with classroom teachers to hear from your children their perspectives on their various accomplishments and growth throughout the school year. This is a time to celebrate and reflect on all the wonderful achievements that they have made. There will be no school for students on May 28. A signup schedule for parents will be sent on May 1. Please note that it is not possible to make up this conference, and it will only be offered on May 28.
Rising Grade-Level Meetings for Parents and Guardians
We will be hosting our annual parent meetings where parents and guardians have the opportunity to learn about the programs for their children in the grades in which they will be enrolled for next year. These will be on the fireside of our dining hall. Each grade level will have two homeroom teachers share details about the year ahead as well as highlights and expectations. There will also be time for questions. Please see the schedule below:
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