Family Bulletin 1/10
Dear Explore! Families,
I know you may be reeling from the events of this past week in our nation’s capital. It was another shocking event, layered on top of the series of challenging events that our city and country has endured this past year. This is yet another situation to ponder, reconcile, and communicate with your children and families. So much to think through, and so many charged emotions to manage all at once. And yet, life still goes on everyday, and so must we. How can we support each other as a community through these tough times?We are fortunate to have robust and well integrated Social-Emotional supports at Explore! The Explore! SEL Bloomz page is regularly updated with resources from our counseling team to help families address the issues facing our children today. As adults, it is hard to know, “How much should I equip our children with knowledge versus protecting their innocence?” Right now, that is a tough line that we find ourselves walking often. I believe that age appropriate honesty is always best. The greater our collective awareness, the greater our collective capacity for compassion. I ask families to adopt some family routines that will help you experience mindfulness with your children, and give space for your family to talk through difficult and often confusing experiences. Please sign up for the Bloomz SEL page (Code: 58YTNH) for resources to use at home to support social emotional learning and promote mental wellness. Our teachers model many of these practices in Morning Meeting. We will invite families to an upcoming Morning Meeting “Open House” to see some the SEL strategies being used by staff. Stay tuned for that “Open House” soon. This way you can see some examples of how to include them in your home life as well. We are committed to showing love and support to our community in the best and worst of times. Please stay engaged. We are unique and united! Explorers, Rise Up! Rise Up!
Love,
Stephanie “Ms. JT” Jarrett-Thorpe
Announcements
- Report Card Calls- Please use time during your upcoming teacher calls to ask questions about your Explorers’ report cards. Report cards were sent out last Friday afternoon. Teachers will be prepared to discuss your Explorer’s performance and actions steps you can take to help them at home.
- Intent to Return- Please see the survey for the intent to return. We love our Explorers and families and want to plan for next year for our current Explorers and any family or friends who may also be enrolling. Our team will be hosting some upcoming meetings to preview our planning for next year and to discuss the middle school build out.
Looking Ahead Meeting- Thursday, January 21, 2020 at 5:30pm- This meeting will provide an overview of planning for the 21-22 school year so families can have updates, ask questions, and provide feedback.
Middle School Meeting - Thursday January 21, 2020 at 4:00pm- This meeting is for students in grades 4 and 5 and external families who want to learn more about the middle school program at Explore! as we expand to 6th grade. - Open House- We will start to host in person and virtual tours for families. If you know a neighbor or friend who would like to attend a tour, we will have small, socially distanced tours (8 or less) on Tuesday mornings at 10am and Thursday afternoons at 2pm. Please reach out to Coach Haywood or Maggie Prisinzano to refer a family for a tour or more information. We will also be hosting prospective families at our Friday Morning Programs. Please be on the lookout for new or interested families. Prospective families will start attending Morning Program this coming Friday 1/15/2021. In person tours start Tuesday, 1/19/2021.
- New Website- Please check our updated website at www.explore.school! Thank you to Mrs. Maggie P and Ms. Kimberly Ellis for their hard work in building a new website for our school! Please check it out. It continues to be built, but is already a hub of information for families
.- FAC Meeting- The Explore! FAC Meeting is this Thursday at 5:30pm. Please plan to attend. We will share updates and resources. We will share the meeting link this week and it will be on the FAC page as well.
