Manhattan School for Children Newsletter October, 1999

Vol 7, No 2 October, 1999

Reading Buddies
Chorus Fever
The Question Corner
School Leadership Teams
T'ai Chi at MSC
Minutes

Latest Newsletter
October 99 Newsletter
Back Issues
Home Page

A Note From the Principal
10/1/99

Dear Families,

I am happy to report that this school year has begun smoothly, and the classrooms are humming with activity. Already the children are settling into their classroom curriculum and, despite Hurricane Floyd, both sites are well equipped and organized. The teachers and I are pleased with the children's adjustment. I understand the phase-in schedule can be difficult for some families, but it is good for the children as can be seen in their smooth transition and adjustment to school. I hope that you got a better understanding of your child's classroom and plans for the year during the Curriculum Nights at each school site. Looking around those evenings made me even more aware of how much we have grown and what a wonderful group of families we have at MSC.

I want to extend heartfelt thanks to the teachers and families for all their work in making sure each and every classroom and studio was prepared for our students. At the same time I want to reach out to those who did not have time to pitch in - particularly on the two scheduled workdays. The advance preparation of the rooms let all the children know they were expected and welcome at school. Only a very few families participated in the day/evening activity times. Because of the low turnout those few parents and all our staff members worked extra long hours to make sure everything was ready.

I am aware that scheduling time to work in the school is not a possibility for some working parents but it is also true there are many ways to volunteer at our school. I value the many different contributions that are made, nonetheless we need to think about how to make sure that the "basics" are covered. As we spend time this year further developing our School Based Leadership Team, we need to reexamine our commitment to parent involvement in the school. There is a vast amount of work that must be done to open the school year that is essential for the classrooms to function well. Additionally, there is ongoing maintenance that is needed. This work goes far beyond what is offered by the Board Of Education - things like cleaning closets, arranging manipulatives and books, rearranging furniture, cleaning bulletin boards, painting walls, building benches and so on. Without this help MSC, will not be MSC and the classroom environments will suffer. This is the less glamorous side of being a parent involvement school, however it is also one of the strongest ways to build a sense of community. Working side by side with other parents and teachers makes for strong ties. Community is not a thing that we just "have." It is built through interaction and sharing.

It has been our tradition that people come forward to help all children, not just their own children or their child's class. When we developed our first school proposal we defined ourselves as a "small school," one with two classes per grade. This permits all our children to be known by all the adults in the school community. All our teachers get to know all our children, and ideally all our families. This is who we are at MSC. To have a strong leadership team we need people to make this kind of commitment. We often say, "Many hands make light work." It also makes for memorable experiences. I can guarantee that you'll learn a lot about MSC and you will probably make some new friends as well. By helping out you are letting your child know that you value learning at school. Please try to come and help out next time we "call" for volunteers.

Sincerely,

Susan

Next Page To Top