Patrick Henry Post

It's been an incredible hustle to get here, but we MADE IT to fourth quarter and Spring Break! The pride that I feel for our students' growth and resiliency this year is stronger than ever before. They have earned their rest over the next week! Thank you to all of our students for pushing yourselves every single day. And a special thank you to all of our staff for making our final week a special one. Many of our teachers were able to get vaccinated through a partnership between SLPS and the National Guard, and it was only possible because every staff member stepped up to help cover classes, provide instruction, and keep the school running smoothly as staff moved in and out of the building. Our staff and students did not miss a beat, and I am so thankful for each of you for all of your hard work!

Before you go off to celebrate a week of vacation, take a moment to enjoy the highlights from this week!

Thank you to Ms. Hammock's fourth grade students who are leading the charge in our Breakfast in the Classroom program! Did you know that we have eaten breakfast in the classroom in ALL of our grades since October 19th? Not only are we implementing Covid safety protocols, we are also building classroom community and ensuring every student has a healthy way to start the day. One roadblock of the program has been removing the food waste from the classrooms and hallways. In order to solve this problem, Ms. Hammock's students were selected to assist the cafeteria and custodial staff. They are partnered with a specific classroom and every day at 9:05am, they go to the classrooms to remove the breakfast so that students can have a clean classroom and move on with their academic day. Ms. Hammock's students were chosen for their responsibility throughout every area of the building, and we are proud of the way they have stepped up to make sure our school is clean and beautiful at every classroom door!

Just in time for the Academy Award nominations, our 3rd graders in Ms. Jackson's class have produced a special performance! Students worked with our community partners to write, act, and produce a work of fiction in which a child discovers she has magical powers within. Watching their practice performance was enough to make me excited for the final production!

Ms. Bailey led our fifth grade students in a drawing lesson that yielded some beautiful results. We are lucky to have such an artistic staff, and even luckier to have students who are willing to challenge themselves through artistic expression!

Ms. Ivory is pictured above in her "empty" classroom and Ms. Versen is pictured below in her "empty" classroom...but all of their students are still with them! Even though all staff is now back in the building for fourth quarter, we still have 35% of our students joining in virtually every day. We are thrilled to welcome back Ms. Ivory (3rd/4th grade), Ms. Versen (1st/2nd grade), Ms. Wildermuth (Prek/Kindergarten), Ms. Shannon Griffin (Special Education), and Ms. Teresa Norton-Young (Special Education)!

Our community partnership with HomeWorks! continues to expand each week. Over the past few weeks, HomeWorks! has recruited community supporters to find desks for our virtual students who are learning from home. Making sure they have a comfortable space to sit up and focus on their school work is essential. Thank you for this amazing gift that will keep on giving every day of virtual learning and beyond!

Students (and Dr. Rogers) had way too much fun celebrating St. Patrick's Day in style on Wednesday, March 17th. It was a fun day of silliness and joy!