Patrick Henry Post

As we close out our first semester of the school year, I can't help but feel gratitude for all that you have sacrificed to make this a wonderful first and second quarter. To our students, I say thank you for your resilience and patience! You are an inspiration to me to do my very best for you every day, because you bring your very best every day. To our families, I say thank you for your flexibility and strength! You rolled with the punches, you shifted your family structure, you changed your schedules, all to make this work for your children. To our staff, I say thank you for your optimism and growth! You took on this hybrid model of teaching with a positive attitude that it could work, and you made it happen. To our community partners, I say thank you for your generosity and authenticity! You not only gave your time, money, and materials, but you also gave us a sounding board to make us see a bigger picture and make us better.

I am so lucky to be a part of this school community that serves the best children in the world. Thank you for making this semester a success in light of each potential roadblock and challenge. I wish you the happiest of holidays this season, and I hope that you all stay safe and healthy over the break. We look forward to seeing everyone back in the virtual world on January 4th!

This week was all about celebrating the artistic side of life! Whether students were in P.E. dancing with Ms. Blake, or in art class drawing with Ms. Bryant, students were able to express themselves artistically. It was so fun to see the pure joy it brought students to draw a self-portrait, create a unique snowflake, sing along with the Hokey Pokey, and dance the bunny hop. Pictured above, Ms. Butler's first graders were vigorously participating in P.E., almost to the point where Dr. Rogers struggled to get a picture without everyone in a blur. The giggles spoke for themselves as students moved and channeled their creativity through their assignments. Thank you to Ms. Blake and Ms. Bryant for providing these opportunities to our students, and inspiring our teachers to continue the trends in the general education classes!

Some might think the last week of the semester is full of celebrations, but at Patrick Henry, our teachers use every possible moment to engage their students in deep, meaningful lessons. It was so fun to see students of every grade level engaged in learning this week. Pictured above is Kamaja in Ms. Teska's class eager to answer her brain teaser to get them warmed up for a lesson. The engagement was so high that it was hard to know who to call on next. Making sure that all students feel comfortable participating is one of the strengths of the Patrick Henry cultures, and we are proud to ensure every student feels confident enough to engage in the lesson! Pictured below is Ms. Wildermuth's class in their SIPPS lesson on phonics. One of the most amazing things about our technology-savvy classrooms is that they can still break up into small groups and learn on their level, challenging each student to grow as much as possible even in the virtual world. Every student of Ms. Wildermuth's lesson was able to participate fully in this lesson, and they had fun while they were engaged!

Attendance is so important! Getting to school or logging on to school all day, every day is harder than ever this year. That's why our community partners HOME WORKS! and GreenLeaf Market have helped us recognize 1st- and 2nd-grade families with strong attendance. Each week, students in Ms. Fales', Ms. Teska's, Ms. Butler's, and Ms. Versen's classrooms with perfect attendance for the whole week were rewarded with $10 gift cards to GreanLeaf Market.

Since the program started we have seen more and more students with perfect attendance each week. The first week was 26%, week two was 29%, and this last week 35% of our 1st- and 2nd-grade students had perfect attendance! Let's keep it going in 2021.

Thank you to GreenLeaf Market and HOME WORKS! for supporting Patrick Henry families this year. The program will continue in January, and they hope to grow the program to include more classrooms after that.

This week finalized our December Spirt Month with a day to dress like an elf, a day for ugly sweaters (is there such a thing as an UGLY holiday sweater?? I don't think so, they're all amazing), and a day to dress in the theme of your favorite holiday movie. Thanks to all of our staff and students who made this month silly and fun! We hope everyone enjoys their holiday break as much as possible!