The Patrick Henry Post

Every four years, an amazing celebration takes place in Washington, D.C. to watch the inauguration of the President of the United States. This week, we watched as Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President. It was an historic moment as Kamala Harris joined him as the first female Vice President. Even though this year's experience was very different with social distancing, masks, and a lack of crowds, it was an important day to watch the transition of power and witness democracy in action. Our students were able to watch the live feed and celebrate in their classrooms. For more resources on the Inauguration, please click on the buttons below, and for some fun, check out the amazing ways our students celebrated in their classrooms!

This week, Ms. Valentine's students found the time to create structures out of various classroom materials while Ms. Willard's kindergarten students explored architecture as they built their own structures made out of toothpicks and various materials. Students used marshmallows and gummy bears to create a design that could stand up on its own. The students were so proud of their creations, and it reminded me of the power we each have as a designer of our own sphere of influence. Particularly during the week of Inauguration, I've been reflecting on our ability to shape our community and the world at large. These kindergarteners were literally shaping their structures from the ground up! How do you use your sphere of influence to design the world around you?

Pictured above, Auneur works on his math while Cranston works on reading. Both students were able to spend some 1:1 time with teachers throughout the building to work on their individual level. Auneur worked with Ms. Bailey, our building sub, to get through his math assignment. He was proud of his effort and worked extra hard on the problems he didn't get the first time around! Cranston worked with Ms. Evans to determine his current reading level. He even got to show his skills off in the principal's office with Dr. Rogers!

Desmand, DesShawnn, Andrew, and Anthony went as a family to get their haircuts freshened this week. Shoutout to Ms. Harris for securing the barber and making certain the Brackett/Madison family look their best!

Across the district, schools are still working with students and staff to make sure our students are healthy and safe. Thank you to all of our Patrick Henry community who make sure everyone remains distant from one another, both while they are in the classroom and while they are moving throughout the building. Well done, students and staff!

Ms. Evans, our Reading Specialist, continues to spread the joy of reading throughout our building as her hallway library expands! Come and check out a book from her collection at the end of the hallway! Or, be inspired to start your own hallway library - how fun would it be to use our classrooms as a whole-school library system?

Even in a shortened week, we have felt the impact of HomeWorks! on our school community. This week we partnered with HomeWorks! in the following areas:

• Attendance Buddies: Volunteers meet with our students in a mentorship capacity to discuss attendance and focus on reading. Volunteers and students read together for at least fifteen minutes, and students get 1:1 attention to make sure they feel well cared for!
• Office Assistants: Mrs. O'Shea in the main office is running the show on her own most days, but HomeWorks! volunteers have stepped in and made an impact in the day-to-day running of our building. It allows Mrs. O'Shea to be free to take care of the many tasks she's in charge of!
• Adopt a Classroom: We have five volunteers who have taken on an entire class to make attendance phone calls daily. It makes an important impact first on our students, because after receiving a call, they often come to school swiftly! Second it impacts our families, because they see the care we have for their child and how important it is to come to school regularly. And finally it impacts our school, because it frees up our staff to take care of on-site issues that often force us to abandon our attendance phone calls. It is also wonderful to have a consistent person calling the same families.
• The Patrick Henry Garden Committee: We have one HomeWorks! volunteer (who happens to be a gardening expert) join our team this week and we cannot wait to plan our Spring planting and harvesting with all staff and community partners involved!