I wanted to start today's post with a note of gratitude for the communities of Patrick Henry. I'm still learning everyone's names and personalities, but in the few short weeks that school has been in session, I have had an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. There are so many unknowns when you take a new job and move to a new school. The school itself, the staff, the students, the families, the community partners are all new. But the Patrick Henry community has done nothing but impress me over the past month of school. I can see why people come to work here and they end up staying for ten, fifteen, and twenty years. I can see why students come to Patrick Henry and then send their own children to Patrick Henry one generation later. I can see why our community partners are committed to this school and neighborhood. I can see why I am going to love working here.

I wanted to say thank you to this incredible community of students, families, neighbors, school partners, and our staff. You have made me feel not just welcome, but downright lucky, to work in such a beautiful place. Thank you for being who you are, for fighting for kids to have the very best, and for working so hard to make sure they get it. I hope as you enter this long three-day weekend that you also feel the love for our school community that I am feeling. Enjoy your time off, and come back strong on Tuesday!

Lots of Love,

Dr. Rogers

During the first week of school, Damon shared with his teacher that what made him happiest was school. Damon sat down to explain why that was true. This is the transcript from his interview with Dr. Rogers.

Why does school make you happy?

Because I get to see all of my friends! And I get to see my teacher. They are the best!

What's your favorite part about school?

Math and Science are my favorite parts of the day. I love learning about solids and liquids and all the other things in science class. I think Math is a really important subject, and it's fun too.

How is this school year going for you now that you're in 4th grade?

I love it! Ms. Ivory lets the 4th graders help her and that makes me feel special.

What is one of your favorite things about Ms. Ivory?

I love Ms. Ivory's shoes because she shows up with something different every day on her feet. That keeps me interested.

What could make school even better?

I think if people listened it would be even better.

What would you say to someone who doesn't like school right now?

It's ok because everyone has different ideas, and not everyone likes everything. But if they wanted to work hard and be the student of the month, it's so cool. I would say that it will be fun if they let it be fun.

Students in Ms. Ivory's class and throughout the building know how much Ms. Ivory loves her sneakers. During their first week of school, students were able to design their own shoes and use them as a way to describe what was unique about themselves. The best part about working on a team is that you can bring your individual interests and skills together with everyone else to form an amazing group of people. Ms. Ivory understood that building relationships is key to success from the beginning of the school year, and she used the simple sneaker activity to engage her students and learn more about them.

Dr. Rogers got to learn about what makes each of the students happy during a breakfast with the principal this week. Some of the results were surprising, while other answers seemed very fitting. London loves Flying Spider, while Jerniya loves Fortnite. Jayden loves his football team, while Carrie was all about kickball. Tyriq, Jacorionne, Desmand, Darrion, Bryon, and Kevin were all about basketball, while Jamar preferred Roblox. Brikerah, Serenity, Lemashay, and Jaylan had some incredible dance moves that brought them the most joy.

Dr. Rogers also asked the class what they like most about Ms. Ivory's classroom, and the answers included the following:

"The snacks! The snacks are so so so good!"

"I like the music - we get to take brain breaks with music, and we also have songs for a lot of stuff like lining up and starting the morning. That's how I like to start my day."

"She's just a really good teacher."

"I like it when we get to play with the basketball hoops set up around the room."

"I like when we get to learn all the math. It's so cool."

Congrats to Ms. Ivory for setting up her classroom and her students for a successful school season!

Our staff took this Saturday to come together for an awesome school work day to help improve our building, our garden, and our classrooms!

• Saint Louis University freshmen used their day of service to work in the garden and help take out some of our larger areas of overgrowth. This garden is a FULL TIME job, but Ms. Patti in our pre-school department takes it on with amazing strength. With the help of our volunteers, the garden is ready for our fall planting season!
• Teachers took advantage of the rented carpet cleaner to make sure that our specialty rugs look and feel their very best. Teachers really do it all!
• Teachers planned in their classrooms, caught up on paperwork, and set up their rooms for the coming months of school.
• iPad elves delivered technology to the classrooms. Who knows what else will suddenly appear on a teacher's desk after a Saturday work day...

We had so much fun meeting all of our amazing family members (including our youngest Patrick Henry family member - only 8 days old!). Take a look at some of the smiling faces we got to see this week. We hope to see you at our next family event!