Dear Parent/Guardian,
One Thanksgiving Weekend a few years ago, I remember being welcomed home and seeing three of my four brothers standing in a huge, muddy ditch. The hole was so big that it was hard to see them from a few feet away; they were up to their arm pits in mud and muck. Somehow, the poor sewer ‘at home’ in NY just couldn't handle so many Thanksgiving visitors and had broken, yet again. Piles of dishes and pots from the pre-Thanksgiving dinner preparation were waiting to be washed in the kitchen and chaos reigned as children raced everywhere. We were forced to visit my grandmother’s house a few streets away to wash hands and/or use the bathroom. What a Thanksgiving.
Hopefully, your child’s welcome within our school family was less wild and wooly than the ‘Tanner Thanksgiving’ that year. Please know that, in spite of our inherent silliness, the teachers and I truly feel honored to have spent the last two months getting to know your child while creating ‘classroom families’ for 2016-2017. We hope that your little one has settled into the school schedule and is comforted by our classroom rituals and routines. Second Step from the University of Rhode Island continues to visit our school on Fridays to help Kindergarten to nurture ‘community’ with intentionally taught social skills. Last week, the children worked on identifying their feelings and Second Step began at Captain Hunt. There, they introduced the puppet, William and helped the children to reflect on their classroom communities and what they love about school. Hopefully, these skills will help all of our students work to develop the most peaceful early learning classroom communities ever.
We are truly so grateful for your support as we journey together and look forward to meeting with you on November 16th at a specified time between 1 and 3:30pm or between 5 and 7pm. We want to celebrate your child’s progress across all learning domains and hear about how your child and family are experiencing our school. (Please complete the form that we sent home and return it to school in order to let us know what time on that day works best for your family. Please note that children are welcome to attend the Parent/Teacher conference on that day but there will be no school for students.)
That chaotic Thanksgiving, seven years ago was my husband’s first time meeting most of my family. When I think about that Thanksgiving, I love that he didn’t get back in the car and race north to head home. That said, if truth be told, I don't remember the turkey or the stuffing or the apple pie. I don't remember when the sewer/water got fixed although, I think that we had to hire ‘real’ plumbers to help. I just think about how happy my brothers were working together in that mud to make the impossible happen. #Family Thank you again and always, for being part of our CF school family.
With Warm Wishes,
Beth Tanner, MS Ed
Principal