Thoughts that a retirement announcement make more acute
January, 2013
I have already begun my list of things I’m going to miss about St. Paul’s and, of course, it will begin and end with people. Last week the prekindergarten and kindergarten students went out for their first recess on the new “astro turf” playground. I happened to be there when they came in, flush with the chill in the air and excitement of the new experience on this play surface. They told me in very animated tones about sliding around on it, rolling down the hill, the sand on top, and the fun of running on it. Then one of our prekindergarten boys turned to go into his classroom, threw up his hands, and, in a loud, cheerful voice proclaimed, “THAT WAS THE BEST RECESS I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE!”
Sitting at the back of the church during all-school chapel last week, I watched as teachers greeted warmly children who came in late and were searching to find their classes. I saw them notice a child two rows back who needed a tissue. (How do they do that? Do they really have eyes in the back of their heads?) I saw them take children to the restroom who thought they didn’t need to go before they left the classroom. They are attentive, caring, enthusiastic, and so loving with the children.
On Friday we were able to come together as a community to have a birthday celebration for our school. Current, former and future students, parents, trustees, faculty, and friends joined us in a joyous parade full of noise and color and camaraderie. So many volunteers came together to make it a special occasion for our students, as is the norm at our school. A preschool student remarked as she came into the building, “That was way too much fun!” Our middle school students, some of whom had been horsing around and disappointing me during the rehearsal, all rose to the level of our expectations in leading the parade, taking care of the little ones, and responsibly caring for the banners and puppets and children in their charge.
Monday we brought other faculty, heads and trustees to our campus to hear Pat Bassett, Executive Director of NAIS, talk about the challenges and opportunities of independent schools today and into the future. We sought advice and shared experiences with colleagues having a common mission of improving education and caring for the next generation of leaders.
We’re a thriving community of generous-hearted people who celebrate the good fortune we have and share it with colleagues and with those less fortunate than we. It’s a community I’ll deeply miss – but completely embrace for another 18 months!
Progress on Board Initiatives
1. Technology
The Board of Trustees has enthusiastically supported the initiative of the Program Team and Technology Committee to enhance the technology available to all students and to begin a 1:1 program in the Middle School during the 2013-2014 academic year. This initiative will provide the same personal computing device for each middle school student to use in class and take home in the evening. Over a three-year period, starting with 6th grade in 2013, the 1:1 devices will be phased into St. Paul’s. The devices will be leased to the students during the school year and will be turned in each summer for updates.
The Board of Trustees and the Administration believe the 1:1 program will provide access to more resources, allow more differentiation of instruction, enable students to benefit from their learning preference, and offer teachers more opportunities to enrich their curriculum. This program will enhance the creativity of our teachers, our focus on project-based learning, and our tradition of thematic units. Most textbooks will be available on the devices, but books will be available for students who still prefer “hard copy” access to information.
During this phase-in period, students in seventh and eighth grades will be allowed to bring a computing device from home with teacher approval. They will also have greater access to the computer lab and laptop cart for all-class instruction that uses computers.
In addition to the 1:1 program in middle school, the use of technology continues to expand throughout the school. Wireless access is now available on campus, two laptop carts are available in lower and middle school, and two iPad carts are available for the whole school but used primarily in the lower grades. E-readers are available for student use through the library. Our computer lab has new Mac computers and several computers are also available in our library. SmartBoard or eBeam technology is available in most classrooms.
All of this technology has required and continues to require a considerable investment in capital and personnel. To that end, a technology fee has been added for all students in grades Kindergarten through eight to cover the costs and benefits of expanding our technology offerings throughout the school.
2. Foreign Language
The Education Committee of the Board and Program Team continue to focus on foreign language instruction. Although much research and time has been given to this subject, the focus for 2013 will need to shift just a bit. Both of our Middle School foreign language teachers have announced that they will retire at the end of this year. With these changes in mind, the Board has supported, with the recommendation of the Education Committee and the Program Team, to make programming changes only within the current time committed to Foreign Language for next year. The goals of the administration will be:
1) Seeking teachers with similar teaching styles
2) Ensuring all teachers are trained in Total Physical Response System (TPRS) teaching strategies
3) Offering electives in foreign language, when possible, in order to provide more opportunities for those students who are seeking language enrichment.
4) Re-evaluating the time commitment with our new personnel after they have been here for a year
5) Continuing to work on programming changes at the Lower School and ECC levels.
6) More integration of technology in all levels, as available and appropriate
The Middle School faculty could not find acceptable options of subjects/activities to be relinquished in order to add more time for foreign language instruction. A similar conundrum of available time is an issue in the lower grades. Additional time would have meant at least an additional part-time person would be needed and, with the technology initiative a priority at this time, more of a tuition increase could not be supported by the Board.
3. Inclusion
We have hired Michelle Johnson as our Diversity Coordinator on a part-time basis and she is actively involved in working with students and parents to help all feel included, appreciated, and respected. She is assisting with the recruitment of both students and faculty – ones who will bring diverse ideas and perspectives to our work while appreciating and embracing our history and culture.
4. Financial Sustainability
The Fiftieth Anniversary Endowment Campaign was initiated last fall and has raised over $2,000,000 to date to support the future of our school. Also in support of our future, we have purchased the apartments directly behind the gym and will be determining the future use of the buildings and property.
St. Paul's Auction is Celebrating 50 Years!
This is a special year for the Parent’s Guild
annual auction, as we will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of
St. Paul’s school. On April
6th the St. Paul’s community of parents, grandparents,
faculty, staff, alumni families and retirees will gather at the Marriott
Muehlebach hotel for the 50 & Fabulous auction
gala. The festivities will include spectacular silent and live auctions; amazing raffle items, including the chance to
win a tuition free year; creative cocktails; a delicious dinner, and dancing! In
addition, 50 Birthday Wishes have been made to propel the school forward
for the next 50 years. Some other special features will be darling student
portraits, a wine pull and “a year of…”selected gifts. Mark
your calendar now – you won’t want to miss this fun celebration! If you can’t attend
there are lots of other ways to honor this special occasion. For more
information please contact Katie Gregg in the development department at kgregg@speds.org.
50th Anniversary Parade
Following the service, students fell in line behind the
beautiful class banners that each grade level created as part of the
celebration and marched outside where they were greeted by KC Wolf, Sporting
KC’s Blue and Sluggerrr. A couple of
Chiefs cheerleaders and members of the Kansas City Police Department Mounted
Patrol were also on hand as were whimsical stick puppets bearing the likeness
of each of the 5 Rectors and 5 Heads of School that have served St. Paul’s over
its 50 year history.The parade culminated on the playground near the flagpole where a special anniversary flag was raised, a birthday cake was unveiled, songs were sung and everyone gave a “Hats Off” salute to St. Paul’s. There was much cheering and shouting as the colorful hats floated back to earth and the students reassembled to return to their classrooms. A good time was had by all.
Thanks to all the people who worked so hard to put together
the celebration including Jill Watt, 50th Anniversary Celebration
chair, her dedicated volunteer parents who helped distribute noisemakers,
puppets, Mardi Gras beads and birthday cake, Amy Graham for coordinating the
cake and all of the faculty and staff who helped create a fun and memorable
kick-off to our 50th Anniversary celebrations.
St. Paul's Annual Fund
The Chris Cakes Challenge is still going at St. Paul's!
You can find the family participation percentages in the lower school hallway display case as well as the Annual Fund bulletin board in the main hall. Any grade level who reaches 100% participation by families will get to enjoy these one of a kind pancakes with family and friends!
Playground Open
We are pleased to announce that our Pre-kindergarten/Kindergarten playground is officially back in operation. The artificial turf provides our children with so much new space to run and play. We no longer have to deal with muddy boots after heavy rain and snow storms. It’s a great space that will be used and appreciated for many years to come!
Senator Roy Blunt Visit
Hooray for the U.S.A.! In the first grade we are studying all about the United States of America. Wednesday, January 16th, we had the honor of welcoming Senator Roy Blunt (A.K.A. Eva Mosby’s Grandfather) to our first grade classrooms. He spoke to both first grade classes and the kids loved it! He was impressed as the students listed the states that were a part of the original thirteen colonies. He talked to the children about the three branches of government, his rise to the Senate and the famous Americans that have influenced him. As a gift the Senator brought the kids House Mouse, Senate Mouse by Peter and Cheryl Barnes. The kids listened closely to this story of mice and the process they went through to decide on a “national cheese”! In honor of St. Paul’s 50th Anniversary Senator Blunt is going to have a flag flying over the capitol on Friday, January 25th –our flag raising. What a treat on our Wednesday morning! A special thanks to Amy Blunt and Matt Mosby for helping us to arrange this special engagement.
7th Grade Field Trip
On Wednesday, January 23, the seventh grade visited one of Kansas City’s most historic districts, 18th and Vine and the Jazz and Negro Leagues Baseball museums. After watching a brief video on the historical significance of 18th and Vine, students were led on two outstanding museum tours. First up was the Jazz Museum. Here students listened to jazz greats such as Ella Fitzgerald, Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Kansas City’s own Charlie “The Bird” Parker. Students then were able to mix their own recordings and visit the nationally recognized jazz club, the Blue Room. Next we went to the Negro Leagues Baseball museum. Students were able to see baseball artifacts from the past and the present, but they had the best time playing on the modified baseball field with the full, scale sized statues of the Negro Leagues greatest players.
Congratulations!
Our food service staff has been awarded with an A Grade for Excellence in Food Safety, Sanitation, and Employee Education. St. Paul's is extremely fortunate to have such a wonderful food staff who ensure that we are healthy and happy each day. Thank you!
Calendar Notes
2/2 Parents' Guild Gift Gathering Party
2/4 ECC Parent Coffee
2/5 Lower School Parent Coffee
2/6 First Grade Hooray for the USA
2/7 Middle School Parent Coffee
2/8 Pre-Kindergarten Music Program
2/12 Shrove Tuesday Pancake Breakfast
2/13 Parents' Guild Meeting
2/14 Middle School Health Fair
Middle School Dance
2/15-2/18 No School
2/20 Kindergarten/Sixth Grade African Animals
2/21 5th Grade Showcase
2/28 6th Grade African Show
Wine in the Vine
No comments:
Post a Comment