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The end of summer has found us in a brand new school with many new students and families. We have added our Kindergarteners as full day students, and also added our own Middle School. This means that our new structure is: Early Primary K/1, Late Primary 2/3, Intermediate 4/5, and Middle School 6/7. At the end of this year, we will keep our current 7th graders to complete our Middle School next year at grades 6/7 and 8. The excitement and challenge of moving, however, didn't keep our staff away from our own professional learning and growth. Nearly all of our staff participated in some kind of professional learning over the summer. And all of our staff spent time throughout the summer working and planning together for our restructured elementary and new middle school. In fact, as a staff, we logged more than 80 hours of working together over the summer to help plan and prepare for this school year! We also ran 4 different summer reading programs that many of our families have enjoyed. These reading programs,designed and taught by Central staff, have offered additional support for many students beginning before they enter K, and continuing through Early and Late Primary.
As we progress through this year, each of our students will continue to have individual learning goals that guide their daily work and learning, and every student, whether working above, at, or below grade level will continue to learn at his/her personal best level each day. Our school was founded on a set of well tested ideas and practices that focus on the whole child's development, enabling each student to become a powerful, articulate and skilled adult in a position to fulfill his or her own life goals, as well as to contiribute to the larger community's welfare. We continue to nurture each child's individual abilities and gifts, to work with and encourage each child to achieve his/her own personal best, and to celebrate each child's growth throughout the year. Our goal is to help students become active, thinking members of our community and democracy, able to achieve whatever their dream may be. We truly believe that helping students grow is about more than just memorizing information for a test. It's about learning how to be an active member of a community. It's about learning how to learn, and how to access information. It's about growing socially and emotionally as well as intellectually. And it's about listening carefully to each voice; learning from each other. I realize daily how much I appreciate being at a school where we can openly talk about caring and love; and where we can challenge each other's ideas without fear of repercussions. Central Academy really is a very different kind of school. We invite you to join us in our journey. Respectfully,
Dianne
E-mail Dianne C. Suiter, Ph.D
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