August 2009

Principal News

 

 

Greetings to all our Cooperative School patrons and students.  Even though it seems hard to believe summer is coming to an end, it truly is so, and I for one am so excited about the school year ahead.

 

When I think of all that is ahead, it makes me remember the excitement of planning for a special event or trip.  Many times, the planning was equally as exciting as the journey itself.

 

During the year ahead we will have the opportunity to work together as building and cooperative school teams on a journey to becoming a professional learning community.  What does that mean?  Simply put, we will focus our attentions fully on student learning and not just teaching, we will work collaboratively together and hold ourselves accountable for results.  Like any successful journey, this will take time, study, conversation and focused intentional actions.

 

On our journey, we will explore four basic questions:

 

            1)         What do we want each student to learn?

 

            2.         How will we know when each student has learned?

 

            3)         How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning?

 

            4)         How will we respond when a student already understands his/her learning?

 

As we explore together we will be reaching out to our parent partners, whose help we so appreciate.  In the next months ahead I will continue to provide updates on the details and progress of our work.  For now, I would encourage all our parents to visit our website at www.sje.wednet.edu or drop in the building and let us give you a tour.  Finally, I would encourage and welcome input from parents.  Your suggestions and ideas help keep us strong and focused on serving the educational needs of our students.

 

My best wishes to all our families as we begin another exciting school year.  Thank you for sharing your precious children with usÉit is a privilege and an honor to have the opportunity to work with them on their educational journey.

 

Suzanne Schmick

P-8 Principal

sschmick@endicott.wednet.edu

509-657-3523 or 509-648-9942