Dear Eastwood Explorers:
I hope everyone had a great summer! We are only a few days away from the start of the new school year and embarking on what is certain to be another amazing journey!
We are very excited to have you join us this year! Our Eastwood campus is beautiful and combines design and functionality throughout to create a learning environment that is second to none. Our awesome teachers and staff are focused on providing the greatest experience you can envision, and the innovative furniture throughout the school provides students the flexibility to learn in a variety of ways.
Our first official day of school will be Thursday, August 18th.
- We will be on a minimum day schedule on both the 18th and 19th with dismissal at 1:20 PM for all students in first through sixth grade.
- Each morning, all 1st through 6th grade students line up behind their classroom number which is painted on the blacktop on the playground when the bell rings at 8:12 AM. Teachers will meet their classes in line and proceed to their classrooms at 8:15 AM.
- Students and families are allowed to be on the campus at the lunch tables and/or playground at 8:00 AM each day.
- Kindergarten families will receive an email from your child’s teacher on Wednesday with specific directions about where and when to arrive.
You will be able to see your child’s class placement on the Parent Portal around 2:00 PM on Wednesday, August 17th. Our enrollment is changing on a daily basis, and we appreciate everyone's patience and understanding as we accommodate the additional families who are moving into our beautiful neighborhood. Class assignments may continue to change even during the first week of school as we accommodate all of the new children who move into the area.
I recognize for some this uncertainty is uncomfortable. Please know that we will do everything we can to make the start of the school year as smooth as possible.
I also wanted to let everyone know that on Friday, August 19th, we will have a Fall School Play Day. School Play Days are times set aside to bring awareness to the importance of play in a child’s healthy, well rounded, development. Some of the benefits of unstructured play as discovered by an ever-increasing amount of research based data include: Development of empathy, increase productivity with others, learning suitable methods of gaining others’ attention, development of personal resilience, confidence and self-esteem, sense of community, problem solving skills, peer communication, creativity, imagination, along with many other benefits needed in the 21st Century world.
This also allows teachers a time to observe the social-emotional ability of each child to help support their growth in this area during the school year. We’ve found these days to be extremely valuable as we build a cohesive culture at Eastwood, and are excited to nurture friendships and social well-being. Your teachers will share more information on Thursday.
I end with sharing our belief of...”Who are Explorers?”
- We BELIEVE that there are no limits to what we can accomplish. We know our voices matter and we have the ability to do great things.
- We RESPECT ourselves and others by showing honor and appreciation through words and actions.
- We ADAPT our thinking and embrace growth.
- We VALIDATE each other as we seek to solve problems together.
- We EMPATHIZE to improve the lives of everyone.
WE ARE BRAVE...WE ARE AWESOME...WE ARE EXPLORERS!
Sincerely,
Aaron Jetzer
Principal
