Farewell for now

End of Year Letter

May 21, 2016

By Rachel Falk

Dear Parents,

            As we come to the end of the school year, I want to thank you all for sending us such amazing students.   Glenshire Elementary School is fortunate to have hard working, fun, focused, safe, respectful, responsible, and kind  students walk in our doors every morning.  Much of the credit for that goes to you and the care, love, and high expectations they get from you at home.  We all thank you for your support throughout the year and willingness to work with us as a team to get the most out of your child.

            One thing we know about our students is that if they do not stay engaged in a few important things over these long breaks, they will slide backwards in terms of their learning.  Studies show that students like ours can lose up to 2 weeks of progress for every month they are away from school.  This is a large reason why we ask so many students to come to one of our summer programs.  If your student was not invited or is not able to attend one of the summer sessions, it is still very important that they do a couple of things pretty regularly during the summer vacation.  First, they need to continue to read.  In addition to staying in practice, reading regularly opens student’s minds up to new ideas.  Students should read 20 minutes a day all summer.  Second, they need to continue to be exposed to mathematical situations.  Simple things like playing board games, helping with dinner, organizing and categorizing items around the house (sorting all those socks!!), and even just counting things while you drive are good ways to keep student’s minds sharp.  Finally, students need time to play with other kids.  Children learn a million little things about how to interact appropriately at school and in the world simply by playing with other kids.  Plus, it is a whole lot more fun for them than sitting around the house watching TV!!!  If any of them give you trouble this summer when you try to get them to do any of this, just pull out this letter and tell them I am encouraging you do it!!!  Here are a couple of links to check out during the summer months:  Our wonderful social-emotional Second Step Program, http://www.secondstep.org/ and all things related to media and technology, and Common Sense Media, https://www.commonsensemedia.org/.

            Finally, I want to remind you quickly that we will be having construction at our school all summer, thanks to you and Measure U.   It will look like a brand new school inside when your children return.   Our office will closed during this time.  We will look forward to seeing all of you for the first day of school on September 1^st.

            Thank you again for helping us to have such a successful year at Glenshire Elementary. 

Have a great summer!

Rachel Falk

Glenshire Elementary School Guidance Counselor