When the school bell rings for the last time in June, those of us connected to children can be lured into thinking that the approaching season is merely a space between school years; a work slow-down; a respite; time off from more important pursuits. But how untrue that would be! My experiences observing hundreds of children return to us every fall, along with a backward glance at my own child-rearing years and reflection on my present role as an elder in a multigenerational household, have formed a deeply-rooted belief that summer is the most important time of the year for children and families. It's in the altered rhythm of this rich sensory season that we are most immersed in God's beautiful creation and each other and can focus deliberately on the playful and imaginative work that most effectively develops intellect and the meaningful relationships that make us whole. It's in this space between school years that we have the potential to be most fully alive. And I've found that summers well-lived add up to a deeply contented life.
Summer is, too, the season of most intense productivity for those of us who "make" the school experience that follows. Back at the schoolhouse, summer work is different - usually quieter - but, in some ways, more pressure-filled as we race against the clock to complete projects that have hard deadlines. This summer, more than many in recent years, has been defined by special projects that will truly take St. Robert School to the next level of excellence. We hit the ground running in the first weeks with the final editing and completion of our massive year-long accreditation self-study, which we were proud to submit to the Archdiocese the first week in July. This rubric-based analysis of our performance on 72 benchmarks in the domains of Mission and Identity, Leadership and Governance, Academic Excellence, and Operational Vitality sets the stage for an October team visit not only to verify our findings and recommend our school to WRISA (Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Accreditation) for accreditation, but to recommend next steps in continuous school improvement aligned with evidence-based best practices identified in the National Standards and Benchmarks for Effective Catholic Schools, which was our study tool.
In contrast to this intensely academic work, several creative projects are underway in our school environment this summer. Your children will return not only to a sparkling building cleaned with ozonated water instead of chemicals, but to some refreshed rooms as well. Students in the north wing of the second floor (second through fifth grade) will enjoy contemporary new carpet planks to replace the tired and tattered carpeting that had served us for decades. All students - and their teachers - will be inspired by the renovated Media Resource Center, featuring a selection of modular furnishing options to support collaborative project work from brainstorming through production and presentation. The renovated Center will be available as break-out space for small groups or an alternative classroom. The updated space and the new technology that will be housed there have been purchased with funds donated at our spring Auction. It's been fun to collaborate with contractors and designers to bring it to life. I can't wait for you to see your gifts at work!
Also in the creative realm, substantial effort has been invested this summer in the design and construction of a completely new interactive website enhanced by new brand visuals. Despite twists and turns, we are still aiming for a late fall launch. The new site will be married to a new student information/learner management system that will greatly enhance your ability to track your children's progress and communicate with the school. And on top of this, our next enrollment season will see an online admissions and enrollment process - complete with online payment of fees and lunch deposits! From vetting and selection to onboarding and integration with our new website, the implementation of these new tools has been an overwhelming process, but one that will belatedly bring our school's workflow processes into alignment with our Technology Integration Exemplary Recognition Award! Thanks for your patience as we get these new systems up and running.
Summer in the school business characteristically brings staffing transitions - and this summer is no different - but this season's openings lined up in a way that brought us the opportunity to take a systemic view of both new and existing teaching assignments. A strong enrollment season has allowed us to retain two sections of fourth grade, which will be taught by the dynamic new partnership of former first grade teacher Katie Dahl and former fifth grade teacher Nick Fedie. Former fourth grade teacher Chris Stefaniak will move to third grade to fill the seat vacated by Sarah Yannett. Our first grade will be led by our former reading specialist, Ann Schroeder, and a yet-to-be named new colleague who will replace Claire Tocco.
We will welcome new members to our team as well. The middle school math seat vacated by Meghan Biernacki will be filled by Meg Kinateder, who comes to us from six years as a middle school math teacher at a Catholic school in Chicago and three years as a math intervention teacher in the Greenfield Public Schools. Our most recent hire is an additional half-time 4K teacher, Kristen Byers, who is launching a second career. Her maturity and instincts as a parent of three along with a creative, playful spirit and deep knowledge of child development and best practices in early childhood education make her uniquely qualified for our very special pre-kindergarten. We are still engaged in searches for a new reading specialist, first grade teacher, instructional aide - and piano teacher! Pray for good candidates and God's guidance.
Summer is often a time for purchasing new instructional resources, but this year we are particularly enthused to transition back to Investigations Math after a three-year hiatus in which we waited for the publication of the publisher's revised Common Core-aligned materials. We had used this lab-model approach successfully for six prior years to support the development of strong foundational number sense and applied mathematical thinking in kindergarten and the elementary grades. Along with our carpeting project and website project, the $25,000 investment in new math resources was funded by our School Society endowment. Thank you to those who have supported school improvements with contributions to this Fund through the years. Thank you also to the many families who contributed to our Annual Fund, which successfully reached its $200,000 goal!
Perhaps most importantly, summer in the school office is about supporting teachers in moving their practices ever-forward. After three years of intensive, impressive work on curriculum, many of our teachers have been hard at work this summer completing their unit design work. Others are studying the plans designed by their colleagues or predecessors, allowing us - for the first time ever - to launch our programs with consistency and continuity despite staffing changes.
Finally, summer is all about the details...databases and homeroom assignments and schedules and budgets and school records and piles and piles of paperwork. You will get a peek at the results of those efforts at our upcoming Forms and Fees Day on Tuesday, August 8th. Be sure to carefully review the information in the summer edition of our e-News for details on this important final step in the school registration process. If you are unable to attend on August 8th, you can finish the process anytime between August 14th and 18th or 22nd through 25th during summer office hours.
Note that the school office will be closed the entire week of August 7th and again on August 21st as we welcome our teachers back and gather the entire staff for orientation.
I hope you have been enjoying a slower, richer kind of family time in these glorious weeks of summer. I look forward to welcoming you back - or for the first time - to the adventure that is St. Robert School!
