Dear Families,
Can you believe that we only have 13 school days (after today) left to the 2018-2019 school year? We have many special activities and events happening over the next couple of weeks, so make sure to check the school calendar and mark your family calendar accordingly. When I look at the school calendar for the next few weeks and also being to plan the calendar for next year, I can’t help thinking about one of our school’s focus topics: School Culture.
School Culture defines our ways of being in relationship together- how it feels, sounds, and looks for all of us to be “at school”. School Culture describes the relationships between staff members, families and students along different points of contact. What makes up the School Culture at Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center? What works for us? What doesn’t? What are we each bringing to the experience?
One way to think of the culture of a school is through thinking about our routines, rituals, and relationships/role models. These three aspects of culture are essential to build a collective identity and collective responsibility, as well as act as the “glue” that makes school cohesive for students. Let’s take a look at each of these, and as we do, I invite you to think about this closing school year and next year and how you might want to be involved with any of these aspects of school culture:
All three of these aspects of a healthy culture should be seen and felt school-wide, as well as in each classroom, within the context of clear expectations for students and a plan for how we respond when things go wrong. As we move into next year, we are really focusing on working on our school-wide culture- understanding what it means to be a student at GRCDC, the responsibility and privilege each of us have to culture here, and how to ensure that “Education Based on Relationships” results in our student have strong, flexible, and sophisticated social and emotional skills that will allow them to be successful wherever and whatever they would like to do! If you have thoughts you would like to share on this, please let me know: heynel@childdiscoverycenter.org, 616-459-0330, OR find me at the front gate most mornings! Thank you!
Sincerely,
Lisa