Wildwood Family,
I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude for your partnership as we navigate this incredibly heartbreaking loss in our school community. Thank you for your kindness, care, and support during this time. We also want to publicly thank the O.H. Anderson Elementary School staff and the Mahtomedi PTO for providing snacks and meals for our staff this week. We are deeply grateful for the compassion and care that have surrounded our school community and the extraordinary work of our teachers, staff, and district support personnel as they support our students through this difficult time.
We want to make sure any student who needs support is identified. Families can use this form to let us know if their child needs support, and those responses will be shared with our student support staff so they can follow up. As you find yourself having conversations at home, our Mahtomedi/North Homes Therapist, Mac Sims, shared this information about validating children’s feelings.
Today’s issue of the eNews is also my opportunity to share a Principal Spotlight on Learning with you. The theme this month is innovative and creative thinking. When I think about this at the elementary level, it comes through when we consider that learning is not just about getting the right answer, but about exploring, wondering, revising, and growing, which is so important too.
If you’ve ever been in an elementary classroom, you are sure to recognize the incredible ability teachers have to navigate lessons and activities while answering continual questions from their students. Whether students are making predictions during a read-aloud, explaining their thinking in math, or experimenting during an art lesson, their questions are often filled with wonder and curiosity. Our teachers build on those moments by encouraging academic risk-taking and perseverance, helping students grow as confident learners.
It’s hard to think of graduation when students are in elementary school, but our hope is that by cheering on their wonder, creativity, and perseverance now, our students will graduate with a strong foundation to become innovative thinkers and confident, self-directed individuals.
