Appreciation!

“I appreciate you”.  We say it but what does it mean?  I like this definition: appreciation is the act of estimating the qualities of things and giving them their proper value.  This week was staff appreciation at Springer so we all had the chance to estimate the quality of staff and give them their proper value.  Parents and students did this in various forms, with flowers, notes, and lots of treats (I think I gained 5 lbs this week!).

Because I work with staff daily, I am reminded constantly of their proper value.  I fully comprehend the value of a dedicated teacher and the effect he or she has on student learning.  I understand the immense value of a talented office staff (thank you Linda and Diana) and see how they support students, teachers, and parents.  The value of a always friendly, hard working custodian (Geb) can never be underestimated.  The list of people who have tremendous value on this staff would fill this entire column.  Forgive me if you’ve heard it before, but there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t feel blessed to be working with this staff.

At the risk of turning this into a “love fest”, I also want to recognize the value of our Springer families.  Staff was blown away at all the gifts and acknowledgments that came their way this week.  Staff members who are new to Springer this year were awe struck at the way our families showed appreciation.   Throughout the week, I kept finding myself thinking how lucky we all are to have an entire community that recognizes the value of EACH OTHER.  This very fact is a major reason why Springer is such a great place for our students.  Students know that we are all pulling on the same oar to give them the very best educational experience we can.  So, thank you- all of you.

A word about next year’s classes:

Teachers have begun the work of building next year’s classes.  Grade level teams spend countless hours, weighing a multitude of factors, in building balanced classes for the next school year.  With the exception of our incoming Kinder classes, this work often goes deep into the summer (which is why we publish class lists in August).   

If you have concerns about your child’s class placement for next year, please share them with your current teacher.  Communicate your concerns in a way that talks about the student’s strengths and challenges that you would like considered when the teacher is making a placement.  Please do not ask for a specific teacher.  Doing so puts teachers in a difficult spot for a number of reasons.   I am, of course, happy to meet with any parents that wish to discuss class placement for next year.

Have a fantastic weekend!