The Weekly Bulldog
February 6, 2020
From Tim: Having an 'infinite mindset' of growth
A couple letters ago, I reflected on our mission “to engage, challenge, and inspire children to reach their potential…” The second part of our mission statement qualifies that statement in an important way: “…within an inclusive, diverse and collaborative community that values distinct contributions and abilities.” As with everything in life it seems, context matters. Yes, we strive to engage, challenge and inspire children, and we commit to doing so in a school community that intentionally welcomes, includes, and values all its members. Why is this important? Though they’d never say it, I can easily imagine a school community that offers the promise of a fulfilling experience for some, but not all. Or a learning environment that says it values all learners but holds out rewards and recognition for a select few.
Personally, I’ve always loved the phrase “values distinct contributions and abilities” because it really means something to me. I can point to the way Stanley lives this. I think of the many ways students’ talents are recognized and celebrated – classroom exhibits, arts festival, sports fields, theater productions, academic contests in and out of school. I think about how we show that we “see” every student through our transition ceremonies in 2nd, 5th, and 8th grades. I also think about how we are continually pushing ourselves to live up to the ideal of being a truly inclusive school community. It’s a journey for sure, and I don’t believe it’s realistic to believe we’d ever arrive a place of full inclusion. Rather, it’s important that we have an “infinite mindset” of continually growing our day-to-day practice towards ensuring everyone feels they belong.
Much of this effort is overseen by two committees, our staff-level Multicultural Affairs Committee, and our new board-level School Culture, Inclusiveness and Equity (SCIE) committee. These groups have existed in one form or another for a long time at Stanley. What’s been gratifying from my perspective has been the level of engagement in both groups over the last couple of years. The staff MAC team, about 15 teachers strong, focuses largely on curriculum and school program issues. For example, MAC is sponsoring an all-staff professional development workshop on April 6 from Teaching Tolerance, focused on helping teachers design curriculum units from an anti-bias perspective. The board SCIE team is charged with oversight of the school’s policies and the fulfillment of our Strategic Plan for Equity and Inclusiveness. The committee is currently studying ways we might regularly measure an inclusion at Stanley. (Diversity is relatively easy to measure, inclusion is another matter)
In the end what we do (engaging, challenging, inspiring) lives carefully in how we do it (with a diverse and inclusive community) in the service of big part of our why – nurturing “joyful, lifelong learners prepared to make a positive difference in the world.”
All the best,
Tim
Top Five Things
1. From Stephanie: How do we accurately measure student learning?
Each year, third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students spend time taking nationally normed, standardized tests. This hones skills, but our 3-4-5 program uses other tools to get a more accurate measure of student learning and guide our instruction. Learn more about these assessments, and note test dates coming up on the Learning Report
2. Connecting more kids to camp
3. Have a [green] heart for Valentine's Day
This Valentine's Day, do your part and keep it eco friendly. Consider following tips and ideas from Stanley's Sustainability Committee to get you started. Keep it simple, waste-free, and remember that plastic candy wrappers, foils, stickers, glitter, plastic toys, etc cannot be recycled or composted and will end up in the trash.
4. Share your outgrown boots, hats, mittens...
5. Save the Date: Bulldog Fest and Stanley Fun Run
Upcoming Events
February 6
Last day of Middle School basketball season
February 7
Parent Association 1st-Friday Pop-up Social
February 10
February 12
3-4-5 Classroom Tours for Current 2nd Grade Parents
7th-grade Drama Showcase (daytime and evening performances)
February 13
8th-grade-vs-staff Basketball Game
Bricks & Brews Stanley Parents Pickup Basketball
February 14-17
February 20
Middle School ERB testing (through Friday)
6-7-8 early dismissal & Middle School conferences
Ordering ends for March Stanley lunches and extended day
February 21
K-8 early dismissal & Middle School conferences
February 22
Storytelling Evening with special guest Jane Treat
Stanley British Primary School
Email: admin@stanleybps.org
Website: www.stanleybps.org
Location: 350 Quebec St., Denver
Phone: (303) 360-0803
Facebook: facebook.com/stanley.british/
Twitter: @stanleybps