Principal's Letter for September
Kelly M. Borchard - Principal
Principal's Letter for September 2022
Principal’s Message – September
The school year is off to an excellent start! The District Office staff, teachers, and staff have done a wonderful job readying the school for students. The new air conditioners are working well. We are waiting like children at Christmas for the playground structure to be completed. The staff works hard each day to make sure all learning is exceptional and that the school runs smoothly.
Before school even began, SRTMS conducted a successful kindergarten and middle school orientation. It was great to see the smiling faces of the students during these events. We also held a Welcome Back Night where students and parents heard about the exciting new events for the upcoming year. We also provided a school tour and allowed students to find their classrooms. The event helped reduce the anxiety of both the students and the parents ahead of the first day of school. It was successful and well received by the entire school community.
Back to School Night was early this year, and the teachers presented their information well. It’s the first time in two years since we had our last in-person Back to School Night. It was nice to see over 80% of parents attend Back to School.
This year, one of our academic goals is to have students continue to track their own progress toward mastering essential standards in specific subjects. This year, we are adding additional subjects in both the elementary and middle school grades. The goal is to make students more aware and responsible for their own learning.
On September 14, we will have an Honor Roll assembly to honor those middle school students who achieved either bronze, silver, or gold honor roll for trimester III of the 2021-2022 school year. We have over 85% of all our 7th and 8th grade students earning some level of honor roll.
We will restart our TK-5 YMCA PE program this year. The program will be on campus Tuesdays and Fridays. Each TK-5 grade classroom will have PE on those days. The program will follow California PE standards and have a number of instructors plus SRTMS teachers present during each class. The program begins in mid-September. The PTO provides the funding for this program, and we look forward to wonderful outcomes through this continued partnership.
We continue to use the Second Step curriculum in all grades this year. . We will also utilize the Second Step strategies more on the playground and with disciplinary actions. We are hoping to fully implement the Peace Path by the middle of trimester III as well. Additionally, we will strengthen our use of community circles. They happen each day after announcements.
We will be continuing our BE THE JOY campaign. The program is a positive behavior approach that focuses on highlighting students that make positive choices, and that bring a positive and joyous attitude to school. Posters are up in each classroom, and teachers will write down acts of positivity on postcards. These postcards (and the student who acted positively) will be celebrated and displayed in the office. Last year, we covered two walls of my office with cards. We will also be making our selections for Student of the Month based primarily on those students that bring joy to the classroom. The program works as a supplement to the Second Step program and will evolve over the next few years. I created this program so that everyone can focus on positivity and making choices that uplift each other.
The school looks great due to the continued work of the facilities and maintenance department. The students and teachers are excited for the new year, and there is a new energy around the campus.