Hixson Happenings
22nd Issue, August 21, 2019
Reminder-Upcoming Dates
Monday, September 2: No School/Labor Day
A Note from the Principal
We hit a milestone in my house last Tuesday that reminded me that time is moving fast, without a slowdown in sight. My daughter started her first last day of Preschool at Ambrose and I would be lying if I didn’t admit that my heart cracked a little. With every first day of school, I send her off to a building where we have come to adore and appreciate the adults who care for her regardless of which personality is on stage for the day. She has a school experience that every parent hopes for-one where she is appreciated for her uniqueness, given space to explore her curiosity and gently pulled back when she needs to be reminded of boundaries. I couldn’t hope for more. It is with these same hopes and expectations that I collaborate with a building of amazing educators to build the same experiences for the kids we walk alongside at Hixson.
This year, our school is adding to our landscape with an intentional focus on who we are and how we show up for each other. Two years ago, a group of teachers, parents and students gathered to begin working on this focus through the formation of a character committee. Last year, after finalizing survey data from students, teachers and parents the three top character values selected by everyone for our school were building positive relationships, respect, and working together. This year, we have launched our character values and have begun integrating our language throughout the building. One of the ways we will stay connected with each other is through multi-age family groups. Family groups are a mix of 7th and 8th graders who are connected with a teacher, meeting together once a month for the rest of the year. Students will be with the same family group teacher for 7th and 8th grade. During monthly family group meetings, which will take place on the first Wednesday of the month, students will engage in a variety of character building activities. The purpose of family group is to provide each student with a home base and community. We are on an exciting journey as we continue to grow and shift our landscape to honor kids and tap into their voices. Welcome back to school and the 19-20 school year!
How We Communicate
We live in a time where we are inundated with emails from, well, everyone. In order to help cut down on the multiple emails that we get as parents, we are launching a new method to communicate. On Fridays, you will receive an email through our School Messenger System. In the weekly email, you will see a link for each team and department. The departments (Fine Arts, Practical Arts, Math, PE/Health and Counseling) will provide an email as needed to update, but teams will have a weekly link. You can click on the link for your child’s team to see the weekly update. If you miss the weekly email, you can visit our Hixson webpage and visit the team pages. The weekly update links will be archived on the team pages so you can always go back and revisit an old update at any time.
After today, my newsletter, Hixson Happenings, will also be on the Friday weekly email. However, you will only see Hixson Happenings every other week. You can also follow us on social media by liking our Facebook page and Instagram page as well as follow me on Twitter @DrGraceLee42.
Feedback is key to our growth and we like growing! Please feel free to send a quick email letting us know how things are going. Aimee, Mike and I are honored to serve as your administrative team and support your child.