Happenings

As many of you know this is Homecoming week for the Upper School students.  I have been informed there are many questions floating about regarding why Lower School students have not been included in this week of festivities.  I would like to take a moment to answer those questions.  Homecoming is truly an Upper School event.  I have been in many K-12 schools and Lower School students do not understand the significance of Homecoming.  The activities prove to be a distraction to the learning process for younger students.  By not having Lower School participate, it also gives Lower School students something to look forward to as they get older.  There are some privileges that come with age as we all know.  Having our younger students out of uniform for purposes they clearly do not understand is not the best use of those “out of uniform” days.  The Lower School students do get to participate in spirit wear days and free dress days.  As the school year continues, there may be other opportunities for Lower School students to have “special” dress days as organized by the Lower School teachers.   In deciding what to do for Lower School students here at Eagle Ridge, I consulted with several members of the Lower School Leadership Advisory Team (a group of teachers that were elected by other teachers to meet with me and discuss issues or ideas within the Lower School).  It was agreed that Lower School students would not benefit from being involved (It would actually be detrimental for learning.) and there would be other ways for us to build community spirit both in the Lower School and school wide as the school year progresses.  I hope this answers some of your questions and helps you understand the decision that was made.

Last week students in grades 1-5 were treated to performances by the CLIMB Theater.  The performances addressed Bullying.  Students watched scenes of bullying and then saw the same scene acted out in a new way that showed the actors standing up to bullies by using their words, or not being a bystander.  The performances were tailored to the ages of the students.  I found them to be well done and students left with new words and ideas they could use if they feel bullied.  It is important for us all to understand that one incident is not bullying.  Bullying is repeated behavior over a span of time.  Normal childhood behavior may include some power struggles and occasional times of behaviors we would not like to see, but again this is normal and does not mean a child is a bully or a victim.  Often words can be overused and when we do, we run the risk of muddying the meaning.  We take bullying seriously at ERA and want to student to truly understand what it is and how to combat it, if necessary.  Here are a couple of  pictures from the shows.

I want to thank all of the parents that participated in parent/teacher conferences last week.  A BIG THANK YOU to the parents who brought in food for the teachers on Thursday.  It was so very appreciated! 

Also, another BIG THANK YOU to all of the Book Fair volunteers last week.  It looked to be a successful event.  I know I found a wonderful book to add to my bookshelf in the office for mystery reader days!  We look forward to using the proceeds to support curriculum and other initiatives at ERA.

Upcoming Events

-MEA is next week.  There is no school for students on Wed. (10/17), Thurs. (10/18) or Fri. (10/19)

Have a wonderful week!

Mrs. Baier