EC Principal Letter
Dear ANCS elementary families,
Have you noticed that Ms. King and I are leaving the drop off line before 8:00am now? We started having our school-wide morning meetings last week and that means that we will head inside each morning around 7:57am so we can begin our meetings right at 8:00am. It would be amazing if all our students could be in the auditorium ready to go so they don’t miss any of our meeting. This is a unifying and shared experience that helps us start our day in a positive way. We ask that you help us uphold our expectations when you join us for morning meetings. Please silence your cell phone and engage in all the meeting has to offer. If you arrive at school after 8:00am, you will need to park and walk your child into the building so you can sign them in at the front desk.
Last week we introduced our first Guiding Principle: We come to school and every class prepared to learn and do our best. This week we introduced our second principle, We respect each other, our surroundings and ourselves. Each week we will introduce another ANCS Guiding Principle until we have discussed all five. Please take a moment at home to talk with your child about what the Guiding Principles mean to him/her/them.
Each week we learn a new song during our morning meeting. Ms. Wawerna led our first song, Keep On Walking Forward. This is the song the faculty and staff sang to our community at the beginning of our open house. It was so beautiful and moving to hear our students singing this song together. In the future, classes will sign up to lead a new song each week. We understand that morning meeting doesn’t fit into everyone’s schedule, but it would be so awesome if you could make it at least one morning when your child’s class is leading the song. Classroom teachers will keep you informed about when that is happening.
Additionally, we have explained to our students that one of the best parts of morning meeting is when students are actively participating. Each day we like to have a student lead the school in the Pledge and The Wolfpack Chant. If your child would like to do either one of these and knows all the words by heart, he/she/they can let the teachers know and they will get them signed up. Students also have the opportunity to perform during morning meeting. Some examples of student performances are playing a musical instrument, singing, sharing a poem or something cool that they learned, telling a joke, etc. Students who wish to perform in morning meeting need to audition with Ms. King, Ms. Wawerna or me first. Once a student has auditioned and is ready, we will sign him/her/them up on the calendar. You will be informed of the day this is happening so you plan to come into the building to watch if you are able.
My next courier will be all about our upcoming curriculum night which will be on August 28th from 4:15 to 6:30pm. Please make sure you have that date on your calendar.
Thank you so much for all the support you all have given as we are getting this school year underway. Your partnership means the world to us! As always, I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
Wishing you well,
Lara
Lara Zelski
Lara Zelski began working at ANCS in 2007. Previously, she worked at the Howard School and taught art, Spanish, reading and math. She taught 6th, 4th, and 2nd in DeKalb County. She taught 4th and 5th grade in Decatur and then moved to Title One reading and math instruction for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. She taught 5th grade at the ANCS elementary campus for two years.
