Elementary Principal Letter
Dear ANCS Elementary Families,
Happy New Year! We have had a great week and half here at school. Teachers and students came back from break focused and ready to pick right back up with teaching and learning! The winter MAP window has opened, so students across the school are spending time taking their second MAP assessment of the year.
Walk your student to class days are back! We had so much success with this last year and now we are excited to invite you into the building to walk your child to class one day the week of January 30th. We will follow this schedule to allow parents the opportunity to walk their student to their classroom in the morning during our arrival window between 7:30am and 8:00am. You can come on the day your child’s class is listed.
- Tuesday, January 31 – Denson/Johnson, Lance/Turton, Newton/Collins, Sulmers/German, Hage/Lobban, Derichsweiler/Woods
- Wednesday, February 1 – Tomlinson/Morgan, Morris/Morales, Arrington/Dietz, Agadoni/Stewart, Conners/Wade, Douglas/Wright
- Thursday, February 2 – Sattler/Berney, Kellum/Maland, Lawrence/Attwooll, Taylor/Smith
- Friday, February 3 – Rockmore/Holmes, Armstead/Godicheau, Love/Price/Chen
In order for this to work well, we will all need to follow some guidelines. We are working to manage the flow of traffic and crowding in the school. Please read these over carefully.
- Enjoy coming into the building with your student on the designated day between 7:30 and 8:00. Ideally you will arrive by 7:50 at the latest so you can spend time looking at work and won’t feel rushed. Our school day begins right at 8:00.
- Spend about 5 to 10 minutes in the building. Please do not congregate with other parents in the hallway to socialize.
- Unfortunately, if you arrive at school after 8:00, you will not be able to walk your student to his/her classroom. You will come into the building and sign your student in at the front desk, per usual.
- This is not a time to meet with the teacher to discuss your child’s progress or other concerns you may have. Teachers are busy getting the day started and will have students in the classroom to attend to in the morning. If you have questions or concerns that you would like to talk about with the teachers, contact them outside of this time to set up a meeting.
We are very hopeful that this will be a positive experience for everyone and that we will be able to offer another time or two this year for parents to come into the building and walk their student to class.
As you know, Monday, January 16th, is the MLK holiday and we will not be in school. In 1983, legislation was signed to create a federal holiday to celebrate the birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This was a long struggle and it wasn’t until 1986 that the holiday was actualized and citizens across the United States were given a day to honor one of the most inspirational speakers and leaders in American history.
Martin Luther King, Jr. would have turned 94 years old this year. Here at school students are having discussions in an effort to deepen their understanding of why we take this day off from school and to create a better appreciation of the work of Dr. King. Most importantly, we want our students to ponder how they, too, can practice the teachings of Dr. King. We are encouraging our students to participate in a service project, that is age appropriate for them, of course. I hope you enjoy this long weekend and find the right way for your family to celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
As always, I am happy to answer any questions you may have. Enjoy the rest of your week.
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.
