Dear colleagues
Welcome back to the school year and to this blog, which I am sure you have all been eagerly awaiting throughout the summer.
First of all, on behalf of the ES Leadership Team, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to everyone for jumping into what has been a busy and, in many ways, new in-service week and start to the school year. There are many new processes, routines, and arrangements that we are still learning and refining as we go. I am confident that your professionalism, situational awareness, flexibility, and organizational skills will help us navigate any inevitable hiccups along the way.
I would also like to extend a special thank you to our TA and LSA teams, who have worked incredibly hard to prepare classrooms and materials and to support both new and returning faculty as we continue to work through our new facility arrangements in the Elementary School. Your willingness to step in wherever needed has made a real difference.
Remi has also been working tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure everything is ready for the start of the year. Her attention to detail, efficiency, calm problem-solving, and positive energy make the ES office a welcoming and highly effective place to work and visit. Thank you, Remi.
I am genuinely excited about the year ahead and about continuing to build a responsive, joyful, and collaborative community of highly skilled professionals. Every new school year gives us another opportunity to grow not only individually, but also as teams.
One of the things I enjoy most about the beginning of a school year is watching new teams take shape. Strong teams do not simply happen because talented people are placed together; they develop as people listen to one another, contribute their strengths, remain curious about different perspectives, and gradually build trust. I am looking forward to seeing how our new teams develop and how their different strengths come together.
We have welcomed an outstanding group of new educators this year, and I am confident they will make a positive difference in our students' lives while also enriching our already strong teaching teams. At the same time, our returning faculty bring tremendous experience, institutional knowledge, and continuity. The combination creates exciting possibilities for learning from one another.
Finally, I am very excited to begin the year alongside Katie and Jill. Katie has already taken on numerous tasks beyond her immediate role to help ensure that the start of the year runs smoothly. Jill has impressively moved from being new to CA to stepping confidently into leadership, bringing stability, thoughtful organization, and a strong sense of calm to our daily work. I am very much looking forward to working with both of them as we continue to shape our own culture of leading, supporting, and serving the Elementary School community.
As our students and families return, let’s welcome both new and returning members of the CA community with the warmth, care, and joy that characterize our Elementary School.
Supervision Duty is here! (Thank you, Jill!)
The 2026 First Semester Duty Schedule was created with the feedback you provided last June. Please note that, while we are not following the rotation schedule until Friday, we will start duties on the first day of school, Day 5. Supervision Protocols
New Student Orientation
Please review the Schedule to see if you are leading a group or an activity in your classroom.
Community Time Resources (Thank you, Jill!)
Here is a PDF guide for using RJ Circles. While it is not exactly the same language and structure as the trainers coming in September, there are some great tips for setting up your Circles and building community in the first few weeks of school. You can also find some community-building games here. Feel free to add your favorites directly to the doc.
Jill will be sending Google Calendar invitations to visit your class in the first weeks of school to meet your students and introduce herself.
Grade Level Pacing Guides (Thank you, Jill!)
If you haven’t already, please bookmark your grade level pacing guide.
Here’s to a strong start, a year of continued growth, and many success stories still to be written.
Heikki
*Non-homeroom teachers on morning/afternoon recess should circulate
Soccer Rotation
