As we being to wind down, and start another summer, do you have any goals?  Any plans?  This summer is a lot differnet from last year isn’t it?  We were looking at a lockdown, with no known timeline.  This year we are still in a semi lockdown, with a better idea of the timeline. Places are opening, people are getting out more.  What about you? We are all in different places in our comfort zone during this time, there is not a right or wrong.  There is a place for you.

I feel that this is the place that we should be at, our place.  Everyone feels differently about the space they and their families are in, and that is ok.  I think that if everyone understood that, we would be in a better place right now.

My family is slowly venturing out. We all have the vaccine, and feel a bit better. We are excited for our community, our world, our life to be in a place where everyone feels safe.

I wanted to end this week with a challenge to you: Read a book outside your comfort zone.  While this might seem odd, I will explain.  We are all in our comfort zone in life right now.  In our own space.  So if you cannot go outside that comfort zone-go outside of your imagination comfort zone.  Take your mind somewhere different!
Enjoy and let me know what you choose!

Hello to all.

This is part Historical, part curious.  Where are you now?  What are you doing? And what are you seeing?  We have so many perspectives of our world, I would love to know where you are.  I am contemplating in person to remote.  What is best for our kids? Our staff? Without a Vaccine, or with?  This has to be looked at in all angles.  Funny-my spell check said angels.

Where are we in all this? Where are you? I get the social and emotional, I get the fear and the worry.  I get it all. I am K-12 with both students and staff(and their families).  I said it before and I will say it again-the consequences of decisions made now may not be known until years to come. So I say to all-make the decisions now be based on the best for all-students and staff.

With that being said, how are you changing your family life to assist/continue this new normal? Whatever it may look like? I am setting aside time for my MS child to work with me and complete assignments. (Notice the time tonight on this post.) Sometimes not ideal, but it is.

To me, it is all in how we look at things within our own families/life.  What do we work on, what do we focus on? Talk to your child’s teacher-they know.  Talk to them on the downfalls and the potholes-they know and can help.  Talk to your teachers and staff.  Talk to those on the frontline of your child’s education.  We get it.

Allow grace.  We are in this race together-a race at slow speed. We get that all are not at the same milestone, but they are at one of them. We get that they are “behind” and cannot quite get it, but will.  All this is par for the course of a pandemic……again a PANDEMIC.  We haven’t seen one in a while. Give yourselves and your students grace.

To all I say, the world as it is will not be lost based on the level of our education but based on the level of our humanity.  Where are you and your family on this level?  As a school of character I hope high.  As a teacher with high expectations, I hope higher. Let’s make this world we are happy to leave our kids and grandkids with.

Michelle Green

Good Morning and welcome back to all!

We have enjoyed two long weeks off, holidays and a lot of food!  It is hard to come back from a break where school wasn’t even a thought.  But, here we are-the 3rd quarter!  Can you believe that it is already Q3?  This means there are 18 weeks left of this school year.  Wow!

How will you start this Q3 off?  Keeping items up to date?  On task and ready to go?  That is the best way.  If you have learned anything over the past few weeks, it is that staying on top of work can help you be successful.  Reach out to teachers with questions or concerns, and do not hestitate.  The teachers all want you to succeed.  That is their number 1 goal-for you to succeed!!

My challenge to you:  Read this quarter too.  I cannot tell you how important it is to read.  Read any book that you may think of.  Whether it be for fun, for work, for instructions-just read!!  I am reading an older book, but one that is making a profound affect on me: Zlata’s Diary. This is a story of a young girl in Yugoslavia during the fighting in the early 1990s.  It affects me in many ways as it is during my lifetime.  It is after the Iron Curtain has fallen and different ethnicities are trying to take control in various areas.  She happens to be in Sarejevo.  It is heart wrenching to me as I was alive and had siblings that were around her age at the time.  I will keep you up to date on here on the book.  As well as others I will be reading.

I hope you have a great start to the new quarter and read!!!  I am here always if you need any help with anything that you might need to talk about or ask questions on.  Please do not hesitate to ask!  Have a great Q3!!  Keep reading!!

Mrs. Green

Here we go, K-4 is full time.  While that is a daunting task, we will do this!  The students are ready-as are we.  My teachers are looking at this as a time for all hands on deck!! Forward Ho’!

We are in this together!

Enjoy your new week!  Stay safe and healthy!

Good Morning,

We are plugging along and doing school!  That is what I hear my teachers say often.  They are excited that students are back, and loving the routines.  Students are glad to be back, and they are doing a great job of follwoing the social distance and COVID rules.  They are eager and ready to learn and do the right thing to maintain the ability to stay in school.

October 12, after fall break, we will have all K-4 students on the campus.  This is a directive that came from the Governor, and we are embracing it with happiness!  Remember your three W’s: Wash, Wear, Wait.  See you soon!

Everyone stay safe, and healthy!

The countdown has begun.  One more week of remote all the time, and then you are going to start to come back on campus.  Are you ready? Have you worked hard enough to be able to return to school?

I think of my own children as they are still doing their work remotely.  Will they be able to fall back into the rhythm of getting up early, going to campus and working with their mask on?  It will be different for sure, but will be better?  What makes it better or worse?

I think this is where we need to realize that there are going to be bumps in the road, hills for us to climb, and rivers for us to cross.  Along the way, we need to support each other, keep our hands out to help those in need, and carry a lot of extras!!  We can do this together!

See you soon!

Week 4 is almost done!  You have done so well with remote learning, right?  I have heard some are doing well, some are struggling, and others will wait to complete assignments some other time.  That is a huge gap in your classes.
So, how can you help?  How can you encourage and motivate others to complete assignments and turn work in?  What will the benefits be to you?  Think about it-when we return, we can move faster throught hte material, be able to better answer questions that are related, and really just explore more information that can better prepare us for life.
Yes, I know it sounds funny, better prepare us for life-but it is true.  Think of the skills you are acquiring without even knowing it.  Skills such as: Self awareness, self motivation, self discispline, time management, and perserverance.  Those are skills that are needed for the rest of your life.  Think of the benefits of helping others acquire these skills.  The benefits to you and the school, and society.

Let’s work together to make this year be a combination of school, society, and new self awareness.  How can you contribute?  I would love to know!

Welcome back to school!  We are excited and happy for all to return to “school.” While it looks a little different this year, we are still UA and still a community.

How will you start to reach out to teachers and others and work on keeping this community strong?  How will you continue to work on your schoolwork while asking questions and emailing your teacher? Making a plan that helps you to be successful is crucial.  Our family had to sit down and work out our plan.  We will see if this works!

Stay tuned for information that will help you to find books from our library as well as the Public library!  Stay strong, stay safe and healthy, and we look forward to “seeing” you in school!

Wow, it is already May 19th!  School will close out soon.  Hard to believe isn’t it?  I went into the Lower Media Center today and looked around at how quiet it was.  It almost felt like it was the summertime and we were getting ready for you to start.  Weird times for sure!

As we wind down, collect those library books, find those chromebooks and chargers, gather your smiles and come see us on the days we have posted.  We miss all of you terribly and are looking forward to seeing you again!

Well, we have made it this far.  Week 8. Wow.  Who would have thought that we could have made it this long?  You are all doing a great job, staying on task, working with your teachers, turnng items in.  It is not the same for sure, but we are making it work.  Your teachers miss you immensely!  I promise.  I hear it from you as well as them that this is not something we wanted, but we will make the best of it.  UA is more than a building, it is a fmaily that lives in various places.  As long as we remember that, we will make it through the year.

We are hoping to make it back in July-all healthy and safe.  That is our goal!  I was asked to help with the summer reading program again this summer.  I am always thrilled to be able to help with this.  We will team up again with the Union County Public Library to help with choices.  I want you to reach out of your comfort zone and read something you may have not read before-a different genre or the like. In chooising the books, I have asked and received various authors reading their first chapters online.  Look for these links on the main media center page!

I look forward to seeing you back at school next year healthy and happy!  Go Cardinals!  We are UA!