Submitted by Dr. Stephen Waigand, Rock Port Elementary Principal

The 2023-2024 school year is off and running! We have 217 students returning to the halls of Rock Port Elementary, including 38 three- and four-year-old preschool students. We welcomed five new students and four new staff members to the Blue Jay Family. New staff include Mrs. Forehand (third grade), Mrs. Larson (third grade), Ms. Rains (Special Education), and Ms. VanGundy (paraprofessional).

The dome demolition phase is complete on the new building project. Next they will be laying the foundation for the new building. There will be an increase in construction vehicles in and around the school in the coming weeks. As described in the Back to School letter, the construction project has altered our dismissal procedures. A special thank you to our parents, staff, and students for being patient and flexible with the new dismissal process on the east side of the building. You have been incredible!

New this year, on Friday mornings throughout the school year our students will be getting together in Blue Jay Families. Each family has between 9-10 students ranging from kindergarten to sixth grade. During the 25 minutes together, students will have opportunities to connect with students from other grade levels, complete team building activities, read to each other, teach and model school-wide expectations, and celebrate successes they have throughout the year with their families. Our Blue Jay Families got together for the first time on September 1. They read the book, All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman, and discussed the importance of family and welcoming others. They also took some time to create a family name. I always enjoy the creative nature of our students and the different ways they can incorporate our school colors or mascot into a family/team name.

In addition to Blue Jay Families on Fridays, we are encouraging students to wear blue and show their school spirit on Fridays. Perhaps a friendly grade level competition is in the works sponsored by our student council . . . more to come. Upcoming events for September include – September 14 (Student Council elections), September 15 (1st quarter midterm), September 19 (after school tutoring begins), September 27 (Workout Wednesday), and September 29 (Frozen Friday, Energy Bus Assembly).

Stay connected with daily classroom events and school updates on Twitter @RPBluejays. As always we strive to . . .

Love all our Passengers

Serve their academic needs

Care for the whole child

Every Student, Every Day