By Mr. Stephen Waigand, Principal, Rock Port Elementary
The first quarter of the 2021-22 school year is in the books. Parent-teacher conferences were held this past week with a great turnout. We are thankful for the time that parents and guardians take to attend conferences and for their support throughout the year. Family support and great teachers in the classroom make for a winning combination for kids. We recently received our state assessment scores for reading, math, and science and are once again well above the state average. Well done team!
Even though quarantines and close contacts are still within our school vernacular, we are seeing some events return this year. Students dressed up for Halloween and had a costume parade around the elementary hallways for parents and high school students. Given a few additional measures in place we were able to return to the nursing home for our annual costume parade with the residents. It was a delight to see the joy and excitement on their faces when they saw the kids dressed up!
Energy Bus assemblies have also returned to the building. As an Energy Bus School, we promote positive leadership and accountability with our students through responsibility, hard work, and love for others. Each month we recognize students showing these character traits within our school. The assemblies are a great way to celebrate the accomplishments of others and provide students an opportunity to lead. The assemblies are completely run by our student council members.
Our sixth grade classes in Guidance recently read The Coffee Bean by Jon Gordon and Damon West. The premise of the story is about a carrot, egg, and coffee bean and what happens to each one when they are placed in boiling water. The book equates boiling water to the adversity – struggles, problems, challenges – that we face in life. When a carrot is placed in boiling water it gets soft. A carrot response to adversity is to weaken, do nothing, and give up. When an egg is placed in boiling water it gets hard. An egg response to adversity is to get hard, mean, and/or push people away that are trying to help. When a coffee bean is placed in boiling water it transforms the environment around it. A coffee bean response to adversity is one of belief, taking action, and helping create change.
We celebrated Red Ribbon Week October 25-29. Some of our sixth grade students wanted to take The Coffee Bean concept to the entire elementary for Red Ribbon Week. They created a bingo card with many small “coffee bean” kindness acts that students could do to positively transform the environment around them at home or school. When finished, students turned in their bingo cards and were recognized on our morning announcements.
The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays will be here before we know it. Some upcoming elementary events include: November 11 (Veterans Day “Walk of Honor”), November 30 (Energy Bus assembly), and December 13 (STEM Showcase, elementary music program). 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
