Friday, November 2, 2012

Another week ends...

I must admit that this was an emotionally draining week for me, as so many of my close friends and family members were affected by the destruction and devastation left in the path of Hurricane Sandy.  The outpouring of thoughts and prayers that so many of our parents and staff shared, knowing that I am still a New Yorker at heart, was indeed touching. It certainly helped me to put things in perspective this week. I made a conscious decision to prioritize what’s important and to follow through in getting certain things accomplished.  I encourage you to do the same.
As always, no matter what is happening beyond our walls, we keep doing the work we were charged to do at Durham.  Today, our grade 5 students got to experience the morning at Black MS.  As they came back to campus and reflected on their experience, many of them shared the goals they need to set to transition successfully to middle school next year.  Take a moment to ask your child, no matter what grade he/she is in, what his/her goals are.


The highlight of my day was seeing the share glee of the students who participated in the perfect attendance ice cream social.  As you know, regular attendance in elementary school sets up a good pattern for your child’s entire school career.  Show your child that school comes first by trying to keep days off for seriousness illnesses and family emergencies; schedule routine doctor and dentist appointments for after school or over the upcoming breaks.  Today, the children cheered, “Hip hip hooray, I was here every day.”  I am extremely proud of the 222 students who were here every day, on time, for the first nine week.  The kids who missed it this go around are already talking about being in school every day to participate in the second perfect attendance event.  Healthy competition – that’s fantastic!
"The more you're here, the more you'll learn...

...the more you learn, the farther you'll go!"

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