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Greetings!

What a fantastic school year this has been!  I am sad to see it end, but thrilled with the accomplishments of our staff and students.  Our students are truly scholars, who use their test taking strategies, annotate the text, and utilize speed and accuracy in math.  They have become young authors who know how to organize their writing and improve upon it with better word choice and sentence fluency.  Our students are investigators who know how to find the answers and show that in their work! PHES students have exemplified compassion many times throughout the school year.  Some examples include: the Hurricane Sandy Fundraiser, Pennies for Patients, Kindest Kansas Citian Essay Contest and the Adopt a Family gift collection.   We will recognize our outstanding students at a final Celebration Assembly on May 23rd at 9:30.

The staff at PHES has spent the year learning and improving their instruction.  Teachers have devoted time to data analysis, backwards design, balanced literacy, writing calibration, lesson design and the math curriculum.  They have worked countless hours to improve their craft and I am grateful for their hard work and perseverance.  We have concluded are work this year by creating a vision of the school we hope to become.  Our vision encompasses the characteristics we hope to embody in the areas of academics, climate, staff, student and community involvement.  As we have researched effective schools, we know that most schools are made up of individuals who are running their own race, arriving at the finish line at different points.  However, exemplary schools are characterized as a group of professionals rowing together in the same direction in the same boat.  Therefore, we have embraced the motto “rowing together”; as we strive to work in unison towards the same goals. 

As I look back on the year we certainly enjoyed Muffins with Mom, Donuts with Dad, PIE Nights, Reading Opens Doors, Pi Day, Read across America Week and Integrated Learning Days.  These final 2 weeks we are excited about our day at the park, Field Day, talent show, book exchange and May Madness basket ball game.   This week, we brought closure to our fluency groups for the year by sharing the story: Thank You, Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco.    We will issue one final Reading Challenge to our students which will carry them through the summer months.  The challenge is to read 500 pages by the time school resumes in August.  A calendar will be sent home to help students track their reading.  HAPPY READING!

Thank you for a wonderful first year as principal of Pleasant Hill Elementary School. If I don’t see you at Summer School, have a safe and peaceful summer vacation! A special thank you to our volunteers and fabulous PTO members and parents who made this a successful year for our staff and students.

Respectfully yours,
Sue Herrera