What will we grow this summer?
As the days become longer, and the evenings remain warmer, my husband and I spend more and more hours tending to our garden. Seeds we planted this spring are starting to sprout above the earth’s surface and grow down into the soil. As I look at the beets, carrots, and blue potatoes growing into the air, I think about summer break. Just as I am curious about what might be happening out of my sights, under the ground, with the vegetables, I wonder how different people’s summers might look. Whose summer will be filled with travel and summer camps? Who will be at the pool every day? Who might be home playing in their neighborhood all summer? Who takes care of a sibling during the summer? Each situation grows different crops: enrichment, relaxation, creativity, resilience. Which assets will each student return with in September?
How might we actively fertilize each “crop”? Kids could read a certain number of pages each week sitting by the pool. Those who are in a structured summer camp all day might be given permission to “explore” around the neighborhood before dinner each day. Those who have unstructured play all day might play some math games or have a family book club where everyone reads and discusses the same book. Students in the self- or sibling-caretaker role might benefit from being goofy with kids in the evenings. Whatever the activities throughout the day, there are ways for us to help our young people remain active, well-balanced, and academically minded during the dog days of summer.
I look forward to missing you all like crazy over the summer in order to be filled with joy and enthusiasm as I watch each student accept their wildflower on the first day of school. Happy (almost) summer break, all!
Love,
Dr. Shyla.
Family Participation Hours
Please log in your family participation hours as soon as possible. Click here to log your hours. We know that many people have participated way more than they have logged, and it’s important that we have an accurate count. If you have fallen short of your required 40 hours this year, there will be plenty of opportunities to earn hours with projects around the school during the month of July! Stay tuned for specific sign-ups.
CNH is designed as a family-school cooperative so it is important that we are maintaining this cooperative. Family Participation hours are reviewed as part of our school audit every year and need to reflect the charter design for our school. Please help us fulfill our goal of being a family-school cooperative by completing your hours!
Click here to participate!
Reminder: 1:00 dismissal EVERY day this week!
The last four days of school this week (Monday through Thursday) are all 1:00 dismissal days. Let’s end this year strong with on-time arrivals in the morning and dismissals in the afternoon!
Lost and Found
Please be sure to check the Lost and Found in the cafe before summer break. There are plenty of really nice items there that will be donated to a shelter if they don’t find their home before summer break.
What To Expect Over the Summer
- July 10-August 4 — City Neighbors Foundation Summer Camp for rising 1st through 4th graders will be held at CNH
- July 15-August 16 — Shyla will have appointments open for meetings with families and community members. You may sign-up to propose new ideas, talk about thoughts for next school year, follow-up from this school year. The time is yours to connect!
- July 31 — The infamous CNH Summer Packet will be mailed to each family with contact forms, dismissal information, and important updates for next year
- August 19-23 — New Teacher Orientation
- August 26-30 — All staff back to school for professional development
- September 2 — Labor Day
- September 3 — First day of the 2019-2020 school year!