Dear Parents,

I know, I know, last September I told you that fall was my favorite time of the year. Well, it is, at least in the fall. Right now spring is my favorite time of the year. How can it not be? The plum and prune trees in my yard are full of blossoms, the lawn is the greenest it will ever be this year, the birch trees are showing their bright new skin while their new baby leaves are just being born, and color is popping out of every flower bed.

The other thing I see blooming even brighter than before are the smiles on our children's faces. Spring is in their eyes too. The other day a moth happened to stop by for a rest on one of our classroom's windows. The students were quite intrigued; the moth even earned a name (Mortimer). Flowers are blooming all over the campus, including some bright yellow ones in amongst the grass (I know because I keep getting small bouquets after nearly every recess). A sparrow has been checking out one of the bird houses just outside our window and its songs help fill our room with a happy sound, just like the frequent laughter coming from every corner of our campus. The other day a parent remarked to me how cheerful she felt every time she was on campus, "Everyone is so happy here. The kids are laughing and playing so well together on the playground, the teachers seem to really enjoy being here, and the parents I've talked with have nothing but good things to say about the school."

Spring is that time of year when school becomes very busy. Yet when I take time to step back for just a bit, I get to reflect on the part of the year that has passed while planning for the school year to come. Walking out onto the playground especially helps me do this. The new playground structure that is currently being built and the survey lines on the south side remind me of goals that are in the process of being accomplished. Yes, our new buildings will be here, and they will improve our learning environment dramatically. The playground that the children helped design is slowly becoming a reality. Our efforts to improve mathematics instruction have paid off (students' experience of math is now thoughtfully consistent between classes and across grade levels while being academically on target). Swan School's daily schedule supports a flexible multiage environment that better meets the learning needs of the children, including consistent art, Spanish, P.E., and music instruction. And all those happy faces remind us that our school climate is the positive one we all want.

This is also the time of year that I begin looking forward to the next school year. I'm interested in learning from the results of our spring parent survey (to be given later this year), from the board, and from the staff what new or continued goals we should have for our school. I am anticipating a felt need for a stronger sense of community between families of different age groups, a refinement of an academic area's curriculum such as writing or reading, a strong and stable financial climate, and increasing the flexibility of our learning environments by further refining how we implement our multiage structure.

Yep, spring is the best time of the year, complete with all of its renewal and promise of what's to come. Stay tuned, the rest of this year will be great and next school year will be even better!

Russ