Dear Parents,

I'm sure most of you have had a chance to at least drive by the school and see some of the changes that have been happening over the summer, but if you haven't, be sure to do so, you will be amazed! ...and if you see anyone working there while you go by, be sure to give them a huge THANK YOU!! So many parents and staff have volunteered large portions of their summer to this project, it is simply incredible!

Well, between painting, digging ditches, raking rocks, helping install cabinets, and weeding flower beds, the staff has found time to meet several times this summer already. One of the biggest accomplishments so far has been the completion of the 2006-2007 school calendar (you can see it online by going to the school website and clicking on the word "calendar" near the top if the page). We have also been working on getting the lists for student supplies ready, they should be available soon (they will all be posted on our school website, including a short one for art).

As we move closer to becoming a truly multiaged school, we are slowly shrugging off grade levels as a way to label where a student is. Each of our classrooms now have names to replace numbers. The preschool will go by The Discoverers, the primary class will be known as The Explorers, and the intermediate class will be known as The Navigators. Why do we embrace multiage education as an integral part of Swan School? Perhaps a quote from Multiage-Education.Com serves well here.

"Multiage educational practices are grounded in a philosophy that holds that every child can learn and has the right to do so at their own pace, that learning is a continuum rather than a series of steps, that diversity is not only a reality but is something to be embraced, and that a classroom is a family of learners. By purposefully structuring a class to include a span of ages and to take advantage of the resulting diversity, students naturally become more accepting of one another's differences. There is an atmosphere of nurturing rather than one of competition in which children pressure one another to fit an arbitrary norm. The teacher finds himself or herself supporting each individual child as to their own complex set of needs rather than trying to lead a group of students to complete an age-based step."

This fits well with Swan School's beliefs and core values, especially those of Community, Connection, and Compassion.

This summer the staff also took the first steps in the self-study process for the PNAIS (Pacific Northwest Association of Independent Schools). As a part of that process we began looking at our school's educational philosophy and mission statement... and guess what? They still look pretty good. The staff would like to see something about leadership added and perhaps do a little fine tuning to the mission statement, but overall I think that the core values and mission statement will continue to provide us with a strong base for the future. If you haven't had a chance to look at them recently, take a moment and go to http://www.swanschool.net/generalinfo/philosophy.html to review the philosophical foundation to everything we do.

I hope your summer has gone well so far and that you have a wonderful August. I'll be at school nearly every day from here on out, so if you have any questions feel free to drop on by, send an email, or give me a call.

Russ