Dear Parents,

Over this year's mid-winter break I got to do a couple of wonderful things. One was to not set my alarm clock. What a luxury to be able to sleep in to 6:30 or even 7:00! The other was to be able to do a little clean up in my yard. I even trimmed out the old raspberry stalks and pruned back the new ones in preparation for this year's crop. Having just come back from ice-skating, I was thinking that I was getting a good head start on my usual spring yard marathon. But, as I felt the sun warming my back, I looked around more closely and noticed that the Indian Plum was sprouting new buds and the clone of my great grandmother's Pussy Willow tree had already begun to sprout those soft fuzzy catkins that I always take as a sure sign of early spring! Amazing, it felt as if I had been transported in less than a week from the depths of winter directly into spring! I even saw a change in the flowerbed just outside of the classroom; the crocuses were beginning to bloom! The change from one season to the next couldn't have been so sudden or so dramatic for me.

Of course, mid-winter break is not just a time for students and teachers to unwind; there is a lot of schoolwork that gets accomplished during that week. One of the tasks for me was to put together a report for our school's development committee. Part of my job in writing that report was to briefly reflect on Swan School's history. It's been awhile since I've done that and in doing so I was once again amazed at how quickly things have changed.

As you know, Swan School has a rich 25-year history in Port Townsend. I have heard stories of times during which the school had two staff members and 18 students. There have been a number of fund-raisers that historically have been true community events; the Valentine's Ball, the garden party, and the Plant-A-Thon are several that come to mind. Deserved or not, Swan has had various reputations over the years depending on who you talked with and when the conversations occurred. Since I first learned of the school in the late 1980's, I have heard Swan referred to as "that hippie school," a good alternative to the larger schools, the violin school, and a school where kids are happy and education is as it should be.

Although this is only my third year as a Swan School staff member, I find it amazing how far we have come in that short time. Just 2 years ago the entire school was housed in what we now refer to as "the old building." At that time there was only one working computer in the school and it was in the office. The school office was housed in what is now a relatively small storage closet near the 24th Street door. We had one part time secretary and often teachers would need to answer the phone during the school day while they were teaching. There were only two bathrooms for the entire school, one for boys and one for girls. Instead of a preschool for 3 and 4 year olds, we had a Pre-K/Kindergarten class, and there were no sixth graders enrolled. The playground was difficult for teachers to monitor for student safety and much of it was filled by weeds and overgrown blackberry bushes. The school 3 years ago (and likely longer ago than that) also had a very devoted and dedicated staff, board, and community of families. It is through what has always been the foundation of Swan, the people who make up the school community, that the school has grown continually better over the years.

Now look at us. We still have a wonderfully dedicated staff, board, and community of families. We have an excellent reputation in the community for providing a well-balanced education. Our campus infrastructure has doubled in size in just the past few years to better support the educational needs of the students. Our enrollment is at capacity in most grades and nearly there in the rest. And we are keeping our eye on the future, asking ourselves, "How can we make the educational experience even better for our children?"

As I glance out the classroom window, I can see several purple, white, and yellow crocuses ready to bloom and, as it always seems to do in the spring, it brightens the sparkle in my eyes (I really do love the newness and re-growth of spring). Swan School's history is well beyond the stage of the blooming of the first crocus, but we are still in the exciting spring season of our history. There is so much to look forward to that it's hard not to simply burst with excitement. It's a great time to be a part of Swan.

Russ