Welcome to Ware Elementary!

Principal News

March 2023

Principal News

It is hard to believe that we have already reached the month of March! This time of year brings rising temperatures, more sunshine, and renewed energy from the winter months. March also brings the end to the quarter, report cards, and parent teacher conferences. We hope that you take advantage of the opportunity to meet with your child’s teacher to discuss the progress that your student has made throughout their time here at Ware. There is a direct correlation between parent involvement and student performance. When students see that their parent and teacher have a positive and respectful working relationship that is focused on their learning, it positively impacts their education. This relationship models the expectation for students that everyone wants to see them succeed in their educational career. Our goal is 100% attendance for conferences and we want to collaborate with all of you!

With the changing of the weather, we encourage you to have your students go outside and play after school. There is something to be said about getting fresh air, burning off the day’s energy, and soaking up the sunshine that helps us feel better about ourselves and often allows us to decompress and sleep better at night. Conversely, we are seeing an increased connection between student behavior and the overabundance of technology usage. Students are coming in tired, lethargic, and disconnected due to long hours of technology use. It is very challenging for students to learn when they are starting their days off in this way. We encourage all families to set limits on technology usage, remove technology from rooms that can be used while others are sleeping, and develop schedules that send students outside to play or engage them in activities with family members that is not technology connected.

For our Second Step lessons, classes are finishing up the Unit on Empathy & Kindness but will continue to look for ways to be empathetic and kind at school and at home too! Second Step shares that in this unit: Children learn how to recognize kindness and act kindly, have empathy for others and take others’ perspectives, and recognize kind acts and empathy as important elements of building and maintaining relationships. Continue reifnorceing this at home too! As the adults we are the best models of this behavior, so us showing students how we demonstrate kindness and empathy is the best way of teaching. Students see how adults behave and then they tend to react in the same manner. During March, classes will be moving on to the next unit about Problem-Solving where children learn how to identify and state a problem, recognize if a problem is an accident, and use the STEP problem-solving process: S: Say the problem T: Think of solutions E: Explore the outcomes P: Pick a solution. According to Second Step, research shows that children who learn the skills in this unit are more likely to make positive choices, experience greater well-being and contribute to a better school environment.

School Safety Reminders:

Please make sure that you have working phone numbers and emergency contacts listed for your students. It is critical that all students have at least one local emergency contacted listed in case we are not able to contact parents.

Except for extenuiating circumstances, please call the office before 2:30 with dismissal changes to allow time for these to be communicated to teachers and other dismissal staff. Thank you!

Principal,

Veronica Wait