Hello Chugach Family,
I hope this email finds you beginning your week with a sense of optimism. I am the youngest of six and my oldest brother, Solly, was in town this last week. I sensed he made the trip to soak up time with family. Solly commented how beautiful Anchorage is right now. While I have noticed the changing colors, his comment gave me extra pause to show more appreciation. I have also been grateful for the mental sweat we have put in during the last few weeks. Grateful for the ability to have challenges and to persevere through them, while practicing interpersonal skills I hope to grow in. Please model your challenges for your children and express to them how you are making decisions. That is a great way to build their emotional intelligence.
With that said, long hours have been put in at school. Deep thinking is taking place and community conversations are ongoing. We are in the next transition to re-enter school. I will tell you this is a decision I am in support of; I believe that we can do it well and the science, which is young and imperfect, does support the elementary age children safely returning with mitigation strategies in place. In addition, I believe school is an essential service to children. This is my own personal and professional opinion. Each of you making an informed choice for your family, is what you are tasked to do. That choice will be respected, valued, and understood. I will be sending out further guidance this afternoon, after I have another staff meeting, on options for families if your choice is not to return at this time. Please do consider attending the townhall this week, where Dr. Zink and Dr. Bishop will address parent concerns. More information here on those meetings.
We have a few important items included in this Scoop, including fundraising invitations. It is important to understand that we are in tough times economically. If you are not able to contribute financially this year, there will be other ways to volunteer and support the health of our school. However, I do think it is important to maintain our traditions as we want to be sure we can keep Chugach strong during our more fragile times. Please consider joining the Community Assembly meeting via Zoom this Thursday at 7 p.m.. It will be a chance to discuss and reflect on the philosophy, our community, and for parents to engage with one another.
A reflection question to close:
Name a compassionate way you’ve supported a friend recently. Then, write down how you can do the same for yourself.
Warm Regards,
Clare
