August 10, 2018

Crew

On a boat, passengers are catered to. Their main purpose is to arrive at the destination with as little effort as possible. They are involved in the activities, but not wholly engaged in the journey. Crew, on the other hand, are responsible for the entire journey. They are engrossed in the activities of the ship. In fact, without their individual and collaborative effort, the passage cannot happen. 

Crew reach the same destination as their passengers, but their experience is significantly richer.

Author Unknown

* Thanks to Staci Teague, a mom at Renaissance, for designing our staff t-shirts! We will make them available to all of you very soon!

"What if students went to school with a mission, not just to get smart, but also to become a better person, and contribute to a better world? School could be a place of compassion and courage, a place of hope. I am a high school student in Chicago. My neighborhood has challenges; poverty and violence make life difficult for many families. But I have a privileged life. My privilege doesn't come from money or safe streets. My privilege comes from attending a school with a different vision of what is possible. Our test scores are good, but that's not the most important thing. Our work is beautiful, but even that's not the most important thing. This is what's most important: we work together to get smart for a purpose, to make our community and the world a better place."

These are the words of Ameerah Rollins, a student. These were the opening words I spoke to staff on our first day of this school year.  It's important to ground ourselves in the very core of why we are here; a call that drew us all to Renaissance. Moving outward from our 'why', we talk about 'what' we are; a school. We talk about the ten Design Principles that reflect the educational values and beliefs we share.
And finally, we will spend much of the year talking about the 'how' we do this purposeful work together... with our kids and with you.

A year ago I wrote a lengthy blog post for our community to share and explore our roots and beliefs. If you are new to our community, I really encourage you to take a minute and read that now. Even if you have been a part of our mission for years, grounding yourself in the heart of our work, will renew your passion and validate your choice to have sent your child to Renaissance. Here's that blog post.

Can We Change the World in the Kiss and Go lane?

 'Kiss and Go' lane in the morning : 

Yep...this is where you give a very quick kiss, and off you go.

If  
- you are getting out of the car,
- or your child is on the far side of the car away from the sidewalk -

 you are in the wrong place.

 Please park.  But not in the Kiss and Go lane!

If you need to watch your child physically walk into the building, please walk with them to the school, or watch from the parking lot.

Doing anything other than a quick kiss and driving away, creates a traffic flow problem and a safety problem. If this is a challenge, please give us a call and let's see what we can figure out to support you.

'Kiss and Go' lane in the afternoon:

Hmmm, the lane seems to be a parking spot? 

"If I get their early, I can get in the line and be able to pick up my student quickly and off I'll go."

 Hmmm. Doesn't seem to be working that way - or at least not the 'quick and off I'll go'.

I also know that it's frustrating because all the kids are not outside at 4:00 pm. We have our younger kids make their way outside first, followed by the older kids. I wonder if you watch for a few days if you can gauge about the time your child does appear outside? If they aren't one of the first to be outside, does it make sense to be the first car in the Kiss and Go lane?

I don't know of a school where this is not a problem. 

It feels so uncomfortable for us to have to approach parents to remind and explain the procedures. We worry it will jeopardize our relationships with you.

I wonder if we could solve this together?

The good news - dismissal is usually over in ten minutes!  In spite of our challenges, that is still incredibly quick for 400 students!

A New Procedure This Year:

Kiss and Go lane and Storm Dismissal:

The Kiss and Go lane during storm dismissal is for pre-arranged students. With very few exceptions, all of our community should be parking and coming in the building to pick up your student.

You received emails from your teacher about this procedure.
Families with babies have been identified and we have a list of students we will deliver to cars in the Kiss and Go lane.
We ask that unless you are on that list (you can call and check if you aren't sure) - you park. 

Thanks everyone for your understanding, and willingness to look at this from multiple perspectives. Everyone wants the same thing - to end the school day looking forward to the next one!

Big thanks to Meaghan Vandeloo, Emily Overman, Rebecca Espinoza and all our wonderful parent volunteers!

The Back to School Carnival was awesome!

So much fun!

Can you believe our first Voyage goes out next week!

Woo hoo! Here we go....

Have a great weekend!

Ms. Deborah