January Peirce School Family Newsletter

As we start a new year, I want to welcome back all of our students, families and staff members. Happy New Year to all of you! I hope that like me, you enjoyed much needed rest and relaxation during the final weeks of 2017 and that you can make family time a commitment during 2018. We live in a time where we are overly scheduled (children and adults alike). Our children are only young for so long and I encourage you to spend as much quality time with them now, while they are young and in your home. Play a board game, take a walk, sled, read a book together, travel, whatever it is that your family enjoys doing together - make the time to do it.

During the break, I had the opportunity to watch the movie "Wonder" based off of the book by R.J.Palacio and if you have not seen the movie or read the book, I highly recommend them. There were several quotes that resonated with me and I wanted to share them with you for reflection, please share these with your children as well.

“When given the choice between being right or being kind choose kind.”

“Kinder than is necessary. Because it's not enough to be kind. One should be kinder than needed."

“The best way to measure how much you've grown isn't by inches or the number of laps you can now run around the track, or even your grade point average--though those things are important, to be sure. It's what you've done with your time, how you've chosen to spend your days, and whom you've touched this year. That, to me, is the greatest measure of success.” 

Below are a few highlights from the month of December:

• Thank you to the Peirce Service Organization & All Peirce Parents and community members who helped celebrate Peirce staff before the winter break with a delightful breakfast along with many gifts and notes of thanks and appreciation - we appreciate all that you do to recognize the Peirce team!
• Peirce's arts education opportunities continue to thrive - December was a busy performance month! 5th Grade Musical, Storytelling Session for students, 4th Grade Barrel of Monkeys, 48th Ward Winter Showcase, Peirce Winter Show & the Peirce & Decatur bands all showed off their talents. We look forward to the arts programs that will showcase their work during 2018! 
• 8th grade students visited Senn High School and before winter break submitted all high school applications - stay tuned for where our graduates will attend next year!
• 6 students were awarded full scholarships and 6 students were awarded partial scholarships to attend the 7th & 8th grade trip to Washington D.C.! We are halfway to our fundraising goal and additional donations can be made by either writing a check to Peirce School or making an online donation to Friends of Peirce here.
• Thank you to Edge of Sweetness for hosting a Peirce Day on December 8th, a portion of all sales were donated back to Peirce!
• We had a few parent workshops - Ms. Kolontouros (Case Manager) hosted a workshop for parents on our Special Education program with a focus on inclusion and co-teaching. Ms. Lebovitz held a session for 5th grade parents on the 5th grade exhibition & Ms. Fisher & The PK team hosted a workshop for parents on developing student independence. 
• MAP Testing finished before winter break - we have a few students who need to complete make up testing once we return from break. Middle of the year reports will go home with 2nd quarter report cards.

Warmest Wishes in 2018!
​
Lori Zaimi,
Principal

Read the full newsletter in Spanish or English