“A world which sees art and engineering as divided is not seeing the world as a whole.” — Professor Sir Edmund Happold Work began in earnest on the STEAM building this week. What I have learned in my short time here is that at the elementary level, the arts are an integral part of what we do and who we are. I am excited that as a school we will soon have more dedicated space for integration for all students. The construction will pose both challenges and opportunities. Please remember it is temporary so please don’t pass up any chances...

Positive emotion is much more than mere ‘happiness‘. Positive emotions include hope, interest, joy, love, compassion, pride, amusement, and gratitude. Positive emotions are a prime indicator of flourishing, and they can be cultivated or learned to improve wellbeing -Fredrickson This quote really resonated this week as the PDL got started in earnest with their work. As we planned for lessons around positive emotions I could not help but reflect on all the ways in which SSIS embraces this with students and staff alike. The aspects of positive emotions have been demonstrated through events like Family Fun Day, where amusement and joy were...

“Life is all about balance. You don’t always need to be getting stuff done. Sometimes its perfectly ok and absolutely necessary, to shut down, kick back, and do nothing.” Lori Deschene I hope you all had an opportunity to do nothing. Last week our students were plenty busy but in library they had a chance to enjoy smores in their tents while reading great books. Creating moments for student to have a love of reading takes many forms and this is by far one of the most creative forms. Be sure to ask your students what they are reading. Weekly...

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing” -Walt Disney The start of our Super Units is a special moment when students and teachers move from the talking to the doing. There has been excitement all week about these launches. All the students have been eagerly anticipating these launches. Whether you launched last week or will launch this week or next, please know your hard work has not gone unnoticed. This week brings us to a long short week. We have a week worth of work in three days and then a well deserved break. When...

“Childhood is that state which ends the moment a puddle is first viewed as an obstacle instead of an opportunity.” – Kathy Williams Both of these photo’s represent this quote so well. The little ones exploring with paint without a care about messiness or “getting dirty” truly represents childhood. The parents at curriculum night were equally excited about being back in school. Coming to class for curriculum night was not something they had to do this year, it was something they wanted to do this year. It went from being an obstacle to being an opportunity. And all of you...

It’s the last week of a “complicated” year! Let’s enjoy our final Monday, Tuesady, Wednesday, Thursday, and half day Friday as an ES team! Congratulations to the whole Grade 4 Team for a powerful learning experience and celebration of their “Thinking Outside the Box” unit. There is some magnificent art in our hallways and the Grade 5 Capstone Exhibition was remarkable.PJ Days are being enjoyed and on Monday we have end of year assemblies to celebrate. The Grade 5 Promotion Ceremony will take place in the afternoon of Thursday, June 9th. Have a great FINAL week ahead! The Week Ahead:...

We’re heading into our final 4 weeks of this school year! I have enjoyed all of my conversations with TAs this past week. It is incredible to reflect with them about all the teamwork and flexibility that occurred. There is so much to be proud of. If we take a moment to reflect, it truly is outstanding. There are lots of things happening this month as we wrap up our year. This week we enjoyed the G3 Poetry Slam, G2 Celebrations Unit, G4 guest speakers, and the G5 Space Conference. Please let Dan and I know and send us an...