Sommer Elementary School 
Hi All,
I hope that you have had a wonderful holiday with time for rest, family & fun! Teachers and staff were back today spending time “recalibrating” and learning from each other as we had discussions about our grading philosophies, meeting the needs of all learners, best practice language arts instruction and positive communication. Teachers explored topics such as technology for “just in time” learning, depth & complexity icons, impacting social-emotional growth in the classroom, a peer coaching model to support teacher growth, and other personalized opportunities to promote student learning.
It truly was a great day, and we are eager to be back with our Stallions tomorrow!
Throughout this year, we have engaged in conversations to ensure that all of our students are challenged appropriately and learn at high levels. Our mission: “To develop, inspire and empower world class leaders and life-long learners” is one that we take very seriously. In applying this mission to the classroom, our goal is to ensure that every student masters the content that is taught. We believe that learning the content and processes is more important than a grade on the paper; and that persistence, hard work, character, leadership, and talent should be equally valued. Although we believe strongly in recognizing our Stallions for their achievements, we also believe that they should be honored and valued for other accomplishments as well as academic achievement. As we work through how we can best celebrate our students’ successes, we will be cancelling our 3rd-5th grade awards assemblies scheduled for this week. Certificates for All A and AB Honor Roll will still be sent home and Specials and Stallion Pride awards will be recognized during the upcoming Friday assembly. Information will be shared concerning celebrations of learning at a later date.
I have created a Google form to capture your feedback and ideas for future recognition assemblies. Please feel free to call or email me as well. Link to Ideas & Feedback form
Our goal is for all Stallions to leave Patsy Sommer with the academic knowledge, social-emotional skills and self-confidence they need to be successful and caring citizens. We are so blessed to have such an amazing parent community who consistently gives their time and talents to provide so many wonderful opportunities for our students. Thank you so much for your commitment and support!
Sincerely,
Nancy Varljen
Principal