Dear Florence Families,

We have reached the fourth week of school, and I want to take a moment to share how proud I am of our students, staff, and families. These first weeks have been filled with learning, routines, and growth, and your support at home has made a big difference. Our students have shown resilience, and our staff has worked hard to keep things running smoothly as we have begun to dig deeply into curriculum and beginning of the year assessments!

There are so many positive things happening across our school. Students are doing a great job learning and practicing our hallway and classroom expectations, which creates a safe and respectful environment for everyone. Teachers are focused on providing strong, engaging Tier 1 instruction—the foundation of learning that every child receives. At the same time, we are beginning to collect important beginning-of-year academic data. Looking ahead, next week our students will be participating in the NWEA MAP assessments. These assessments are an important tool that helps us see where each student is academically right now, so we can provide instruction and supports tailored to their needs. Just like in the classroom, our focus is on growth. We want every student to make progress from where they are today! This information will help us better understand each student’s strengths and needs, and it will guide us as we move into the second nine weeks, when we will begin planning more targeted supports and enrichments for students who may need them.

One of the highlights of this past week was our first fire and lockdown safety drills. We are so proud of how calmly and responsibly our students handled these drills. Their quick response showed that they take safety seriously, and it gives us great confidence in their ability to respond in an emergency.

As always, thank you for your continued partnership. Reinforcing school expectations at home, encouraging your child to do their best, and supporting them through homework and routines makes a world of difference. Together, we are laying the foundation for a successful year of growth and learning.  We hope that you have a wonderful extra long weekend! 

With warmth and excitement,

Courtney Brandel
Principal, Florence Elementary