Dear SES Families,
It is the goal of Shutesbury Elementary School to provide each student a safe, engaging and successful experience at school. The staff at SES deeply believes that a successful partnership with families is one of the most important components to our work. We believe that mutual trust and respect between the home and school family ensures constant and honest communication and helps to ensure the best social and academic growth for all students. We can’t wait to establish this connection with you.
We value your time and contributions to our school. This handbook is intended to be a resource for the school community to reference for questions and clarification around major topics or frequently asked questions. Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with this handbook. SES is a special community, and as such there are many unique traditions and special happenings that may arise that are not addressed in the handbook. If there is a concern or question that it does not address, or does not clearly answer, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Sincerely,
Anne Magill, Principal
magilla@shutesburyschool.org
Laura Feltman, Office Administrator
feltmanl@shutesburyschool.org
Mission Statement
Shutesbury Elementary School is a dynamic learning community. Its mission is to lay foundations in the many critical areas of our children's education. We strive to nurture each child's curiosity, growth, and development, and to foster a lifelong love of learning. In order to do this well, the Shutesbury School community adheres to the following guiding values:
Guiding Values
We value the development of thinking skills, because we want our children to be wise decision-makers and capable problem-solvers.
We value quality work and achievement, because we want our children to experience the powerful sense of accomplishment that comes when they care deeply and work hard.
We value a sense of community, because we want our children to develop into caring, respectful, and ethical citizens.
We value a safe environment, physically and emotionally, because we want our children to gain confidence as they take on new challenges and responsibilities.
We value respectful dialogue that acknowledges difference and tension, because we want our children to appreciate multiple perspectives and mediate conflict.
We value child-centered teaching practices, because we want our children engaged in work that is significant to them and at which they can succeed.
We value meaningful and varied assessments, because when our children demonstrate an understanding of their work and reflect on their progress, they become more effective learners.
We value communication between home and school, because we want our children to know that their teachers and parents are working together to help them grow.
We value curricula that connect our children to the broader community and the natural environment, because we want our children to be grounded in the place they live and to practice stewardship.
We value the integration of the arts with our core curricula, because we want our children to use their imaginations actively in aesthetic exploration to understand their place in the world around them.
We value the integration of technology with our core curricula, because we want our children to use the technical tools our society has created for organization, exploration, and communication effectively.
We value physical play and expression, because we want our children to feel confident and connected to their bodies.
We value an educational community that respects and celebrates diversity, because we want our children to treat each other with acceptance, understanding, and compassion.
The Shutesbury Elementary School works to do the best job possible to prepare all our children for future schooling and to lead successful lives of personal and social meaning. It represents our commitment to our children and through them to the future of our community, nation, and world.
February 13, 2004: Stephen Bannasch, Nancy Beswick, Rob Hirschfeld, Heather Lobenstine, Anne Lundberg, Susan Reyes, Tari Thomas, Jane Urban