December has arrived, and with it the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. I am looking forward to the Winter Concert, where for an evening I can bask in the lovely voices of our children and enjoy the wonderful sounds of our bands.
My thanks to all of the families who monitored their children’s health as the flu season arrived. While we did have one day with 120 students absent, the numbers quickly took a downward turn back to normal. The efforts we have put into reminding students to wash their hands and/or use sanitizer seems to have made a significant impact on keeping kids healthy.
Teachers reported how much they enjoyed meeting everyone who attended parent conferences. I had several conversations with parents who praised the work of our teachers and related how much their children like school. Conferences are just one of the ways Ashford School works to keep parent–school communications lines open.
How many of you are aware of how learning at Ashford School at times occurs “outside”? In the past few weeks I have seen fourth graders outside measuring the amount of water displaced by submerging “pumpkins” in a large pail of water, students with Mrs. Moran observing how sun dials work, and eighth grade students on field trips looking for and identifying different kinds of fungi both in front of the school and on the nature trail. Ashford School is fortunate to have a beautiful nature trail behind the school that all grades have access to and which is used year-round.
As we move into the end of the month, my thoughts go out to everyone for a safe and happy holiday season.
