Spring is in full bloom at Chapman! I love standing on the front steps in the morning and greeting the students as they walk in, but this month is always so special with our flowering trees lining the walkway to the door. And students are blooming inside the walls! Our preliminary math benchmarking data is showing remarkable growth for many of our students. Assessments are a big part of the spring; at our last live Round Up, I compared this time of year to the tournaments and recitals that students participate in outside of school. Students practice all year and then have an opportunity to demonstrate what they’ve learned and how much they’ve improved. During this testing season, please make sure that your student is getting plenty of sleep and coming to school on time.
The district is still in the process of making staffing decisions for next year. They are currently in layoff mode and have made an opportunity for teachers to take a leave of absence to try and reduce the number of layoffs. This means there are still quite a few moving parts before our staffing is set for next year. I anticipate being able to share staffing decisions mid to late May.
Next week, Mayor Keith Wilson and several city council members will be holding a listening session in the Chapman auditorium on May 5th at 6:00. This is a great opportunity for civic involvement. You can read about their proposed budget here. If you are in the neighborhood, this will likely cause some traffic woes--I did warn them that we don’t have a parking lot!
If that’s not enough excitement--we are also hosting Family Literacy Night next week. Last year’s was such a blast and this one is sure to be even better. We will be starting with a picnic in the front lawn. Bring a blanket and your favorite picnic food. We will be serving light finger food and snacks before the literacy fun begins!
Please remember, there is no school this Friday, May 1st.
