Weekly Family Email
June 18th, 2021
Week 44
Kindergarten sack race during field day
Well, families, we’ve reached the end of the 2020-2021 school year. And what a journey it has been!
When we closed our doors in March of 2020, we couldn’t imagine what the future held for our school. Like all preschools and private schools, we were hit hard by the mandated closure. We faced steeply diminished enrollment, new costs and expenses, and onerous new protocols for reopening. When we closed, we had 185 students. With careful planning, we were able to reopen for childcare in July of 2020. That first month, we had 10 children in the building.
We agonized over whether to open for school in the fall and finally decided that with strict protocols in place we could provide an in-person option. We knew that online school would not be for everyone. We set up new protocols, new rules, and new ways of doing just about everything. And we hoped that parents would enroll their children, and that those children would be able to adapt–and keep their masks on!
Resiliency was the name of the game this year, and we discovered that our amazing students and teachers had it in spades. Not only did they adapt–they thrived. We held each other accountable all year, and stayed as safe as we could together in the building. We kept our masks on. We washed our hands. We ate in our classrooms. And we had so much fun together.
We ended the school year knowing we made the right decision to open for in-person school. We had a fantastic student body, full of new faces and familiar ones. We made lifelong friends. And since reopening for those 10 children in July, our school families have helped us build PWA back up to 176 students–just shy of where we were at the start of the pandemic.
Our teachers were simply amazing this year, and so was our administrative staff. We really could not have been blessed with a better team, and we thank them sincerely for all their hard work, dedication, commitment, and grit. We also thank you, our school families, for your faith in us. We’re profoundly grateful that you chose to entrust us with your children’s care and learning this year. We are a stronger school–and a stronger community–for having experienced this unprecedented school year together.
We will never forget any of you, and we look forward to seeing many of you this summer, and in the fall.
Whether you’re joining us for summer camp or hitting the road or just relaxing at home, we wish you joy and health this summer.
Thank you, PWA families, for an extraordinary school year.
Progress reports will be available in Chalkable by Monday. If you need assistance logging into Chalkable, please email the office and we’ll be glad to help!
Summer camp begins for PWA students on June 21st! Our camp calendars are below. Students will work on math and language arts in the mornings at their own level, whether they’re ready to get a jump start on their rising grade, or they need some reinforcement. In the afternoons, we have lots of fun with water play days, field trips, in-house visits and shows, and more!
If you know any families who might be interested in our program, please help us spread the word. And of course, we hope to see you there!
Email Amanda Smyth for Summer Camp
We had a great last week of school, full of fun and games. We had spirit days, class parties, and a field day to celebrate the close of this wild school year.
Spotted at school this week…3rd – 5th graders enjoying their field day with hot dogs, tug-o-war, and a moonbounce!…Mrs. Starr’s superheros…Principal’s Scholar…volcanos…Mrs. Saissi’s superstars having fun on field day…Mrs. Saissi’s class…moonbounce fun…Mrs. Ajeroh’s class having fun in the sun…Ms. Becca’s princesses and tie dye crew…Principal’s Scholar!…Ms. Monika’s adorable kindergartners…the PWA Kindergarten class of 2021!…Ms. Heather’s students flexing their muscles…field day fun…Ms. Heather’s own K graduate!…Jr K field day with Ms. Howard’s class…snack time and face painting with help from middle schoolers…Ms. Kea’s artists…party time!…birthday girl…preschool mania!…moonbounce fun…Ms. Letisha’s preschoolers loved the moonbounce!
