Happy Halloween!

We just had the nicest Halloween Parade at school!! We had timidly been anticipating the day filled with LOTS of activity, but I am more than pleasantly surprised at how smoothly the day went. We started with the Citizenship Awards ceremony, moved on to "Eat Lunch with Your Child," and then finished with the big parade and parties. By all rights, it had all the ingredients necessary to be one super CRAZY day!! Instead, the weather was gorgeous (no winter winds that had been around all week), the children were absolutely fantastic, even though they came dressed in their costumes, and there was a pleasant calm in the atmosphere all day!! Wow. I attribute this to all the hard work our staff has done to "Capture Kids Hearts" and treat everyone with respect and dignity.

The Halloween Parade is a Highland tradition (the school opened on Halloween in 1958) and the kids are always so excited to particpate. But I have to say, this is the first year that it felt like a real old-fashioned, gentle and fun parade. The costumes were cute and creative, and there were none that were overly violent or grotesque. It just made my heart feel so good to see children being children, and having a great time cheering each other on!! Thank you to parents, too, for raising such thoughtful children.

Well, here we are already moving into November, the time when we hold official parent conferences. Soon you will be receiving an invitation from your child's teacher asking you to come to school to discuss his or her progress. You must attend the conference in order to receive your child's first report card, too. Please arrange to accept the invitation at the time the teacher schedules for you as they have made time for each parent. If you change the time, the teacher has to re-adjust all the other conferences. Please do not ask teachers to meet later in the evening--they have families too, and many are trying to attend the conferences at their childrens' schools, too. (Employers are required to allow you time off to attend school meetings.)

Check the list of dates in the right column of this page for all the special events this month. There is a lot going on and you don't want to miss out!! Remember, there is no school at all during the week of Thanksgiving. This allows all families to spend quality time together as we begin the holiday season.

Enjoy your longer weekend!!

Lia Boucher, Principal