Thank you to all of you who attended last night's Annual Seabury Update meeting.  It was great to have the opportunity to give you an update about Seabury, and to answer your questions.
 
For those of you who weren't able to attend last night, the key message for the evening is that Seabury is strong and growing stronger.  In spite of the challenges we have faced this year, particularly losing our beloved Mr. H, it has been a good year at Seabury.  Our staff is exceptional, our students are thriving, and our school is expanding to enable us to serve a broader range of grade levels.  Plans for the middle school are coming together and we hope to have news about a location very soon.  Our board has been hard at work crafting an updated strategic plan for Seabury that is focused on continuing to build on the strength of the lower school as we expand our program through middle school.  Focusing on our mission to, "...challenge gifted children in a community that cherishes each individual and fosters a love of learning, discovery and creativity," our board and staff work together to ensure that they provide the best educational experience for ALL our children: lower school and middle school, current and future. 
 
Whether you attended last night or not, I want to remind you that I always welcome the opportunity to talk with parents who have questions, concerns, ideas or curriculum resources you want to share.  Working in partnership, we can provide wonderful opportunities for our children to learn and grow.
 
In Service,
Sandi Wollum

Part II in a series of the Value of a Small Middle School
 
Expectations and accountability: Setting high expectations for students is a key component of effective schools. Setting expectations for students academically, socially, for their conduct, punctuality, time management and organization, meeting deadlines, for how they treat their peers, resolution of conflict, communication, and their appearance (to name but a few) are all important for students. Great care needs to be taken by the faculty to make sure that students have a clear understanding of these expectations and that everyone in the school community holds these standards. When students know that they are valued members of a school community, where they understand that their teachers make the time to know them as learners and design curriculum to meet their specific learning style, where their work is responded to in depth --- when that is combined with teachers setting very high expectations for students, they respond by working diligently to meet those expectations. To make that work, students must be held accountable for their actions, words and deeds. In a small school environment, teachers have the ability to make that stick - they know when a student is not performing to their personal best, whether it be their work on a particular assignment, their interactions in solving a conflict with a peer, or their ability to manage their time well enough to meet a deadline. Holding students accountable for the standards in a consistent manner is critical in developing the habits of a successful student.
The communication triangle: Creating strong lines of communication between the student, teachers, and parents is another mark of effective schools. This communication is not to be taken for granted; rather it has to be actively developed by all three constituents. Emphasis needs to be placed on developing open and direct lines of communication. When students know that they will interact with their teachers with a healthy respect for this kind of communication, they come to understand that they too have a voice in the situation that will be respected. Just as setting high expectations for students, it is equally important to have clearly indentified goals for their growth during these early adolescent years. Parents know their children best and the goals, aspirations, worries that they have for their child(ren) need be to clearly communicated to the school and discussed at regular intervals. Teachers will be expected to be in regular communication about the smallest of concerns to other larger issues. Successes need to be shared and celebrated for students to respond to the positive reinforcement when they have exerted the self discipline and effort to meet the challenges of those high expectations.

In the next installment of this series:       

• Personalized delivery of curriculum
  
• Role of student choice

I strongly encourage you to write to me regarding your questions or thoughts you have about the Middle School.  My number is (253) 927-3730 and my office is located above the library in the Media Center.