January 13, 2020

Dear EVCS Students,

Welcome to the first School-Wide Morning Meeting of 2020!  Next Monday we will have a day off from school to observe Martin Luther King Day.  Every year at this time we like to remember who Martin Luther King Jr. was, what he accomplished and why he was so important.  Martin Luther King Jr. was a true hero of our country and someone who embodied all of our core values at EVCS.   Martin Luther King Jr. was a leader in the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950’s and 1960’s.  He fought to bring racial justice and equity to this country.

Martin Luther King Jr. lived during a time in America when people were treated very differently according to their skin color, but Martin believed that all people should be treated kindly, fairly and equally, no matter what color skin they have.  He fought very hard for civil rights in America, and he was a great leader who used non-violence to bring about change, social justice and racial equity. He was a great role model!  

Unfortunately, the fight for racial justice and racial equity in America is not over.  Our core values are kindness, inclusion and social action, and it is our hope that every member of the EVCS community learn how to become an anti-racist so each one of us can help carry on the work of Martin Luther King Jr in our own ways.  In that spirit, we are inviting every adult in the EVCS community – parents and staff – to read a book called How To Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi.  We’ll have a gathering to discuss the book on the evening of  February 26th. More information on that coming soon!

Next week when we have the day off from school, let’s all try to honor Martin Luther King Jr. in some way.  I’d love to hear about how you choose to do it!  

]Thanks so much to our friends in the 3rd Grade for hosting today, thanks to all of the parents who came this morning, huge thanks to the SWMM house band, and thank you to everyone who sang loud and proud. Have a great day and great week everyone. 

Love,
Bradley 

Dear EVCS Students,

Today is our final School-Wide Morning Meeting OF THE DECADE!  The next time we come together in our auditorium for SWMM it will be the year 2020…      

Our Core Value is Self Awareness.

It’s always a good idea to hit the pause button and reflect on how far we have come and where we want to go.  But it’s an especially good time to do this at the end of the year – and especially at the end of a decade! Can you remember your hopes and dreams you identified at the start of the school year?  Do you know the academic goals that were set at your parent teacher conferences last month?   How is your progress towards meeting those goals?  

Becoming a self aware student means that you are learning to know yourself as a student, that you learn to reflect on your work, your words and your actions, and that you are beginning to think about your thinking.  There are three things you can do to practice thinking about your thinking: Plan, reflect, and evaluate.

First, plan. This might mean setting goals, making an outline, a mental map, or rehearsing what you are going to do in your mind before starting a task.

Then, reflect throughout each step of the task. Sometimes we may need to change our plans a little once we have started.

Finally, evaluate. Was this your best effort? What could you have done differently? What are your next steps, or goals for the next time?

Please take some time over the next two weeks to think about how much you have already grown this school year (and this decade!), and let’s get ready to start the new decade with strong goals and clear intentions.   

Thanks so much to our friends in the Pre-K for hosting today, thanks to all of the parents who came this morning, huge thanks to the SWMM house band, and thank you to everyone who sang loud and proud. Have a great day and great week everyone.  

Love,
Bradley