Welcome

Welcome to Mrs. Bucsko’s blog written by Anna Johnson!

I spent my first afternoon at the lower school on the playground, wandering through classrooms, touching base with teachers and working as a Traffic Control Officer during pick up. While on the playground I was told all about the rules of ball tag and shown that teeth can be effective tools for removing splinters (not my first choice, but I applaud this sudent’s ingenuity).

During my classroom visits it was fun for me to see some of my former Little Epistles students. I was amazed by their academic growth. One of the best things about working at a Pre-K thru 12 school is to witness that progress first hand. Mrs. Owen’s class was eager to read their journal entries to me. These were notes written by each student. Was every word spelled correctly? No. Did they use punctuation marks correctly or at all? No. But they were so proud of what THEY had written and listening to each of them was definitely a highlight of my day.

The system of picking up at the Lower School is new to me. At the Preschool all parents have to come into the building and sign out their child…not so at the Lower School. Fortunately, I had the help of Mr. Estill. He worked the area by the fence coming into the “pick up zone” and I waved cars forward and ensured that others could easily pass if they needed to bypass the line. Needless-to-say, I was a bit sweaty after all of our efforts, but I am happy to report it seemed to go smoothly. At least there were no fistfights or fender benders, so in my book that’s a win.

Enjoy your weekend!

Anna Johnson

Thank You

Thank you so much for “showering” me last Friday. I really appreciate the support and well wishes from all the students, staff, and parents.

I will be gone on maternity leave from whenever this baby comes until right after Thanksgiving. There will be numerous people covering for me in my absence. Jamie Estill (our Head of School) will be covering the morning section of the day, Trish Neary (our Upper School PE teacher) will be helping supervise our recess time, and Anna Johnson (our Pre-School Director) will be supervising the afternoons.

Sue Ann Crockett is also your go-to gal on all things Lower School and can help direct you to the person who can best answer any question you may have. Here is the contact information for all of these people:

Jamie Estill- jestill@sp-academy.org or (360) 733-1750

Trish Neary tneary@sp-academy.org

Anna Johnson ajohnson@sp-academy.org

Sue Ann Crockett scrockett@sp-academy.org

Problem Solving Tools

On Tuesday we had our first lower school assembly. Our theme was “tools to fix problems.” No matter what grade they are in, school they go to, or how many friends they have your son or daughter will encounter a problem when navigating the social world of school. Our job as educators is to not just teach the skills for academic success but to also teach the tools for social success.

The teachers pitched in to help me teach the main elements of social/emotional learning by performing skits on each of these topics; delivering an I message (also known as using your words to explain what is upsetting you), creating a win-win situation, learning how to cool off and gauge your emotional thermometer, being respectful of friends boundaries, and how to compliment your friends and make them feel good.

These are all skills that we will continue to work on throughout the school year. It is important that our students learn that although adults are here to help it is important to try and use a tool or two to try and fix a problem first. Students who develop the skills early on that allow them to successfully navigate the social aspects of school not only are happier but all are able to focus better on their academics.

Welcome Back!

 Welcome to another exciting school year! I like to use the descriptor of 'exciting' when talking about the first week of school because excitement is radiating out of all of the students. When I asked a Kindergartener what he liked about school so far he said, ”Everything!” This of course was teamed with a giant smile and jumping up and down.

That is how I feel when school starts. After a summer of planning, cleaning, training, and preparing, having students here again is the culmination of all that work. It is also the beginning of a year of academic and social growth, friendships, and community.

This blog is designed to dig a bit deeper into the education, events, and excitement happening at St. Paul’s Academy Lower School. Each week I will give you a bit more behind the scenes information about our school.