Hall School's Greatness: Chalk it up to fabulous teachers!

Last night at the first PTO meeting of the year I was reminded of how very lucky we are to be at Hall School. While the physical structure leaves much to be desired, (although a few parents have dedicated countless hours to improve the appearance by creating amazing murals and beautiful gardens on the grounds) what takes place for children within the walls is certainly one of a kind. When we moved here from Milwaukee we landed on Alden Circle without researching the schools (chalk that up to being a clueless parent of a 5 and 3 year old). By some miracle, our Alden Circle address equated to placement at Hall School. For that, we will be forever grateful. Don't get me wrong, there have been bumps in the road - no school experience is perfect. But by in large we have had an unbeatable educational and developmental experience thus far.

With budgets frozen and classroom populations swelling, it is the teachers that are on the front line, taking the bullets as our country battles over the importance of funding education. And yet, remarkably my kids come home everyday with stories about fabulous learning going on in their classrooms. My hope is that the teacher's don't become so weary from their workload that our kids begin to suffer.

Keeping the hard times in mind, I once again dug into my basement to find some treasures to deliver to the school today. After the girls and I sang in the chorus this morning, (thank you Ms. S for the energy you put into directing an elementary chorus!) Kendra and I dropped into Ms. D's (featured in this blog entry) classroom. Since Kiera had Ms. D for 1st and 2nd grade, I am aware that she provides alternative, all inclusive recess activities for students such as dance party and sidewalk chalk art. Our gift to Ms. D and her new crop of 1st graders was 3 packages of ice cream cone shaped chalk that we had acquired in birthday goody bags this summer. Kendra and I handed over our gift and Ms. D (a faithful follower) excitedly had the kids pose for a picture.

My feeling about this measly gift is similar to how I felt when I made my Unleaded donation to the teachers - like it is just a drop in the bucket. In any case, I believe that this downsize will put a smile on Ms. D's students faces today. But, she probably already had that covered.