Welcome Note

Greetings IF@M Families,

Welcome to the 2022 – 2023 school year! I hope that you enjoyed a safe summer with your family. I am thrilled to welcome scholars back into the schoolhouse. Our staff is looking forward to fostering rigorous instruction and MicroSociety in a restorative environment to help our scholars thrive in-person this school year.

I know there are many families that are excited to return to the schoolhouse and some who still have reservations about the return. The PGCPS health guidelines and mandates will be followed to support a safe return. We will have a virtual orientation on September 3rd to welcome families back to the schoolhouse. At the orientation, we will explain the protocols and expectations. PGCPS has provided a Reconnect page to share needed information about the upcoming school year.

Our educators will continue to embed 21st century skills into daily teaching and learning. The pandemic revealed the many ways technology can be used to communicate and learn at all grade levels. This school year, with all scholars returning with Chromebooks, we will extend virtual learning platforms and best practices. Our Wednesday’s will continue to allow for small group instruction to provide intervention and enrichment. On Wednesdays, we will also offer MicroSociety to provide scholars compelling real-life learning opportunities to develop into leaders, entrepreneurs, creative forces, and confident citizens. We will maintain daily Success Time for literacy and math intervention and enrichment. We truly hope that your children continued with PathBlazer practice over the summer to keep their literacy and math skills sharp.

Our focus on social emotional learning will be enhanced. We understand that most scholars have not been in the schoolhouse in more than a year and have experienced reduced social interaction. To support scholars, we are strengthening our character education program. Daily community building activities and regular character lessons  will be enhanced with trauma informed practices. We will also add in mindfulness moments and other opportunities to engage in supporting scholars' overall well-being.

This school year, we look forward to partnering with our parents for quarterly workshops. We will offer topics that our parents identify as important to supporting their children’s overall development. We also plan to extend Men a Difference Day by partnering with All Pro Dad to build on the already strong presence of fathers in the schoolhouse. We are so thankful to our parents for always serving as our partners in teaching and learning.

For school year 2022-2023, please look forward to:

• All important information being posted to Class Dojo, enable your alerts and notifications.
• We will also post important general announcements on the school website until all parents have active ClassDojo accounts.
• Supply lists have been updated posted to the school website and Class Dojo.
• The most important item scholars need for learning is a Chromebook. Kindergarten scholars may find it easier to work with an iPad. If you can afford to purchase one of these devices, please do so, as it will be used daily.
• Scholars who need to borrow a Chromebook will be able to do so during the school day.
• Uniforms will remain the same for the school year, please check the school’s website for details http://imaginemorningside.org/

Stay up to date with the PGCPS Reconnect plan at https://www.pgcps.org/reconnect-pgcps

Best,

Principal

Imagine Foundations at Morningside