Dear Parents,
Each year we welcome about twenty to twenty-five new families. For new students and parents, it’s not
always easy to transition into our community. It’s hard to be new and adjust to the
ways of St. Clare. What does “free dress-bring a can of food
day” mean? Do I have to support ALL
of these fundraisers? What about
school pictures-what do most of the kids wear? All of these questions indicate a desire
to “fit-in.” and belong. I’m
appealing to all of you to help us continue our efforts to welcome new
parents and students to our community.
We’ve responded to the need to make our new families feel at home. There’s nothing more empowering than to address
someone by name. Get to know our
families by introducing yourself, and finding out names and grades of their
kids. Parent’s Club has assigned
Host Families to see a new family through the year, make contact with them
on a regular basis to explain the different events that come up, and
possibly meet the family at the event and help them get acquainted with
other families. I’m not sure we
consistently do a good job at this, and it’s one of the reasons I’m addressing
it this week.
From the time a student first visits our school, he/she is connected to
a buddy who will see that student through their two day visit. We work with all of our students to be
hospitable to those who visit us, but more can and should be done to
welcome new students. This buddy
system will be continued throughout the year. In addition, we will check-in with our
new families at least once per trimester to see if there are any questions
or concerns, and to generally check on the well-being of that family with
regard to the time they’ve spent at our school.
We continue to encourage new families to let us know how their child is
transitioning into our school. If
parents communicate with us within a reasonable time frame from when an
incident happens, the better able we are to track the concern and provide a
good response.
Parent’s Club is trying to do a better job matching up families
according to the grade/level their children are in. They will also encourage chairpersons to
draw from the volunteer lists submitted with the registration packet and
personally invite new families to get involved in the numerous events we
sponsor throughout the year.
I appreciate every effort to help me improve the ways we make our new
families feel welcome and part of the community. Remember, we were once new here and I’m
sure some felt more welcomed than others.
My hope is that no one is left in a cloud of dust as we charge
through our year. Reach out!
