the Orca Splash
Viewlands Community Principal Wheeler Update
Hello Viewlands Families!
Summer break is right around the corner now, only 3 more stays of school! The end of the week even brought the summer weather with warmer temperatures and lots of sunshine! That also means only 3 more days to gather things from the overflowing lost and found! If you at school for an event, drop off, or pick-up please take a look - we always celebrate when items are reunited with their owners!
There were so many things this week to celebrating learning communities through traditions, students engaging in teaching and learning with each other, field trips, field day, an assembly, artist in resident, and more. I will share a few of the highlights from the week.
On Thursday this week we had celebrations for our youngest orcas and the oldest orcas, as well as a clap-out for Viewlands Alumni graduating seniors. This is a great way of celebrating the beginning and end of elementary school and honoring the end point of K-12 education. The kindergarten celebration Thursday night was joyful! We love this tradition of celebrating the end of kindergarten with singing in community together before enjoying some cookies together on the playground. On the other end of the elementary experience, our 5th graders took part in their end of elementary school experience, a field trip to iFly. The epic last field trip experience represents an end to one chapter (the elementary years) and beginning of a new one (the middle school years), sky diving from one to the next!
Viewlands alumni students that are graduating seniors visited on Thursday afternoon to walk through for a Viewlands Clap-Out. Viewlands students lined the 3rd floor hallway to clap and cheer and high-five the seniors as they walked. It was wonderful to welcome back the seniors that were able to attend and honor this milestone. They finished 5th grade in June of 2019! They were surprised at how different the new building is than the old building, but loved seeing some familiar faces!
This week we hosted an artist in residence, Mr. Sabien Pleasant. We have been fortunate to have Mr. Pleasant as an artist in residence from Arts Impact for the past few years. This is a way we can bring another form of art to Viewlands through learning about rhythm and dance. The funding for this comes from VEPTSA and the remainder of funds received from the Creative Advantage pathway program.
I loved watching 3rd graders in Ms. Meagher's class teach each other earlier this week. I was able to sit in on a few of these student teacher lessons, origami and geography. I also heard a lot about the lesson in Japanese and Spanish. The 3rd graders enjoyed being the teacher and learning from each other!
We ended the week today with the annual tradition of Field Day! It was beautiful dry weather and tons of fun! The water balloon toss may have become a little uncontrolled chaos, but it was all in the name of fun! Students enjoyed popsicles after lunch as the conclusion to our Field Day event. Ollie the Orca was even here to see all the fun and dance! A HUGE thank you to all of our volunteers! Field Day is not possible with you! Thank you to VEPTSA for supporting the Field Day event. Thank you to Coach Lauren for coordinating field day!
Your children are bright, inquisitive, and creative thinkers. We will continue to seek ways to make every student feel known, valued, and empowered through the year.
In Partnership,
Carrie Wheeler | Viewlands Principal
