Dear Wildwood Families,
Thank you to the Piedmont Community for voting overwhelmingly in support of Measure P. This will make a direct and meaningful impact on the lives of our educators.
Classrooms are spending time this week teaching how voting works so that students have a basic understanding of what occurs in an election. The best thing we can do for our students is to not talk about worries or fears related to the election results in front of them, to turn off the news, and to stop scrolling. Most of the time, the worries of our students are mirroring those of their parents. If you are interested in learning more, here is an article on managing post-election stress for our children.
On a different note, we had a wonderful All School Assembly today. In the assembly, we talked about the Wildwood Way, sang the Wildwood Way song (amazing!), reviewed “I Messages” and I shared a little bit about myself. I want the students to know who I am, feel comfortable with me, and see me as an ally. In case you’re interested, here’s my presentation.
It continues to be a steep learning curve for me, but I am getting to know more of the different Wildwood Ways. Last week, I hit a place where I was figuring out what I didn’t know and needed to investigate further. Having prior elementary principal experience certainly helps when stepping into this position, especially after the school year has begun. I appreciate everyone’s patience and support throughout this process.
My priority is to learn about the students, who they are and how life at Wildwood is for them. I also want to work with the teachers and staff, get to know their strengths and areas of need. Schools are an evolving place and we are always pushing to grow and improve.
A few things I have done so far are -
Met with various district personnel to learn more about PUSD
Met with the paraprofessionals to talk about systems and supervision
Met with Wildwood parents who are leading various committees
Attended meetings with the other elementary principals
Surveyed staff to find out funding priorities and what they want me to know about Wildwood
Visited classrooms, including art and music
Spent a lot of time on the playground
Met with grade levels students to talk about school expectations and being respectful to everyone
Some goals for me while I’m at Wildwood are -
Observe and improve safety and routines, before school, and at lunch and recesses
Provide staff with opportunities to check in, share ideas and concerns
Figure out how Piedmont Unified Schools work (budget, facilities, curriculum, HR, etc.)
Support the growth of the Wildwood community
As I’ve said before, Wildwood is a wonderful school and I appreciate all that you do to support our students!
Beth Rhine
