Community Spirit–September 2023
Ryan Ruggles, District Administrator
Routines and Renewal: Welcome Back
It is exciting to welcome students and staff back every September. This year, after all of the
construction from our referendum building project, it was even more exciting to open up our
doors for the new school year. Overall, September is a great time to get back into positive
routines, as well as a chance to start over in some areas.
Routines: When we talk about routines, we are not talking about mundane, ordinary, or boring tasks. We are talking about creating positive habits and structures in our lives. These routines in turn promote overall mental, physical, and social-emotional health. This is something we try to model in our classrooms and teach to our students.
Students thrive when expectations are high, and students especially thrive when expectations are clear. Classroom routines help students feel safe and confident, as well as give students tools when navigating their own life changes. Routines help students become more stable, organized, and productive.
Beyond supporting overall health and balance, routines become our pathway to our goals. They help us to focus on the most important work, and help to keep us motivated. The most successful people in the world have a lot of similarities, and many of those similarities go back to positive and structured routines. The message from the school to the students is clear, that what you do every day makes a difference. Your routine matters.
Renewal: As we build back our positive routines, the start of the school year is also a great time to reset or renew areas where we are looking for change. I love that the new school year gives every single student, staff member, and family a fresh start. If last school year didn’t go the way you wanted, learn from it, make changes and move on. It is a new year.
When we renew our minds it brings purpose, new feelings, and sets our direction. This reset or renewal is something that we should celebrate each fall and use to make our goals. Renewal is about writing the next chapter, and looking forward.
So how can families and schools support each other with routines and renewals? Here are just a few talking points:
–Talk to your student about your personal routines. How do these routines help organize your
life, give you balance, and help you meet your goals?
–Ask your student about their goals and how their routines are helping them. What new routines might be needed to help meet those goals?
–Talk to your student about what renewal and reset means for them. None of us are perfect and
we can all improve on something, what is that something your student will make a reset?
The home to school partnership is so important. Thank you for your partnership and support,
and I hope you are having a great start of the new school year.