Our 2nd annual spring walk to school day is coming up on Wednesday, March 13th.  Our Walking School Buses leave from 2 locations: Jackson Park @ 8:00am or El Paso St & Cowles Mountain Blvd @ 8:00am with pickups along the way. Be sure to get there early for a chance at a prize!

Happy New Year!

I especially like this time because it’s a great time to reflect. Maybe some will renew, refresh, or perhaps make some new goals. I also believe in writing things down both professionally and personally. It makes our goals much more likely to be realized if we write them down. I thought I would share one of my reflections this last few days. When I came to MuM, I shared a book that I had read that was shaping some of my thinking as a principal.

The bestselling book “Good to Great” written by Jim Collins points out that the enemy of Great is Good.  He explains that we don’t have great schools because we have good schools – society is content with good.  My primary focus as principal is to help motivate our students, staff and community to continue to press on toward being a GREAT school!   

Our Goal? To keep our commitment that MuM will be a Culture of Excellence. We will be a place where academic and personal excellence is an expectation for all.  It must be our fundamental belief that ALL students can learn and achieve at high levels.  It is our collective responsibility to ensure we do whatever we can to prepare our students for the competitive 21^st century global environment.  We will celebrate our successes!

Winter Break Message

On behalf of the entire staff of Murray Manor Elementary, allow me to wish you a joyous holiday season and a Happy New Year.

Over the next couple of weeks, I hope you enjoy spending time with your family and friends. My plan is to do the same as well as rest, reflect, and practice a lot of gratitude.

Thank you for being a part of our wholehearted learning community. Thank you for sharing yourselves, and trusting us with the awesome responsibility of educating your children. I am grateful. 

Dear MuM Families:

I’m writing to you tonight to respond to the elementary school shooting that took place in Newtown, Connecticut Friday morning.

My heart goes out to those students and staff who did not return home from school Friday and those families and friends related to the Newtown community. I’ve found no words to fully capture the emotions so many of us are feeling right now.

On Monday, parents everywhere will send their students to school. Teachers and principals around the world will return to school with the aim of “business as usual” to provide consistency for our children in a time of great tragedy. I am assuming that much discussion has occurred over the weekend in the homes of our MuM families, but Monday may also bring some further questions and need for dialogue. In the interests of home-school transparency, below I will lay out my plans here at Murray Manor Elementary School. 

Connect with Staff: I am communicating with all staff to offer dialogue amongst our teaching staff and review K-6 developmentally appropriate conversation structures for our children. We will also complete a full review of our school safety protocol in place. As a staff, we are fully invested in being comprehensive and thorough in our daily approach, and are always looking for new ways to be a better and safer elementary school for all.

During the School Day: Classrooms have the ability to hold “as needed” meetings to allow students to talk about their feelings in a developmentally appropriate way. I will offer on-demand meetings throughout the day to talk with students who may be having trouble processing information they may have learned at home. If your child is seen by me, I will personally call you (parents) to review our conversation in the best interests of our home-school partnership. *Please be advised that the details of the events in Newtown will not be discussed with any students at any time. Details of what students are aware of are solely at the discretion of each individual family.

During/After School: You may be asking yourself exactly “how safe” Murray Manor is. In an effort to provide our families with as much information as possible on all the ways that students and staff stay safe at MuM, I am personally offering parent walk-in appointments all day long up to 6:00 pm. Call if you would like me to stay longer to accommodate your work schedule.

Even in the wake of tragedy, schools continue to be one of the safest places for children to be on a daily basis. Below are some conversational tips from Dr. Michele Borba from her Twittered

Turn off the TV and media on the school shooting when kids are present. Image can negatively impact children regardless of your zip code.

Talk to the kids tonight or as soon as you see them. Open with “What have you heard?” Kids need the right facts. YOU not their peers provide the best source.

Kids need to know it’s OK to share their feelings. It’s normal to be upset. Be calm and give only age appropriate information.

Don’t give more information than the kid is ready to hear. More importantly, let your child know you’re there to listen.

Don’t expect to help alleviate your kid’s anxiety unless you keep your own in check. Kids are calmer if we are calmer.

Please don’t think because the child isn’t talking about the events that he/she didn’t hear about it.

Give the information in small doses. Listen. Watch their response. Kids need processing time. Kids don’t need to know all the details and numbers. End     with “I’m here for any questions you may have at anytime.”

Here’s a great way to curb anxieties: Find proactive ways to alleviate fears about the tragedy. Tonight, offer condolences, draw, write letters to victims as a family.

Stick to family routines. This soothes the stress and helps kids know that despite tragedy, that the world goes on. The sun will come up tomorrow. Hug!

Draw kids’ attention to heroism in the tragedy. Use police, teachers, doctors, etc so kids see the goodness in the heartbreak.

Kids respond to tragic news differently. Let your child know their feelings are normal. Help he/she express them. Follow his/her lead.

Tonight is the first talk. Keep ongoing dialogue. Don’t explain more than they are ready to hear. Kids process and will want more later.
T.A.L.K.

          Talk to the kid about the tragedy in an age-appropriate way

           Assess kid coping skills

          Listen, give some information and listen some more

Ask your teen: “What are your pals saying?” Don’t assume they are NOT affected. Ignite their social justice. “What could we do?”

Plan what you’ll say to your kid about the tragedy to boost their confidence and calmness. It’s OK to say “I don’t know” or “Good question. Let me find out.”

  For more information go to micheleborba.com

MuM's API Tops District 2^nd Year in a Row

Despite all the challenges facing public schools today, we continue to show growth and a great resolve to put education first. I could not be more proud of our staff, students and community. Murray Manor received a score of  917 on the Academic Performance Index! The API is the cornerstone of California's Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999 and measures the academic performance and growth of schools on a variety of academic measures. This is an amazing score and reflects an increase of 13 points from last year and a total 44 points over the last two years. We are also the first school in the District to be above 80% proficient or advanced in both Language Arts and Mathematics on the California STAR test. Although there is so much more to what we do than score well on State test scores, it is a great validation for all of us to know that our vision and hard work is yielding great results.