Dear Willard School Families,
Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year. The anticipation of the new school year brings excitement and enthusiasm for the adventures and opportunities that await us in the year ahead. We are anxiously anticipating the arrival of our students on August 24 and are looking forward to a productive and rewarding year. They bring energy to the building and remind us why our daily important work is so important.
As a school community, we are committed to growing and improving our practices to provide our students with the best possible educational opportunities. Our work contributes to the district goals of a K-12 education as articulated in the Vision of the Graduate: "As a Pre-K-12 learning community, our goal is to develop important, transferable skills that will help them be successful now and in the future. Through coursework and other learning experiences, we will ensure that every student can Communicate, Collaborate, Learn, Think, Innovate, and Contribute.” Ultimately, the goal of education is for students to become lifelong learners who employ their unique talents with purpose, passion, and pride. To this end, a wide range of learning experiences that are both rigorous and purposeful are offered. Participation in music, art, library, PE, and STEAM provides physical and creative outlets that promote increased academic success.
As a district and school, our mission is to create learning experiences that promote a sense of purpose, ignite passion, and foster a sense of pride. We believe that our purpose is to develop critical, lifelong skills. Berlin educators are passionate about teaching, inspiring, motivating, and learning from one another to cultivate a strong learning culture for educators and students. To this end, we value the support of parents and community members and strive to enhance community partnerships to support student learning and take collective pride in our schools.
Our talented and dedicated staff works collaboratively to provide a standards-based curriculum for approximately 450 students ranging from Pre-K to Grade 5. Through a shared commitment and common vision, the staff at Willard School supports each child by providing a structured, respectful, and nurturing learning environment. Our professional community is committed to students’ academic and social-emotional success and embraces each child as an individual with diverse capabilities. Working diligently to encourage students to achieve their highest potential and become reflective, self-directed learners, instructional strategies focus on providing experiences that are motivating, engaging, meaningful, and authentic, allowing students to apply their learning to a variety of contexts. Our staff acknowledges the importance of embracing the whole child addressing social/emotional needs as well as academics.
After a year of exploring and learning about RULER as staff, this year, we will begin to implement RULER with our students. RULER is an evidence-based approach to social and emotional learning developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. RULER is an acronym for the skills of emotional intelligence: Recognizing emotions, Understanding emotions, Labeling emotions, Expressing emotions, and Regulating emotions. Research from the field of emotion science finds that children who understand and manage their feelings make more responsible decisions, have stronger relationships, and perform better in school. RULER helps students and the adults in their lives learn about and manage their emotions. This is important for success in nearly every aspect of our lives and for our overall well-being.
At Willard School, we embrace parents as partners and acknowledge the significant role that parent and community partnerships play in student success. We are fortunate to have an active parent community supporting our school and all students' education. Our PTO works closely with the school staff to provide students with a wide range of experiences and opportunities.
The school website provides a wealth of information for all educational (school) community members. Please check the website frequently for updates regarding important dates, events, and announcements.
Thank you for your continued support,
Megan Sirois