Good morning.  I am writing to you after a very sad day in America.  I have had the full range of emotions since yesterday…. sadness, disbelief, fear, shock.  I recognize that my silence would be an affirmation of the actions at our Capitol yesterday and that I cannot do.  The lessons that we teach our children focus on respecting differences and disagreeing in appropriate ways.  We also want our children to understand why democracy is sacred and what makes this country so special.  We don’t want any of our children to think that this is how we solve problems.

Today I sent resources (linked) to all classroom teachers to support having conversations and answering questions for our students at Woods.  We also offered our middle school students the opportunity today to talk about what they knew, how they are feeling about what happened, and to ask any questions.  Our students' thoughts, feelings, and perspectives are important and I wanted to honor them with the space to discuss these events in a safe space.

This school year continues to place challenges in our paths.  I believe that we have the responsibility to provide a space for safe discussions and the model that it is okay to disagree and still love one another.

If you have any questions or concerns please let me know.

Ms. Eisch