Winter 2012
Dear Dixie Elementary School Families:
Welcome Back and Happy 2012!
Although we’ve not seen much rain, we are in the winter months and there is a lot to learn and experience here at Dixie! With all classes settled into routines, I often feel that powerful learning takes place this time of year and all students can make amazing progress. Dixie School is a dynamic place and the staff here works continually to challenge, support, and encourage our students.
New to Dixie Elementary this year is the introduction of the No Bully/Solution Team ® Program for all grades. Under Solution Team, an educator brings together a group of students to solve the bullying of one of their peers. The students are told that they are not being punished, but that one of their peers is suffering and that it is up to them to solve the situation. The Solution Team is an opportunity for the Solution Team members to experience empathy for one of their peers and to extend compassion and kindness. Over time Solution Team helps schools to develop a culture where students are more trusting of adult intervention, more willing to seek adult help and have greater compassion for their fellow students. Solution Team is a highly effective intervention that can be used to solve a wide range of student interpersonal issues. However, it should not (and will not) be used in situations of either physical violence or sexual harassment. Solution Coaching is not intended to replace counseling, but rather to expand teacher capacity to respond to the social and emotional challenges of their students, which include bullying, and to collaborate with parents in connecting their children to resources that can support positive social and emotional development.
The No Bully/Solution Team ® Program is currently in place at Mary E. Silveira School and is expanding throughout a number of Marin Schools. To date, seven Dixie Elementary staff members have been trained as Solution Coaches. I feel that the Solution Team Program will support the Dixie District Bullying Prevention Policy in an effective manner. Together with a comprehensive social/emotional curriculum we can provide our children with the life skills that produce empathic and caring individuals. Our newly formed parent support forum Dixie Connect has been a catalyst behind our recent efforts and I encourage you to attend their monthly meetings as we work together to strengthen our community and foster a climate of advocacy for all. Stay tuned for more information about the No Bully/Solution Team ® Program via a spring parent education evening presentation.
Our Can Do! Family Giving Campaign has come to a close for the 2011/2012 school year. Dixie Elementary participation was at record levels in all grades. Your Can Do! contributions support art, music, drama, technology and PE! Stay tuned for more information about the annual Can Do!/Scotty’s Market Golf Tournament this spring.
In the months ahead we will be negotiating some difficult state budget issues, surveying students (grades 2-5) about school climate, celebrating hundreds day, exploring our community via field trips, and learning all we can!
I encourage you to become an active participant in your child's education and become familiar with the myriad activities our school offers. There are multiple opportunities throughout the year with many jobs of all sizes and shapes that are essential to the success of our school. If you're not sure how to become involved, please ask—we'd love to have you! My door is always open and I continue to enjoy a “rookie” year of listening, asking questions and learning. We have so much to be proud of at Dixie School and, working together, we will continue to create and foster an inclusive, dynamic and caring school community. Aloha!
Sincerely,
Greg Johnson, Principal
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Dixie School is nestled among the rolling, oak-studded hills of Lucas Valley in Marin County. We are a K–5 California Distinguished School and a National Blue Ribbon School.
The mission of the Dixie School Community is to promote academic excellence, to nurture learning as a lifelong process, and to support all students as they become informed, productive, contributing members of society.
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