Dear Families,
On behalf of the teachers and staff of Buena Vista Horace Mann, we welcome you to the 2019-2020 school year!
I am sure that over the summer your children had opportunities to explore their world in different ways than they were used to. Whether they traveled, went to summer camps or “stayed local” with their friends and family and got reacquainted with their neighborhood, parks and libraries, we know that they will be eager to share stories with their classmates and teachers, and I can speak for our entire staff when I tell you that we are all filled with excitement to hear them.
We look forward to greeting your children, and welcoming them into their new classrooms, to helping them make new friends and to reconnect with the peers they have missed over these past months. We know that our school plays a huge role in your child’s life– school is where they come to be learners, friends and leaders– and we take our role in their development very seriously. I am grateful that you entrust your children to us, and that YOU also find meaningful ways to participate in our community, to be friends, learners and leaders here at Buena Vista Horace Mann.
We are coming back to a community that is stronger than ever– our academic data continues to climb and we have recently been certified as bearing the “gold standard” for healthy eating, physical activity and staff wellness, winning the SFUSD “Be Well” award. Students of all ages are increasing their voice by founding new clubs that benefit our school, such as the newspaper and cheer teams. They demonstrate teamwork and dedication through organized sports and in the Carnaval parade, and this year they will enjoy formal representation on our School Site Council. Most importantly, they are speaking up in class, working together to solve complex equations, challenging each others’ thinking and taking their essays through multiple drafts.
We know that true education can only transpire when the student feels engaged and invested, when they know that their perspective is valued and that their voice is important. As we embark on this school year, I want for us all to continue to focus on developing our students’ sense of agency, their ability to see the value of what they’re learning and to determine how they will use this information to better their world.
To this end, we encourage you to have conversations with your children about what they’re learning and what they think about it, what they want to do with this knowledge, how they want to interact with their world as powerful agents of change. As adults, let’s have these conversations too– what do we know and how do we feel about it? What do we commit to do together with this information? Together let’s create the community we want our children to grow and thrive in.
Respectfully,
Principal Claudia DeLarios Morán and Vice-principal Gissell Medina