Dear Encinal School Community,

Encinal strives to create a community whereby all students thrive, and all families feel safe, welcome, included, and loved. Our school mission states, “We educate, nurture, and inspire all voices to contribute to a better world.”  Throughout the 2022-23 school year, we will continue to create opportunities that help lift every student and family and provide them with the best educational experience possible. 

In alignment with our school mission, we will work toward every student and staff member being their best self by teaching new social-emotional learning tools, how to name emotions, understand how they are feeling, and learn new tools and strategies to shift their emotions.  We will empower our students to try out their tools, especially during unstructured times at recess and lunch recess, and provide more in-the-moment assistance and guidance from our school counselor. 

We will expand our “Community Reads” initiative, and all Encinal students will be reading and engaging in meaningful activities with four selected children’s books that elevate themes of identity, justice, diversity, and action. Our teachers will engage in ongoing professional learning throughout the year around such areas as balanced literacy and mathematics. We will host two school-wide mathematical problem-solving challenges that will highlight our students' mathematical thinking and understanding.

Our students will experience lots of joy with our garden curriculum, school-wide assemblies, cultural events, concerts, bike rodeos, and community events such as Fall Family Picnic, book fair, movie nights, and Science Night, to name a few. 

This summer, a new permanent sandbox that will serve students in grades 1-5 is being constructed behind the library. Having a proper space to dig and engage in sensory play during recess will be a fun new recess activity for our students.

We are pleased to welcome all families to another great year of learning and friendship at Encinal School. Together, we will contribute to a better world.

In partnership,

Principal Burns