Partnership for Learning

Dear Parents and Friends of SCS,

Over the next week, we have 3 evenings set aside for parent-teacher conferences.  Our teachers have prepared for these meetings, and we look forward to these opportunities to meet with you face-to-face to discuss how we can work together to facilitate the best learning possible for your student.  We hope to have 100 percent participation for these conferences.  If you haven’t scheduled your conference yet, there is still time to do so.

In a world of electronic communication, you may be wondering, “Why does it need to be face-to-face?”  While there are many reasons, simply put, it’s good for students to see that all the adults in their lives are working together for the benefit of them.  They need to know that we care that much, and that their well-being is important to us. 

Face-to-face conversations can sometimes be difficult.  For those dealing with sensitive issues, it can be difficult to talk openly about them.  It’s hard for teachers and parents alike.  These conversations are extremely important to have, despite the difficulty.  If we want our students to have the best possible education, we have to at times problem solve the tough stuff to break through to what will move students forward in their learning.  I think we’d all agree that avoiding issues never moves anything forward.  It just makes us stuck.  Face-to-face conversations also break down any misperceptions and miscommunication that can happen through electronic communication.  Much is communicated through nonverbal expressions, and we miss it when we don’t meet face-to-face. 

It really does take a community to raise our children, especially when you consider that our children spend more waking hours at school than at home.  Parent-teacher conferences are one way to access the “others” in their lives, to get their help in raising our kids to be who God created them to be.  Please join me in praying for our partnership and for these important conversations for our children.

In Christ,

Ann Steenwyk
Director of Academics and Instruction