By Elizabeth Trujillo,
Recently Palmer Elementary faculty, parents, and Mayfair Board members gathered at Palmer on a Saturday and formed teams to walk the Palmer boundaries to hand out information about the great programs offered at Palmer. Our purpose was to encourage families who live in Palmer’s attendance area to come in and tour Palmer and see what their children are missing.
Palmer is a fantastic school that is like a little United Nations Convention housing 15 different languages. Its rich programs enhance the classrooms and offer children the chance to be part of something wonderful. Someone once told me that Palmer has an “Inclusionary Vision” that brings together so many different children in a warm and wonderful environment to learn and grow. The families that are included in Palmer’s circle are here because of the rich cultures, wonderful staff, and great programs. Wouldn’t you want to be part of that?
Come and see why:
The reasons we like Palmer are as follows:
~Thierry et Stephanie
Mayfair Family who is very happy at Palmer
When we were exploring preschool options for our daughter Teagan we came across the ECE program at our local school—Palmer Elementary. We toured Palmer (as well as many others), and we were very impressed with what our local school had to offer. As soon as we walked in the ECE classroom, Teagan immediately fit in--making new friends in the “pretend area.” She was very excited at the prospect of this being her new classroom, and did not want to leave.
We decided this was it—this was where she would go. She patiently waited until she turned 4 (well as patiently as a 3 year old can), and started ECE last August. We have been thrilled with our decision. The teachers are amazing. They truly care about her, and Teagan truly cares about them. It is a loving and nurturing environment, and her teachers have gone above and beyond fostering her love of learning.
All of a sudden our baby knows her way around a computer, is reading, and has a vocabulary that surprises me daily. But most importantly she has enjoyed learning. We love that she gets upset on Saturday mornings because she doesn’t get to go to school.
Now the time has come to decide what happens after ECE. As parents we all want what is best for our children, and finding the right school is stressful! We have spent the last few months touring Kindergartens. We have decided our priorities for Teagan’s education include diversity, an environment dedicated to fostering a love of learning, and flexibility of education (not a one-size-fits-all approach). We are very lucky that our local school has the same priorities. So it looks like Teagan will remain a Palmer Panther.
~Jessie, Zach, and Teagan Robinson
We love having our son attend Palmer Elementary. We are able to walk him to school and many of his schoolmates and friends live right in the neighborhood. Palmer has strong parent involvement and fun family events such as the Halloween Carnival. Our son just told us tonight “I love school and Miss Katie” and is always telling us what new things he has learned. Palmer truly is a great neighborhood school.
~Delong Family
Mayfair Neighbors who love Palmer
By Michelle Gouge,
Palmer Visual Arts Specialist
We have been busy these chilly months as kindergarten and first grade finish up a painting and color experience, second and third grade anticipate found object sculpture, and fourth and fifth graders get ready to explore printmaking.
In October Vincent Van Gogh was our artist of the month. Students were introduced to Van Gogh’s life and artwork through the reading of “Van Gogh and the Sunflowers” by Laurence Anholt. We studied and discussed sunflowers, and used this book and Van Gogh as inspiration to create our own compositions. In November we re-painted the banners for the playground and attempt some origamic architecture inspired by Japanese architect Masahiro Chatani. In December we looked at the artwork and life of Norman Rockwell, an American artist known for his realistic depictions of everyday American life. We tried our hand at creating our own Saturday Evening Post cover illustrations (Rockwell illustrated more than 300 during his career).
More from Palmer Arts Dept.
Students are looking forward to drawing club, one of many after school enrichment programs, which is starting up in February. We are offering one club for primary grades and a second club for intermediate grades. Student-Parent Art Night at Palmer will be held March 24. This night provides a great opportunity for parent and child to share an art experience and to raise money for the art program at Palmer. Don’t forget the Student Art Show and Silent Auction on April 9 at Palmer. Each student from Palmer will be exhibiting artwork along with a class project which will be showcased. Please stop by and show your support of our local budding artists!
Byline
Within our daughter’s first week at Palmer Elementary, we knew we made a great choice. We have toured other schools to see what else is out there and Palmer is one of the friendliest schools. The teachers and school atmosphere are welcoming and caring. We feel that the teachers give special attention to each child. They know our daughter well and tailor their teaching to meet her needs and specific interests. Our daughter proudly tells friends, family and people she meets that she goes to Palmer.
Our daughter’s primary teachers are fun, thoughtful and caring in their approach to teaching and they definitely know how to get the kids excited about learning. They do this through science experiments, asking thoughtful questions, reading and play. Beyond her primary teachers, our daughter is always excited about her special classes like art, physical education and music. She talks about her teachers and I see them saying hello to her in the hallway when I pick her up. Their attitude and friendliness go a long way toward making Palmer a school our daughter enjoys attending. We feel great about the educational experience she is getting.
~Sarah Barthel and Dan Edstrom, Nell & Emery Edstrom
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