Category: Principal’s Message

It is well documented that there is a significant loss in learning that occurs during summer months for students who do not read.  This phenomenon has been called by a variety of names: “summer slide,” “summer setback,” “summer shortfall,” “summer Read More …

I have always been fascinated by words.  Perhaps that stems in part from the fact that my parents were the children of immigrants and were members of the first generation of their families to speak English.  When I was growing Read More …

Spring is definitely in the air, and just as this year’s school year begins to wind down, preparations begin for the new school year which is already on the horizon.  While SBAC testing and the school carnival are taking center Read More …

Next week all of our students in grades 3-6 will begin taking the SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) tests.   These end of the year tests measure student achievement and growth in mathematics and English/Language Arts. Unlike the paper/pencil tests that Read More …

Tonight is Open House! Today is a minimum day for students! Be sure to visit the science fair in the MPR, classrooms, enrichment classes, Math Olympiads, and the Learning Center This will be an evening to showcase our students’ successes Read More …

Last week, while I was vacationing in Utah, I received the exciting news that Kensington School had received the honor of being named a California Distinguished School!  This award is based on our school’s performance on a number of different Read More …

During the past couple of weeks, many of us have been grappling with how to talk with our children about school shootings and gun violence.  We have struggled with our own feelings of grief, helplessness, and frustration;  as our children Read More …

Every weekend, as I sit down to write my “Principal’s Message,”  I vacillate between trying to impart some meaningful parenting or child-rearing thoughts drawn from my soon-to-be 32 years of experience raising my own children (and now getting to chime Read More …

TONIGHT IS THE WRITING FESTIVAL! Please join us from 6:00-7:30 in the MPR to celebrate our students’ writing! There will be parking on the playground; please make sure that students are not playing on the yard or going on the Read More …

For decades the teaching of writing has been a controversial subject.  No one disputes the importance of writing as a gateway for success in both academia and the workplace. In the years since the 1975 Newsweek article highlighting “Why Johnny Can’t Write” Read More …