We began a new school year on August 28th, our fourth on this campus, and the air was full of as much joy and excitement as it was our very first day on Toomey Road. It’s always a pleasure to see the children enter their sparkling classrooms, meet and reconnect with friends, and dive in to their work with great enthusiasm.

Over the summer, we welcomed new staff members and implemented new programs and are preceding with a renewed attitude of reverence this year. We’re thrilled to announce that we have begun a new music program through a partnership with JP Ahmad and Franklin Music Academy ! All 3rd-6th year elementary students will have weekly 45-minute small group lessons with JP, and they will learn to play AND sing some of our favorite classic rock, R&B, and Parkside songs – and have fun doing it! Music is part of the heart and soul of Parkside, as you know, and we can’t wait to infuse our culture with this fresh take on learning and loving music.

Another new addition that we are so excited about is … Baby Bruno! Joe and Claire’s daughter, and former After School program director, Grace, gave birth to Bruno Charles Patrick on June 15th . He is charming his mom and dad, Ed, every day, and is already working on his math facts and guitar playing with Joe. We look forward to seeing Bruno in a Primary classroom in a few years!

And just as we encourage the children to do, we all endeavor to grow and learn each year. So based on Joe’s recommendation, here’s a title to add to your bookshelf:  Reverence by Paul Woodruff . The entire staff will be studying it this year, and we’d like to invite you to do the same. Recognizing and renewing “reverence” in our daily lives and in the Parkside community is the guiding intention for this school year, and we’ll be holding a book talk to discuss ways we can honor that intention. Stay tuned for more information and a date for that event.

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Thank you, friends, for your continued support, and here’s to another fantastic year at Parkside Community School!

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