written by David Núñez, Interim Head of School

Dear GRS Community,

I wanted to start my message this month by reminding you all that the Blue Heron Bash is coming up! I, for one, am really excited, as I had a great time last year! This is Great River’s biggest fundraiser of the year, but even if you can’t make it, everyone can enjoy friendly bidding on great gatherings, and amazing items in our online auction. The money raised by the Blue Heron Bash is used to support all of the amazing programs that make GRS so special. To see more details, check out the BHB website. We hope to see you there!

You should have gotten report cards in the last couple weeks. We usually get a number of questions about why our report cards look the way they do. In the Elementary, we offer full narratives on your students' progress. In the Adolescent Program, we have a 7 point rubric for grading, it can be found linked here, and this document shows you the details of each rubric ranking.

March is also testing season in the state of Minnesota and we will soon be starting MCA testing at GRS. I know many of you have some strong feelings about standardized testing (as I do as an educator), but between the gaps in our data collection from the pandemic and the impacts these test scores can have on the school’s long range finances, we do encourage students to take the test and to try their very best.

Finally, March is Women’s History Month, and as I always say, we encourage the celebration and centering of underrepresented voices at all times at Great River. However, Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate the vital role of women in American history and highlight the accomplishments of people who identify as women! Jordan Samejima, our Equity and Inclusion Facilitator will be sharing resources with staff throughout the month to support their growth and support active, positive engagement in Women’s History Month in our classrooms.

Thank you all for all that you do to make our community a better place.

Peace,

David