End of year message

Dear Ashton Family,

We say goodbye to the 2019-2020 school year with gratitude for the many positive experiences we had and for being sustained through the challenges. Thank you to all of you as well for exemplifying the home/school relationship for the well being of our children.

To those few families who are leaving us this year, we extend our best wishes and God’s blessings upon you wherever He leads you.  We know that several of you are relocating overseas.  Whether you are staying in country or going abroad, we certainly hope that your children will take Ashton inspired minds and transformed hearts to serve them well in their new learning and living environments.

For those registered families who will be with us in August, we happily announce our Gator Summer Series. While we certainly encourage you to give your children plenty of opportunities to stay away from the screen and get outdoors observing safety protocols, we also want to give them the opportunity to stay connected with some of our amazing teachers who will volunteer some of their summer hours, bringing this to you at no additional cost.  We will send you the private link in the coming days, but here is a preview:

• Pk-4th graders will find Ashton teachers doing read alouds of some of their favorite books. Look for surprise readers who are Ashton teachers that you might not even know!
• 3^rd-6^thgraders: will be able to check in with Mr. Sanquintin for Coding  lessons under a very fun game: Scratch
• For Middle School and High School students the offer will include math workshops, social studies themed gatherings, professional make-up drama courses parallel to drama lessons to develop characters in theater. A Photoshop introductory course was also added to the offer for the upper grades.
• Gator Gatherings have flourished online and will continue with Mr. Henriquez over the summer.

While the situation with this virus is evolving and changes may come our way in the coming weeks, as of now we ask that you note the following dates in your agendas:

• August 19^th: Virtual Orientation for New Families
• August 20^th: Virtual Back to School Night
• August 21^st: Virtual meet and greet with your child’s Homeroom/Advisory  teacher.  Sign up times will be provided similar to the parent/teacher conferences format.
• August 24^th:  First day of school, face-to-face and virtual depending  on grade levels.  Details will be provided in August.

We are very pleased to have received positive feedback about the Trusting and Planning Forward Guide, as we are for the contributions from parents and students during the meetings and Town Halls that we have had.  In response to a parent suggestion, in August we will be preparing short, informal videos to share with parents and students regarding important protocols so that by the first day of school, students are more informed.

We wish you all a restful and healthy summer break and pray that we will be able to unite in August as planned.  Stay connected with us on our webpage, Instagram and Delegates Chat groups.

God bless you!

Mrs. Gygax