Dear Parents, Guardians & Families,

We are very excited for another year of learning and growing together here at Panama Central School.  Our lives are surrounded by trees and we have decided to focus on trees and what they can symbolize for us as we venture into a new year here in Panama.

Here are a few thoughts on trees and how they are like children in their educational experiences.

Often, a tree gains our noticing by the simple presentation of its leaves to us.  Leaves are often the first thing we notice about a tree.  We ENGAGE with the leaves of a tree as we take our walks, mow our lawns, sit underneath one, or enjoy the shade a tree provides.  It is no different as we interact with children and their learning.  They present to us knowledge, ideas, answers, frustration, questions, confusion, and understanding – all of these are the leaves we take in and notice as we seek to teach children new content and knowledge. 

However, in order to fully teach children, we must RELATE to them as young people.  We need to realize that they are growing and changing and strengthening as they mature and grow just as the trunk of a tree does in its development.  As we teach children, we seek to strengthen our relationships with them and their families and support systems to help students gain confidence as learners.

Finally, we recognize that like trees, all learners have RESPONDed to the soil in which they were planted.  We recognize that for about thirteen years the school is an important part of the soil in which a child grows and matures.  How we take care of that soil, nourish & enrich it, cultivate it, pull weeds from it, and allow it to breathe matters a great deal.

This year, we invite you all to grow with us and your children as we Engage, Relate, and Respond to their learning in 2023-2024.  This will be a great growing year!  We look forward to June when we can see the color, creativity, and uniqueness that has leafed out in all of them!

Enjoy the year!

Sincerely,