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I hope this letter finds you enjoying this wonderfully hot and humid summer weather. And if hazy, hot, and humid isn’t your thing, then I trust you’re finding ways to stay cool. In any case, summer is starting to wind down, which means that EFS is starting to wind up.

The Elmwood Franklin School community paid tribute to another talented and inspired group of graduates at the commencement ceremony on June 10. Congratulations to all of our newest alumni and their families!

I hope you are beginning to settle into summer routines. First, let me thank you for all that you do to support our students and teachers. Whether volunteering through Parent Council, cheering at our interscholastic sports teams or our many plays, delivering birthday treats (my personal favorite) or helping out for a special class event, the positive partnership that exists between the school and home benefits our children every day.

Thank you to all who made this year’s EFS Auction a rousing success. Our new, later date, better weather, increased attendance, wonderful items up for bid, and amazing decorations all contributed to an evening of fun to benefit our students. Bidding on silent and live auction items was lively, but the highlight of the evening was the $47,200 raised to match $50,000 donated by the M&T Bank Charitable Foundation to support our strategic plan for technology – more on that below.

In spite of the beautiful weather we enjoyed in March, I think most of us were reluctant to believe that spring had really arrived. But after our break and the continued unusually warm and sunny conditions and with the end of the school year approaching fast, I think it’s safe to say that spring has truly sprung.

This month’s character education themes are sportsmanship and teamwork, and it’s hard to imagine a better example of both than the recent Winter Olympics. The opportunity to watch the world’s best athletes compete is great, but perhaps more important from the perspective of parents and educators are the lessons that the Olympics and Olympians teach about winning and losing with grace, valuing fellow competitors, and honoring yourself and everyone else by always giving your best effort.

As the news of the earthquake in Haiti reached our children, many of them asked, “How are we going to help?” Given how much we’ve done just this year—collected food around the holidays for Ronald McDonald House and the Food Bank of Western New York, donated winter clothing for recently relocated refugees through Journey’s End, and held a penny drive to support Children’s Hospital—the students seemed to know that it was a matter of how and when we would do something for Haiti, not if. 

I hope this letter finds you relaxed after the frenzy of the holidays, and especially with the kids back at school. In addition to providing some time to take a breath and catch up on sleep and family time, the winter break also provides an opportunity to look back over the first half of the school year, take stock, and set our sights on the second half.