A Note from Randal Rhodus

In addition to the Daisy Breakfasts, our Lower School students participated in two fun gatherings in the last two weeks. Our all-school MLK gathering on January 12 was so memorable and inspiring for our youngest Hockadaisies. I know they particularly enjoyed listening to our Middle and Upper School student singing performances and cheering on Lower School teachers, Sabrina Kessee and Gina Hunter, while they sang “Amazing Grace.”

 

At our gathering last Thursday, all Lower School students observed our second Kids on the Block program for the school year. Your daughters were entertained by the puppets Jennifer (performed by Randal Rhodus) and Brenda (performed by Chris Brandt). During the performance, Brenda learned more about Jennifer’s learning differences and the learning strategies she practices during her Learning Lab class.  Jennifer was able to clarify common misconceptions about learning differences with Brenda and with students in the audience. Additionally, Jennifer helped Brenda with tools she can use when people tease her. Together they discussed the problem of teasing and turned to the student audience for solutions to teasing.

 

Through this performance, we hope our students gained a better understanding of learning differences and how we support students with learning differences at Hockaday. We also want our students to know that they can do something about teasing. They determined that walking away, using their words to tell how they feel, telling an adult, and using humor were all tools that could be used to solve the problem of teasing.

 

 

Sincerely,

Randal Rhodus