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Although the state of California and Torrance Unified School District continue to struggle with devastating budget cuts, we are committed to providing a high quality educational experience for your child. Throughout the district teachers have been let go, transferred, and recalled. During the summer two of our teachers decided to transfer to middle school. Mrs. Cindy Gottschalk and Ms. Jamie Sibley will be teaching at Hull and Madrona respectively. We will miss them but we wish them well on their new journeys. As a result of their moves, we are able to welcome back to our Hickory family, Ms. Amie Poling and Mrs. Melissa Tyrrell! They will be joining the 5th grade team. We are excited to have them back as part of our Hickory teaching staff. As California continues to explore and apply for monies to support education, we hope to call back many more of our very special teachers.
Hickory continues to be a wonderful school for children to grow and learn. There is a spirit of cooperation, respect and enthusiasm for learning that makes Hickory a school where individuals want to be. The dedicated parents and staff that make up our community are truly the spirit behind Hickory. In order to keep this spirit alive and give each child the best opportunity for success, I ask that we keep children first in all that we do. If we accept and make a real pledge to keep children first, then it follows that the education of our children is our #1 priority.
Educating our children requires that we all work together; not for our own single issues, but for the greater good of all our children. As your principal, you can expect that I will reach out to you and ask for your support, ideas, suggestions and involvement. I encourage you to join our school family, where preparing children for the future is our number one priority. I pledge to do my best to ensure that each child is challenged, nurtured and provided with a safe and stimulating learning environment.
We will continue as a pilot school for the district’s Standards Based Report Card this year. Our focus on careers in science with the Sally Ride Science will again be a school wide focus. We are committed to a school wide writing program at Hickory, and so far each teacher in grades K-5 has been trained in the Lucy Caulkins writing program. This summer I attended classes through the California Mathematics Project at UCLA. I will be working with several teachers and students throughout the school year exploring a different method of approaching mathematic instruction, referred to as “Cognitively Guided Instruction”. I am looking forward to an exciting year of educational experiences throughout the school.
Many of you may know that this summer I also participated in the “United States Educators to Japan” program. I spent 12 days in Japan with educators from all over. There were 31 of us from the US, Canada, and Europe. The United States sent representatives from California, Texas, Michigan, Oregon, and Georgia. It was an amazing experience. I visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Ikaruga, and Hiroshima. I had a wonderful opportunity to see the beautiful countryside, learn about the culture and traditions of Japan, and most importantly, I had the opportunity to visit with students and teachers in Japanese schools. We visited four different schools and I actually taught a lesson to two different classrooms in Tokyo. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting and discussing educational practices and experiences with the teachers and students from the Japanese schools. The educators on the trip also had time to collaborate and discuss successful practices in our own schools. I will always be grateful to the Japanese Business Association for sponsoring this wonderful exchange program.
I am very much looking forward to a great and rewarding 2010-2011 school year. It is my goal to bring together parents, teachers, and students, in a collaborative spirit in order to achieve continuous improvement in student achievement. This year, Hickory will continue to be a place where all children can enjoy learning, have fun, and, most importantly, feel valued.
I look forward to working with you!
Sincerely,
Mrs. Edna Schumacher
Principal
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