Expanding Our Horizons
Show Your Pride! Flynn Park is New and Improving!
As we enter the year 2012, we have so many exciting changes to celebrate! Some of those changes are easy to see. We have a newly renovated lower level, including the Kindergarten rooms and our multipurpose room. We also have a new office suite with a snazzy clinic. The new cafeteria addition looks out on Flynn Park and our new playground, funded through a grant and in partnership with the City of University City (still under construction).
We also have new families and friends who have greatly enriched our Flynn Park community. We currently have 430 Flynn Park Lions, representing over 340 families. We have an energetic and committed staff, and these teachers are constantly looking for ways to improve instruction and the school climate. Our mission is to provide a supportive learning community and challenging opportunities so that all of our students will acquire the knowledge, skills, and behaviors for success in our changing world.
We hope to build students of strong character as well as students strong in academics. We teach, model, and provide consistent recognition for students who demonstrate that they are Safe, Positive, and Respectful Learners. If you have had the opportunity to attend one of our citizenship ceremonies, you know that students value being part of the Flynn Park community and they are proud of their accomplishments.
At Flynn Park, our staff models the Lion Pride by providing a safe, positive respectful place for students to learn each and every day.
To keep our students, families, and staff safe, we are committed to:
- Create and maintain a safe and orderly physical environment.
- Provide an atmosphere of appreciation for all people.
- Provide emotional and physical safety where ideas and relationships are respected.
- Provide avenues of help for those who do not feel safe.
To maintain a positive atmosphere for our students, families, and staff, we are committed to:
- Strive to maintain positive attitudes and acknowledge and recognize our successes.
- Teach, model, and nurture behaviors needed to be successful and resilient.
- Support each other in a constant changing environment, embrace change.
- Commit to recognizing student strengths as we address their weaknesses.
- Set high expectations and high standards for all.
- Start with a clean slate for our students each and every day.
In order to demonstrate respect for our students, families and staff, we are committed to:
- Ensure that discipline is consistent and based on student needs.
- Recognize that people have different needs which will be met in different ways.
- Model and expect respect for oneself, others, and environment. (verbal, non-verbal, and written forms).
In order to promote an atmosphere of learning for students, families, and staff, we are committed to:
- Recognize the four corollary questions as the heart of learning:
- What do we want children to know?
- How will we know if they know it?
- What will we do if they do not know it?
- What will we do if they already know it?
- Adhere to Essential Level Objectives and Grade Level Expectations as set forth by the state of Missouri in planning curriculum.
- Be prepared to ensure quality instruction for all students.
- Demonstrate our value of learning each and every day.
- Collect, analyze, interpret and use data to provide differentiated instruction to students.
- Provide instruction in goal setting to prepare individuals for the future.
We create a learning community by differentiating instruction and engaging students through their own interests. Our students participate in service learning projects and other project based learning efforts. All students set individual learning goals and assess their progress throughout the year.
We partner with many community organizations, such as Washington University, COCA, Craft Alliance, the St. Louis Zoo, the Shakespeare Festival Touring Company, the Science Center, the History Museum, the Magic House, U. City in Bloom and Litzinger Ecology Center, to expand learning beyond the classroom walls. We also provide numerous extracurricular activities such as Chess Club, Knitting Club, Mad Science, Girls on the Run, Read, Write and Run, Robotics Club, Soccer, Basketball, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, Archery, LIONS, and much, much more.
Finally, a school becomes a community through the interactions and support of our families. The Flynn Park PTOis organized for the purpose of supporting and enhancing the educational experiences of Flynn Park Elementary School’s students by providing an organization through which the parents, school, and teachers can work cooperatively, and by providing financial support for programs funded outside of the annual school budget. This strong vibrant organization works hard to build community through formal events like the Fall Chili Cook-off in September, Passport Night in February, and the Spring Picnic in May. They also support many school initiated events like Family Math Night (in the fall), Family Reading Night (in the spring), and Family Arts Night (in the spring). We typically have at least one parent’s night out event in each semester. This year it is a Trivia Night in the fall and Bingo Night in the spring. If you have additional ideas for building community, please contact PTO President Mike Mitchell at mmitchell418@gmail.com. As always, thank you for all that you do to support our efforts towards continuous improvement in student learning!
DeAun Blumberg, Principal
Each and Every Child, Each and Every Day.
dblumberg@ucityschools.org
