IN West Jefferson Hills Fall 2018 | Page 52

GILL HALL ELEMENTARY TINA MAYER, PRINCIPAL A s the new K-2 buildings in the district, Gill Hall Elementary and McClellan Elementary Schools are looking forward to starting this new chapter with many new faces. Not only will we have new staff and students joining us in grades one and two from Jefferson Elementary (now Jefferson Hills Intermediate School), but we will also be welcoming a new class of kindergarten students into our buildings. This year will be the first year we are offering full-day kindergarten in our district, and we are excited about all of the possibilities that will be offered in the afternoon for our youngest learners - some of which will include encore classes, mindfulness, STEAM, and individualized/small group experiences catered to learning needs. First and second grades will have a new look as well as we implement our small-group instructional model. One of the District Core Values focuses on Personalization/Customization System stating, “We believe that the future of education will be characterized by a customized and highly personalized system where the instructional methodologies are optimized for the needs of each learner.” Our students will spend their day in whole group instruction - where the primary focus is on our core curriculum, and also in small group instruction - where the primary focus is on similar learning needs. Groups will be flexible as the needs of students change. In the words of Henry Ford… “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.” We look forward to embracing all of these changes for the betterment of our students, families, staff and community. Many exciting opportunities await us in the 2018-2019 school year! #WErTJ #HEREWEGROW P.S. - Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter: @GH_WJHSD @McClellan_WJHSD 50 WEST JEFFERSON HILLS