“Cultures grow on the vines of tradition.” School Lane has certain traditions that we have developed that our students, staff, and families look forward to every year.  These traditions always strengthen the sense of community amongst our students, staff, and families.  Below is a brief description of each tradition we have in place and the time of year when they occur. 

o     Morning Meeting Pairs (1x month): Every month there will be a day when classes combine to do a morning meeting.  These are sometimes 2-5 classes in a grade all together, and sometimes it is two classes from different grades.  The goal is to encourage collaboration amongst teachers around planning morning meetings, and to allow students and teachers to get to know each other throughout the year.

o     DEAR – Drop Everything and Read (2x month): To show our value of reading, twice a month we stop what we are doing and have everyone read (including staff) for 30 minutes.  These dates and times are on our calendar every month.

o     Ambassador Program (all year): Every K-5 classroom is assigned a 6th grade student  to be his or her “Ambassador” for the year. The Ambassadors visit the classrooms every Friday for morning meeting and will also come to exhibitions and other events to spend time getting to know that class.  The 6th grade ambassadors are led by a teacher who meets with them regularly to train and support them. 

o     First Friday Dress Down (first Friday of every month): Students are permitted to dress down the First Friday of every month.  Staff may dress down as well, but we ask for a $5 donation that we use towards charity. 

o     Constitution Day (mid-September): Students spend the week in their classrooms reflecting on the School Pledge and deciding as a class whether or not they want to keep it the same or suggest revisions.  On Constitution Day, each class sends a delegate to a meeting with the Leadership Team to discuss the changes and cast a final vote.  The final decision on what the School Pledge will be for the year is announced in a whole school assembly at the end of the day.

o     Vocabulary Day (around October 31st): Students and staff dress up as a vocabulary word.  There is often a parade for the younger students.  Teachers spend time in the weeks leading up to Vocabulary Day doing activities to help students brainstorm ideas.  On Vocabulary Day, teachers have activities planned that concentrate on vocabulary they are learning.

o     Harvest Festival (around early November): This is a family-friendly event featuring games, arts, and crafts, and a dance party.  Light refreshments are normally served.  Participants have the chance to win many raffle baskets and other prizes.

o     Staff v. Student Day (the last day before Winter Break): Each grade gets one hour in the gym to circulate to approximately 8 stations where staff compete students in “Minute to Win It” type competitions. A running record of the scores by grade are tallied up and there is a winner at the end - either the staff or students.

o     Variety Show (usually early February): The music teachers help host an evening where students are able to display acts of talent for staff, families and students.  The show is for 1st-6th grade students and many of them look forward to this event each year.

o     Bingo Night (usually late April): This is a family-friendly event featuring multiple rounds of Bingo and other fun activities.  Light refreshments are normally served.  Participants have the chance to win many raffle baskets and other prizes.

o     Read Across America Day (usually late February or early March): Students and staff dress up as characters from Dr. Seuss.  There is a school-wide DEAR time in large spaces where older grade students read to younger grade students in pairs.  There is also a voting competition about the best Dr. Seuss book that happens in a “March Madness” format.

o     Multicultural Week (last full week of school): This is an opportunity to celebrate all of the amazing diversity of students and families we have in our community.  During this week, the Arts teachers plan lessons that have a “multicultural” twist on them. Morning meetings are planned with a focus on cultures, and families are invited to do 20-30 minute presentations and activities with the students that are focused on their family culture and traditions.

o     Field Days (the first two half days on the last week of school): Students and staff are split into blue and gray teams and spend a day competing against each other in a variety of activities. Families come out to run the stations so that staff can spend the day in on the competition!

o     Extracurriculars: School Lane Charter School offers a variety of clubs and extracurricular activities for our elementary students. SLCS club-specific policies and eligibility requirements will be distributed at the beginning of the first trimester. Due to the ever changing needs of our student body, our club offerings change annually. The clubs listed below are a small example of what has been offered in the past, and your child may have the opportunity to participate in:

• Kickball, Origami, Volleyball, Drawing, Reading Olympics, Computer Programming, Drama, Choir, Arts and Crafts, Board Games, and much more!