Dear Hogan Cedars Families,

Welcome to the 2018-19 school year! Our focus at Hogan Cedars is to "Create a dynamic learning community where every student is valued and supported on his/her educational journey." Our staff joins you as partners in supporting children on this journey. We will continue to provide quality instruction and meaningful learning opportunities for all students to succeed! Student learning is at the forefront of all we do. Let's work together to provide the best learning experiences for our students!

In addition to our continued focus on high academic standards, we have a new theme as we begin the 2018-19 school year: Be mindful, present, engaged, and ready for each and every day. We are working on having a smooth start each morning where students can "settle in" before we start the rigorous work before us. As a school, we are reading the children's book My Magic Breath by Nick Ortner and Alison Taylor. As always, we appreciate parents' commitment in getting their children here at school "on time and ready to learn." We are a true team in supporting our students!

As we move into the school year, we will display children's art work on the main entry bulletin boards. As a Right Brain Initiative school, we believe in the arts. We want our students to have rich art experiences in visual art, dance, movement, theater, and music. In the past four years our students have had incredible Artist in Residence experiences: our students worked with visual artist Sarah Ferguson to create beautiful habitat murals displayed in our Media Center, classes worked with Northwest Children's Theater artists in Image Theater, children worked with Alex Addy from the Obo Addy Legacy Project on African hand drumming, and just this past year students worked with artist Karie Oakes in creating clay sculptures and tiles! This year we plan to work with artist Julie Keefe in photography. We will keep you posted!

This year we will also continue to provide a safe, positive, and rigorous learning environment for all students in all areas. We are always looking at more ways to involve families and the community at Hogan Cedars. We welcome you into our school and classrooms! If you have a question, concern, or just want to become more involved in our school, please call me at 503-261-4500.

Warmly,
Elaine Luckenbaugh
Principal
Hogan Cedars Elementary School