We begin the 2018 - 2019 school year with new renewed enthusiasm for our school's focus:  the creation of flexible learning spaces to improve student engagement in learning.  One of the benefits of these flexible learning spaces is that they allow interactions between students that might not normally occur.  Students working in small groups have opportunities to practice their communication and interpersonal skills, to strengthen their competencies and connections, and most of all create a sense of belonging.  This photo of a big kid helping a little kids with her zipper at recess is an example of the ethic of care that our school is based upon.  Our students get to know each other across grades through buddy classes, Family Teams, volunteering as lunch monitors, Playground Helpers, in the library and the Learning Commons, in the Makerspace, the SmArt Lab, the garden, and during Breakfast Club.  At recess and lunchtimes, students choose where they play and with whom.  We encourage students to "be the kid who helps."  At a recent assembly, we reviewed our "McNeely Cares" matrix and student leaders reviewed the expectations of care and consideration during recess and lunch.  We try to live by our daily motto:  At Kathleen McNeely, we care about each other, we care about ourselves and we care about this place."