Spring, 2000 No. 8 National Network of Partnership Schools
Connections Day Picnic Starts the School Year
Park Avenue Elementary School in Danbury, Connecticut kicked off its school year with its first Connections Day Picnic on August 30, 1999. This exciting event brought together students, families, teachers, and community members to celebrate the start of the new school year and a federal grant to develop their partnership program. Flyers about the Connections Day Picnic were sent to parents in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, and translators were available to encourage all families to attend.
The activities were collaboratively arranged by Principal, Beverly White; Parent Outreach Coordinator, Joanna León; school social worker, Joyce Burns; the faculty; staff; PTA; local businesses; and others. Business partners donated food, beverages, decorations, and gift certificates for a raffle. PTA members made over 400 "Park Avenue School Connections Day" buttons for the more than 150 families who attended.
A community agency, ESCAPE to the Arts, provided the materials and expertise for an art workshop. Students and family members painted self-portraits on squares of fabric. Teachers, students, and community members enjoyed guessing which portrait belonged to whom. The painted squares are being sewn together in four sections by the sewing guild of the Danbury Senior Center. The school’s family quilt, "The Faces of Park Avenue," will be dedicated at Park Avenue’s 50th Birthday Celebration in June, and will be hung in a place of honor in the building.
Parents and students enjoyed a hot dog roast on the playground. Students greeted classmates they had not seen all summer, and took pride in giving their parents a tour of the building. A lot of first-day jitters and confusion were alleviated because students had a chance to find their classrooms and meet their teachers before the official opening of school.
The kick-off picnic sent a strong message of welcome to the families of all students. This was extended with a "Welcome to Park Avenue" bulletin board in the school’s main hallway. It says "Welcome" in the six languages of Park Avenue’s families—English, Portuguese, Spanish, Khmer, Polish, and Urdu—and is surrounded by photos of students, faculty, staff, and families enjoying various school events.
Submitted by Joanna León, Parent Outreach Coordinator. Park Avenue Elementary School is implementing the National Network of Partnership Schools’ Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) model focused on school improvement goals with Action Teams in Reading, Writing, Math, Behavior, and Fun Connections.
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