Over at Weller Elementary School, Principal Alicia Padilla and her team are envisioning a great year ahead. 
This year, Weller has brought in a Mental Health Intern, who will be working to tie in social-emotional support for students. The idea is to help children who’ve experienced trauma, and also support students in regulating feelings and using mindfulness to stay calm and focused. Throughout the district, creating educational spaces that encourage social-emotional success among our students is a top priority; and so Weller is making major strides by expanding their team and supporting our students in this way! 

Four new teachers have also joined the Weller team this year, along with Assistant Principal Mario Torres (who comes from Burnett Elementary) and a new Principal’s Secretary. 

During the school year, Weller will host a Beautification Day, where families will come together to plant flowers and plants around campus. 

"I think families taking part really makes a difference,” said Alicia. "We have action planning teams and one of the focuses is on the physical environment of the school. We also have plans to do some painting and murals.” 

Weller’s PTA is also planning to host a Jogathon, something that hasn’t happened at the school for several years.

Above all, Alicia and her team work each and every day to inspire and empower every child at Weller. 
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"I love the kids. I love the community. Being an elementary principal and seeing the kids from kinder through 6th…it’s just amazing to see their growth,” said Alicia. "I always remind the teachers, especially our kinder teachers: You plant those seeds. So when you see those kids in 6th grade and they’re being promoted…remember that you provided that support from the beginning. It’s really exciting to be here long enough and see your students promote to the next grade.”

Nanci Pass has entered her tenth year as Principal at Rose Elementary School. 

One of the things she’s really looking forward to this year is moving forward with what’s called ROAR expectations. ROAR stands for: Respectful, Open-minded, Ambitious, and Responsible. This is part of their Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports implementation, which began last year. This year, Nanci and the Rose team will be expanding upon it, and working hard to do what they can to provide social, emotional, and behavioral supports for students. They’ll do this through things like monthly rallies for the whole school, along with incentive programs. 

Rose has a new Assistant Principal, Liqa Moin, who comes from the Palo Alto Unified School District, where she worked as a teacher. 

"I think we have a really great community,” said Nanci. “We have families that might have personal struggles in their own lives, and education and our school community is important to them. Our students understand we’re all behind them and supporting them, and that the expectations are that they all can achieve and grow. And we're all working for them.” 
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This year is Rose Elementary’s 60th anniversary. There’s nothing yet planned, but the team at Rose is on the case, and trying to determine how to best celebrate such a milestone!