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Principal Nelson's Newsletter
We welcome everybody into December and promise you will want it to continue, no matter how attractive Winter Break is. However, before we welcome in this month and all its revelry, let us first pay homage to November:
Our annual Thanksgiving Feast was our largest one yet! Over 350 family and community members, volunteers, students, and staff were welcomed to campus as we celebrated Thanksgiving with those we love. It was a memorable event, and we were excited to see many new faces. We know we will see them again next year. It was the perfect way to end the month and send our students off for the break.
Homecoming was on the 16th, and we were delighted to see so many current and former Raccoons on campus for this annual get-together. DJ Cody provided music; the Foundation provided snacks, cookies galore, a photo booth, and a face-painting station. This is one of our favorite events on campus as it reminds everybody that once a raccoon, always a raccoon. We love events like this when we welcome back old friends and their families. We aim to make this a common occurrence, and we are always looking for more opportunities.
Speaking of opportunities to welcome back former students, please get the word out about Fundamental Sports held on campus every Friday! Fundamental sports is how our former student-athletes can continue competing in Special Olympics activities. It takes place from 12-1 in our gymnasium, and we have plenty of adaptive equipment and volunteers to ensure that every student who wants to compete can. For more info, please send me an email.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled December accolades.
December is a time to remember here on campus, and we have many activities to celebrate the season with. This year, we will be participating in the 8 Days of Winter and inviting the students to play along. Each day, your students will be dressed in the day's theme, and we'll shower them with gifts and huzzahs! Please take a look at the PDF below for more info.
We've also got Breakfast with Santa on the horizon (12/13), complete with an authentic Asian breakfast and a performance from a Bells Choir. Later in the day, we'll all participate in a service project to create cards for hospitals and nursing homes.
We finish the school year off on the 20th with pancakes and pajamas! We want our students and staff to come dressed in their warmest holiday PJs for this most delicious of events hosted by former principal Elizabeth Dicky and her church. Then, to put the cherry on the sundae of a first semester, we'll all meet in the gym later in the day for a Holiday Sing-a-long!
There is no shortage of fun this month, or any month, here on campus. We love having your students here and are always trying to discover new ways to increase their Joy factor. We cannot control what happens outside these hallowed halls, but we are in firm control of what occurs inside. We want our students to know we see them, love them, and will work with them for as long as it takes to allow them to reach their own level of independence. Care, compassion, and encouragement are the keys to getting them to produce their best, and I am happy to say we are beyond efficient in providing all three.
Happy Holidays!
Matthew Nelson
Principal
Rosedale
7505 Silvercrest Dr.
Austin, TX 78757
512-414-3617 ext. 70744 office