Dear Center School Community,

Retreat Update Summary:

1.     Location:  The location of the retreat has changed from Camp Brotherhood to the Seattle Center.

2.     Schedule

·        Wednesday, September 9^th:  Freshman 9:00 – 12:00 meet at The Center School

·        Wednesday, September 9^th:  Seniors 8:30 – 3:00 meet at The Center School

·        Thursday and Friday, September 10^th: and 11^th, All grades 8:30 – 3:00 meet at The Center School

3.     Payment Refund: If you have paid for the original retreat you may do one of the following two things: (See the end of the letter for contact information.)

·        request that your check/money be returned to you

·        apply the retreat fee to school fees.

Retreat Update:

This year we plan to begin the year with a retreat which is a new tradition for Center School.  We believe that it is important to build community and to develop common language and common expectations for positive behaviors that lead to student success.  We feel dedicating time to this endeavor will help us encourage student voice and set a strong foundation that will influence the culture of our school in a positive way.  In June the staff and I decided to take the seniors on an overnight retreat where they would help plan the retreat for the rest of the school and develop a sense of leadership.  The rest of the school would join us on Thursday and Friday.  We found a location in Mt. Vernon that could accommodate our school and was not too far away for us to travel daily.

For many reasons which include a downturn in the economy and a resistance to change, we have had less than 30% of our students return the permission slip and money for the retreat.  With one week to go, I have had to make a difficult decision regarding the location of the retreat. We did not want to be left financially committed to a contract that we could not fulfill.  I have decided that we will hold our beginning of the year retreat but that it will be held at The Center School and the surrounding areas of our campus/city. We will work on four positive behavioral themes that we know will positively impact our school culture. I will be sharing these themes at the CSCA general meeting this fall.  In addition students will be able to attend sessions regarding various opportunities at our school and to participate in fun activities like Ultimate Frisbee and Soccer.   Our ultimate goal of course is to have a retreat at a location away from Center School and to have seniors help plan the retreat during an overnight experience at the retreat.  We will be working toward that goal this year.

This year we will begin with a freshman retreat on Wednesday the 9^th from 9-12pm.  The goal is to orient the first year students to our school and to help them establish social connections so that they are more comfortable in their new setting.  Seniors will also be meeting to develop leadership skills, plan the retreat and to discuss their senior year/events.  Thursday and Friday all students will report to The Center School at 8:30am for a two day “retreat”.  These are required school days and are important for us to create a creative, compassionate thinking community where we all thrive. 

Please email your choice of refund or re-allocation of payment to the email addresses below or call 252-9855 and leave a message as to which option you prefer. 

If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at llescobar@seattleschools.org; or your CSCA president Kelly Van Gelder at kellyvangelder@comcast.net.   We will have information posted on our website by Friday.

We are very excited about the expected outcomes of the retreat and the opportunity to get to know your student better.  We know the work we do during this first week will pay off.  It is going to be a great year. 

Take care.

Lisa Escobar
Principal, The Center School