Welcome to the 2021-2022 School Year at Bambini Creativi!
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Benvenuti Amici! Welcome to the 2021-2022 school year!
Our teaching team and staff are already preparing, planning, and working together to ensure our first day of school, on Tuesday, September 7th, will be a success in every way! Serving, guiding, educating, mentoring, and loving our students, in partnership with you, is our primary purpose and joy! We are enthusiastic and excited to welcome our new and returning students to the school year! The Bambini Creativi community is the heart and pulse of our vision and purpose for our students and families. We look forward to all the opportunities that will unfold this year and to model to our student body what it looks like to work together.
Bambini Creativi was buzzing with all kinds of activity this summer, but nothing compares to the energy and warmth of starting a new school year and taking part in our students’ growth. Since our founding days, we have upheld our strong image of the child as competent, capable citizens who should enjoy their full rights. Bambini Creativi has pursued this vision with a fierce mindset of educational independence; the freedom of learning without bounds, and the responsibility to care for each other and celebrate the richness each amici brings to our community. That is still true today as we have not wavered when it comes to our core beliefs, and as we recognize parents as the primary educators of their children.
We continue to make our decisions based on what we believe honors our promise to our students and their overall emotional, physical, intellectual and spiritual health and development. As such, we also have to balance public safety and health, legal obligations and freedoms, and respecting what is important to our community. Currently, Kansas City’s Mayor, Quinton Lucas, has ordered all schools and public spaces to implement an indoor mask mandate. This order is scheduled to expire on August 28th, but he is wanting to extend the order until September 23rd. This order requires all students over the age of 5 years old to wear masks indoors. The mandate also expresses an exemption for “Persons who have disabilities where masks constitute a substantial impairment to their health and well-being based upon medical, behavioral, or legal direction.” If this applies to your child, you will need to provide the school with medical documentation. Additionally, the choice of vaccination is best made in consultation with your own physician and is a private matter. I have attached our Covid Safety Plan document below for you to review in its entirety.
This year, our team is focusing on our efforts to be in school safely for in-person learning. We know and understand the benefits of working together in-person, developing our face-to-face relationships, and being there to hold our students’ hands as we continue to help them along their journey of learning. We are committed to not leaving any amici behind and we feel confident in our ability to do our best to be inclusive and to keep everyone safe. Class work will be made available if a student has to miss school, but we will not ask our teaching team members to manage remote and in-person learning simultaneously. The educational experience is best facilitated by being in class with amici and team members committed to supporting and caring for all aspects of whole child learning.
We have had to be patient and flexible during this pandemic time as we all have certainly been impacted by its effects on our lives. We have had to maneuver and make necessary changes to accommodate everyone’s safety and the best interest of our school. These last couple of years have been unique, but we have had an unrelenting spirit and gratitude to serve and give our best. Our teachers have demonstrated their commitment to our students and families throughout these trying times. Please welcome our teaching team and praise them for all the love and support they pour into our students. I encourage you to visit our website and learn more about their education and experience.
Piccolo- Ms. Ashley Tafoya-Candiff, ashley.bambinicreativi@gmail.com
Medio- Ms. Taylor Robertson, taylor.bambinicreativi@gmail.com
* Piccolo and Medio will be combined on Tuesdays & Wednesdays
Grande- Ms. “Alli” Allison Ronning, allison.r.bambinicreativi@gmail.com
Curiosi (K-1st)- Ms. Anissa Milburn, anissa.bambinicreativi@gmail.com
Cercativi (2nd-5th)- Ms. Marie Hood, marie.bambinicreativi@gmail.com & Ms. Ashley Tafoya- Candiff, ashley.bambinicreativi@gmail.com
* Ms. Ashley will be working with the younger elementary students in the afternoon on single subject learning like math and literacy)
Art & Spanish Specials- Ms. Alessa Arenas, alessa.bambinicreativi@gmail.com
Healthy Living Specialist- Ms. Leslie Menendez, leslie.bambinicreativi@gmail.com
As stated above, community is the heart of Bambini Creativi’s experience, both for students and parents. We look forward to resuming our regular calendar of events and activities such as Dopo Scuola (monthly after school clubs), the Fall Garden Party, and our infamous Light at Night event. We can’t wait for final projects and the anticipation of our 5th grade graduates’ Exhibition Presentation at the end of the school year, and to celebrate Bambini Creativi’s 10 Year Anniversary!! Bambini Creativi will be filled with opportunities to gather, reconnect with one another, and to make our time together meaningful.
To get this year's party started, we have a couple of reminders that will be important for you to note. Please mark your calendars for the events highlighted below. While there are many events taking place in the first months of the year, these early on events specifically encourage the entire community to safely unite and come together as our Bambini Creativi community. In addition, you have most likely received invites to our new online digital platform, Brightwheel. Brightwheel is the one and only digital platform we will be using for everything- tuition, billing, event reminders, messaging, classroom blogging, and communication. If you have not already done so, please be sure to download the Brightwheel App and get connected as soon as you can. Please be patient as all of us are learning to navigate this new platform for the first time.
We are so thankful for the blessing and privilege of partnering with you in the education of your children and trust the result of this relationship will have a meaningful impact for the years to come. Our mission is to nurture young leaders to be compassionate, knowledgeable, creative-thinkers for a growing and changing world.
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Warmest Regards,
Brianne Teevan-Bongiovanni
Ms. Brianne Teevan-Bongiovanni, Head of School