Welcome to Pond Cove
Posted by Tech Admin
Pond Cove students pose proudly in front of the mural they helped create with their classmates in commemoration of Cape Elizabeth's 250th Anniversary.
Dear Pond Cove Families, Friends and Visitors:
Welcome to the 2016-2017 school year and thank you for visiting our school website! For current news throughout the school year, please be sure to check in with us on Twitter at: Twitter.com/KHassonCE and also click on the link to our Pond Cove Newsletter. These newsletters also are e-mailed to all Pond Cove families throughout the school year.
Nestled in our beautiful seaside community, Pond Cove is a kindergarten through grade four public elementary school with a rich tradition of inclusiveness and educational excellence supported by strong parent and community involvement. At Pond Cove we believe that a healthy home-school partnership contributes to every child's success.
Principal Kelly Hasson in her office with a signed print from Barbara Cooney's Miss Rumphius. The print is particularly meaningful – it was a gift from the Pond Cove staff, and Miss Rumphius happens to be her favorite children's book.
As principal, I have the privilege and responsibility of working with our staff to ensure the academic, social and emotional success of our students. We consider our work essential in providing a solid foundation for our students that supports the Cape Elizabeth School Department's Mission, Vision and Values.
Our committed, dedicated teachers and support staff deliver instruction in core curriculum areas of Literacy, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies. Our focus is to provide robust and engaging educational experiences that support individual student growth and achievement, while nurturing students' interests and passions within a safe and welcoming learning environment.
Pond Cove students participate in weekly classes that include Art, Music, Physical Education and Library Learning Commons for 21st Century Learners. World Language classes are provided to first through fourth graders twice a week. Students begin to learn a language in first grade and continue with the same language through their fourth grade experience. For example, first and third graders will receive instruction in French language and culture this year, while second and fourth graders will receive instruction in Spanish language and culture. Third and fourth graders also attend health classes twice a week.
Ensuring that our students have the support they need to navigate new experiences throughout their social and emotional development is important to their well-being and readiness to learn. Our school counselor and social workers provide individual, small and large group support to K-4 students throughout the school year, and also provide valuable support and resources to parents and guardians.
The use of technology as a tool for teaching and learning is integrated across all areas of our curriculum. Our Technology Teacher/Integrator works closely with students and staff to enhance learning with devices that include SMART Boards, iPads and computers. Leveraging the use of technology at Pond Cove also plays a broader role in preparing our students to develop the competencies they will need to interact responsibly using appropriate digital citizenship and to contribute productively within our interconnected global society.
Thanks to an extremely generous grant from the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation, the new Pond Cove Library Learning Commons for 21st Century Learners has been constructed throughout the summer! A collaborative effort with innovative teaching and learning in mind, students and teachers will be invited "to engage in the inquiry process, to find inspiration, and to take action upon that inspiration in new and exciting ways." The Pond Cove LLC for 21st Century Learners will include a production studio, a 3-D printing/design suite, as well as significant structural changes to "create a fluid, flexible innovation space where students and teachers 'play' with ideas" that enhance their thinking and understanding through multiple pathways and resources. Within the LLC and throughout the school, students will continue to be provided with innovative opportunities to build problem solving skills using Legos, Robotics, Coding, as well as other progressive uses of technology and more.
The Pond Cove LLC for 21st Century Learners also involves our exciting partnership with the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust. Over time, the following will become part of the Pond Cove LLC for 21st Century Learners: a mural simulating Robinson Woods where CELT animals will be displayed, a wooden "foot path" in front of the mural wall, a bird sanctuary outside of the LLC with nearby research stations, and a 3-D "reading tree" wooden reading nook. Stay tuned for our Grand Opening coming soon!
Pond Cove is extremely grateful for the support we receive from the Pond Cove Parents Association (PCPA), the Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation (CEEF), and the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust (CELT) and their generous donors. Our parents and community play integral roles toward enriching our students' education. The following are just a few of the many contributions from these organizations that benefit our students: professional learning through Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University; an annual K-4 Artists-in Residence program; an annual Visiting Children's Author, an annual K-4 Arts Day; work with Local Stories Project artists-in-residence; work with Coast Encounters to learn about our local marine resources; our Robotics Program; outreach programs from the Chewonki Foundation and Sparks Ark; class trips to Robinson Woods and Great Pond to learn about local ecology, animal and plant habitats; professional development opportunities for staff and much more.
Enjoy your visit to our website. Please be sure to check back for current news through Twitter and our school newsletters. Each of us at Pond Cove looks forward to what promises to be a spectacular 2016-2017 school year!
Kelly Hasson, Principal