Principal’s Corner by Nick Sofio

Building positive relationships within a school plays a very important role with creating and establishing a positive learning environment for our students.

Each day, teachers create numerous opportunities to develop connections with students from their classroom. Morning meetings, special lunches, and individual and small group instruction are a few examples.

We also recognize and value the importance of establishing relationships between our students from kindergarten to fifth grade. One way we accomplish this is through our Lakeview Families program. 

One Friday morning each month, for well over 10 years, teachers and students at Lakeview have participated in families as a way to build relationships, increase inclusion amongst students and develop life long character skills.

Each family consists of a teacher and a small group of students from kindergarten through fifth grade who will remain together throughout their time at Lakeview. During the 20-minute family meeting, students participate in games and activities to help develop character skills and traits such as friendship, trustworthiness, respect, responsibility and developing a growth mindset.    

The benefits of Lakeview Families to the learning environment and culture can be seen daily. On any given day at Lakeview, you may see a second-grader eating breakfast with a fourth-grader who share the same family. You might see a fifth-grader walking with a kindergarten student through the hallway to ensure they don’t get lost on the way to their destination. You may also see a first-grade student talking with a third-grade teacher in the hall before school. More proof of the benefit is that some of the most memorable moments each year for teachers and students come from their time spent with their Lakeview family.

What’s even better is that these relationships are long lasting. We absolutely love sharing in these moments with our students.

Nick Sofio is the principal of Lakeview Elementary School.