Welcome to Lahontan! ... A Community of Learners

Lahontan is committed to offering a challenging and supportive school program for all of our Kindergarten and First Grade students. Our continuing goal is to prepare students with the vital knowledge and skills they will need for success, while at the same time encouraging creativity, curiosity, and life-long appreciation for learning.

Administrators and teachers everywhere recognize the important contributions parents make toward a child’s success in school. There is no question about it - success at school begins at home. Parents are the single most important variable in a child’s schooling. Parents model both a silent and spoken language in front of their children daily. One of the most important components of a good school is the partnership between the school and the parents who work together for the best interest of children. Our goal is to enhance the close partnership between home and school. That partnership between home and school will emerge as one of the exceptional strengths at Lahontan.

Our goal at Lahontan is to encourage that tradition of supportive, hard-working parents. Throughout the year parents and teachers at Lahontan will have the opportunity to develop that partnership in a wide variety of ways. Parents can join our parent group, volunteer in the classroom, help at book fairs, participate in family activity nights, read to their children, and help in many other ways. It is important to your child that you are involved in some way at school. It’s a way to let your child know you think his or her school is important. A friendly, working relationship with your child's teacher is supported and encouraged at Lahontan. Education is a partnership that includes you.

As we begin each school year, we find teachers establishing relationships, school standards, and rules. In the most successful classrooms, teachers have established relationships, respect, and specific routines for the children to follow. This means giving the children a specific place to find and keep materials, a set schedule for classroom instruction, etc. These routines, blended with the teacher’s consistent standards,and a positive environment, form a smooth running classroom where the children have the security of understanding their growth and are reinforced positively for their contributions.

At home it is also important to provide routines. Many families build a daily “quiet time” when the television is turned off. This quiet time provides students the opportunity for completing schoolwork or for recreational reading if there is no homework. During this quiet time, a suitable place, somewhat free of other distractions, should be available. The routine of a daily quiet time provides an opportunity to develop self-discipline, stimulate imagination, and enhance reading skills. I highly encourage a quiet time for families each day. In addition to quiet time, routines can also make completing chores easier for both children and parents. If children are consistently expected to complete routine household duties at the same time on the same day in the same place, they soon begin to develop a responsibility for their commitment and contribution to the family. Helping children develop responsibility both at home and at school helps develop responsible citizens.

Lastly, as families and schools establish routines for the school year, it is helpful to keep in mind that childhood is a special time of learning, exploration, and growth. Children need to be provided free time to explore their world and experience the joy of discovery ... play is important too!

Hopefully we can all provide time for our children to be children. The realities of the adult world will be there all too soon. As children grow and learn, they find joy and satisfaction in working closely with their families toward a common goal. Such is the case with the students at Lahontan. Commitment to the best for our children ... on the part of parents, students, and staff is the key to our success with the children we teach. It is the hope of the staff at Lahontan that all parents will help us fulfill this commitment to excellence on behalf of ALL children who attend. School and home can work together to build skills and knowledge, reinforce values, and develop a strong sense of self worth. We must invest our time and energies in our nation’s most valuable resource - our children.

Kimi Melendy - Principal