August 19, 2026
Dear Mandela Families and Community,
Welcome to the 2026–2027 school year! I am so excited to begin another year together. Our theme this year is: Building Bridges: Rooted in Pride, Rising in Purpose.
The question we asked ourselves as we were planning for our year included, “How do we strengthen our connections – between scholars, our parents, our team, and our community?” The answer was twofold: pride in ourselves and keeping our purpose: educating our scholars at the forefront.
At Mandela, we are proud of the fact that we have built a strong village of support around our scholars, and there is no question that every scholar, every staff member, every family, and every community partner is an essential part of our success. The truth is that the bridges have already been built. By bringing our attention to those connections, we will find absolute success.
The foundational bridge is you – our parents. We couldn’t be here without you and your trust in us and our processes. You already know that the following procedures are the building blocks of the bridge between home and school:
- Daily attendance and on-time arrival – Each morning begins with announcements to set the tone for the day, followed by classroom Community Circles that help scholars connect, share, and prepare for learning.
- Full uniform and preparedness (good night’s rest) – A strong start each day leads to a stronger finish.
- Daily reading – Scholars who read their BookLoop book every night will continue to raise the bar for literacy achievement.
- Family Engagement – Your involvement in all the above, plus our school operations and extracurricular activities sets us apart from other schools. You are the reason your scholar will love to learn and be excited to show up to school every day.
We need each of you, our parents, guardians, and community members, to continue to uplift our scholars in the practices that we know produce results, to be proud of our school and our scholars’ success. Together, we will continue to build bridges not only in our school, but also out into the community where our scholars will someday make a difference.
Here’s to an amazing school year, fueled by our roots and shining with our success.
In partnership and with great pride,
Mrs. Genevive Core
Principal