Photo By Courtney Pollock | 240418-N-GA645-1181 NAVAL STATION ROTA, Spain (April 17, 2024) Volunteers from around...... read more read more
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Building on last year’s success, Rota Elementary School hosted its second annual Social-Emotional Wellness (SEW) Family Night at the school campus, April 17, 2024. The after-school event included dinner, informational sessions for parents, a kids’ zone, resource fair, and magic show.
"By consolidating various activities and events into one evening, the SEW Family Night was a success with several hundred parents and students showing up,” said Kenneth Kirk, principal for Rota Elementary School. “This success would not have been possible without our invaluable partnerships with numerous community organizations.”
Held during the Month of the Military Child, Marla Echols, third grade teacher and event coordinator, emphasized that this event highlighted the partnerships within community resources to support military children and families.
“Everyone steps up and works together, especially when it comes to our students,” said Echols. “We are the village each other needs. It’s so rewarding, as a school community, to know that when we invite and reach out to the community, they show up.”
Community partners included American Red Cross, Chapel, Child & Youth Services, Educational and Developmental Intervention Services (EDIS), Fleet and Family Support Center (FFSC), Military Family Life Consultants (MFLC), Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR), Navy Exchange (NEX), Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), School Liaison, and USO. There were several volunteers from installation departments and tenant commands as well as school organizations.
As families arrived to the school, they were welcomed with a resource fair and pizza dinner in the courtyard. NAVSTA Rota Commanding Officer, Capt. Teague Suarez, joined Echols and Kirk for opening remarks before parents checked their children into the kids zone and made their way to the informational sessions.
Pulling on local experts from throughout the community, parents were able to learn about anxiety-free parenting, trauma informed transitions and building resilience for military families, building resiliency in children, and the power of connection. Parents were also able to browse the PCS Project art exhibit and PTSA book fair between sessions.
Echols was pleased to find the classrooms filled with parents looking to find better ways to support their children and grow meaningful connections. She said that building resiliency in children seemed to be a popular topic this year.
“I think they resonated because we have a lot of PCSs ahead of us,” said Echols. “I think the sessions provided tools and education that parents can immediately apply with the upcoming changes.”
While the parents were learning, Laurie Allard, physical education teacher for Rota Elementary School, was at the school’s gymnasium coordinating the high-energy kids zone. Along with a team of 20 adult volunteers and 10 student volunteers, the group kept the over 125 kids – aged four and up – engaged and active.
“The goal was a variety of activities to promote different skill levels,” said Allard. “Students had the opportunity to work on locomotion skills, throwing accuracy, balance, fitness, rhythm & dance, jump & land/skip rope, catching, arm extension skills, teamwork, and most importantly social emotional learning.”
This year, they added additional stations and increased overall footprint to include outdoor spaces as well as the gym. According to Allard, hippity hops, badminton/paddle, and dance were popular stations this year.
As the informational sessions concluded and parents collected their children, many families made their way across the courtyard to the multi-purpose room for the Circus of Enchantment magic show hosted by Armed Forces Recreation and MWR. According to MWR personnel “over 350 purple-clad kids and parents” came to the show.
Near the end, magician Krendl told the audience that there is magic in every moment – where you are, the people you are with, and what you are doing. Using his skills, he proved that each one of us is where we were supposed to be at this exact time!
It seemed a fitting end to a night highlighting the Rota community coming together to support, grow, and show up for each other while supporting the youngest members of the community.
“It was incredibly rewarding to provide such a memorable experience for our families,” said Kirk, “especially during the Month of the Military Child."
Rota Elementary School is Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) school located on Naval Station (NAVSTA) Rota military base. In conjunction with Rota Middle/High School, the combined campus provides education for installation children, kindergarten through 12th grade. Rota Elementary School was a National Blue Ribbon Award school for 2022.
As the "Gateway to the Mediterranean,” NAVSTA Rota provides U.S., NATO and allied forces a strategic hub for operations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. NAVSTA Rota is a force multiplier, capable of promptly deploying and supporting combat-ready forces through land, air and sea, enabling warfighters and their families, sustaining the fleet and fostering the U.S. and Spanish partnership.
| Date Taken: | 05.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.01.2024 05:44 |
| Story ID: | 469943 |
| Location: | ES |
| Web Views: | 101 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A Magical Night for the Rota Community at Rota Elementary School: School hosts second annual Social-Emotional Wellness Family Night, by Courtney Pollock, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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