For those that have been unable to attend our monthly Parent Coffees, PTO or PTAC meetings, or any of the recent parent events like Mock Trial or the 6^th Grade Expo, we would like to make you aware of some changes we have made to our student environment.  Our goal at Moran from Day 1 has been to make the school building as student-friendly as possible.  It has taken some time, but we are well on our way.  With the help of numerous people, we have been able to make several improvements throughout the building.  One of the more noticeable has been in our auditorium.  The carpeting has been ripped up and replaced with a tile floor, additional “classroom” lighting has been added to the stage for Ms. Brandl’s students, the stage flooring was refinished, and the curtains have been cleaned.  Additionally, the district is working on replacing the outdated seating in the auditorium as well as replacing the broken drop-down screen.

Another area we have done our best to improve is our hallways.  Our goal has been to highlight student work, student voice, and student successes.  With the help of para educator Mrs. Seitlinger and the input of our teaching staff, we have redone all of our bulletin boards in order to celebrate the contributions of students, highlight course offerings, keep students apprised of student activities, and provide information to help our 8^th grade students transitioning to high school.  We have framed student artwork hung in our main hallway as well as our faculty lounge.  Although the faculty lounge is not an area where students or parents would necessarily visit, it is always nice for staff to appreciate the great work that our students are producing.  We were also lucky enough, with the help of a Moran parent, to get some used furniture for our faculty lounge so our staff could better utilize that room as well.

Those people that know me well enough know that I have been a fan of fish tanks for as long as I can remember.  Moran has been lucky enough to have received donated tanks to place throughout the building.  Our latest addition, shown in the photo below, was donated by 8^th grade Science teacher Mrs. Pacelli-Kukta.  As you can see from the photo, we are creating a spot in the main entranceway for this tank.  It is going to be an educational conversation piece for all that visit Moran.  With the help of Mrs. Seitlinger, we have included books from our school library which highlight aquatic life.  Once fish are added to the tank we will include a piece where information on the individual species is highlighted near that tank as well.  Students will be able to volunteer to feed the fish daily as they already do for some of our other tanks.  Even without fish, the tank has already been a conversation piece for everyone that passes by and has made a noticeable impact on our school climate.

Lastly, I would like to highlight improvements that are upcoming to classrooms and other student-centered areas of our building.  We have ordered new student tables and student chairs to be placed in 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grade classrooms.  These will replace desks and chairs that are no longer functioning at full capacity.  Several classrooms in all three academic floors have been getting new paint on the walls with the help of our maintenance department.  Another improvement that I am particularly excited about is some collaborative student furniture we are awaiting for our Library Media Center.  We have ordered two small couches and two café tables with stools to be placed in an infrequently used section of our Library Media Center.  Students will be able to utilize these areas during their free time or during collaborative work time in the classroom to discuss upcoming projects or simply work together on something of interest.  The creation of this space is aligned to our district goals of anytime anyplace learning and we are excited to see what students will produce within this new creative space at Moran.

This list is by no means complete as we continue to make improvements to the school community of which we are already extremely proud.  An often overlooked part of our strategic plan, our facilities have an enormous, albeit indirect impact on student learning.  We are pleased that we have been able to and continue to address student success both in AND out of the classroom.

We invite you to keep abreast of changes happening in real time at Moran by reading our email blasts, and through regular attendance at PTAC, PTO and Parent Coffee meetings held monthly or bi-monthly.  We extend a big thank you to all of the students, parents, and staff that go above and beyond to make our school such an exciting place to learn and grow!  Thank you for all of your support and make it a great week.