Dear Calabash Families,

Welcome to Calabash! We appreciate you choosing our school to educate and nurture your child. We are honored to have this opportunity to make this year a unique and valuable experience. Your active support and cooperation, combined with our professional efforts, will ensure academic success for your child.

We are proud of each and every one of our staff members. There is a spirit of cooperation and progress at our school and we look forward to sharing our enthusiasm with you. Our goal is to provide each student with a challenging and rigorous curriculum appropriate to his/her academic level. We will continue to differentiate the curriculum and structure much of our day to meet the needs of all of our students. Every child will be provided a quality instructional experience as well as a balanced curriculum including the arts. 

Our PTA helps to fund our computer lab which provides our students with hands on computer skills and promotes independent research.  Our Library and Media Center with our Volunteer Readers Program reaches out into our community to connect students with adults to instill in each child a love of reading.  We are very proud that we are able to fund a full time Library Aide through contributions by the PTA and the school budget.

As the Principal of Calabash, my objective this year is to further enhance the educational experience for all students. We will be working to systematically monitor student progress, and build programs for students based on where they are today, and where they need to be in order to master grade level standards by the end of the academic year. Additionally, I will continue to work diligently with our Calabash community to foster an atmosphere that promotes whole child understanding, child-centered instruction and decision-making, academic excellence, trust, respect, positive interaction, local involvement and global awareness. 

It is a privilege to work with you and your children. I look forward to continuing the outstanding work done at Calabash that has earned it the honor of being a California Distinguished School. We have so much to be proud of as a staff, family, and community.  I am certain this is going to be the best year ever!

Yours truly,

Esther Gillis

Principal