School Culture

Finn Hill is dedicated to creating a positive school culture for students, families, and staff. We want students to be excited to come to school every day. We want students to be the best version of themselves and recognize that making mistakes is part of growing up; learning from those mistakes shapes us. 

What we do matters. This includes how we act, how we talk, what we think to ourselves, how much effort we put forth, how we treat others, how we treat things, and much more. We've taken purposeful steps to show our commitment to our values (using the acronym P.R.I.D.E.). We believe learning how to make these values part of students’ lives will support student success in and out of school now and in the future. 

Falcon P.R.I.D.E. P.R.I.D.E. is an acronym that represents our values: Positivity, Respect, Integrity, Determination, and Empathy. When students live these values, they will be their best selves as well as positive members of our school community and the greater Juanita community. We will be explicitly teaching what these values and associated behaviors look like and will be acknowledging students when we observe them. We want to catch students making great choices; that's what Falcon P.R.I.D.E. is all about. Soar like a Falcon by showing P.R.I.D.E.!  Learn more about Falcon P.R.I.D.E

Social Emotional Learning and Being Your Best Self. Students in every grade level will be learning social emotional skills through the Character Strong curriculum every Monday during Falcon Time. Each week, students will be given a Character Dare to work on throughout the week. We will post the dares for families on Twitter every Monday. Ask your student about his or her progress on the Character Dare throughout the week. These dares are both fun and meaningful. You may want to participate, too! On most Fridays, students will have time to reflect and debrief on their Character Dares in Falcon Time or during House meetings.

The House System. There are four Houses in our school: Altruismo, Amistad, Isibindi, and Reveur. Each student is a member of one House. (Students are members of the same House for all of middle school.) Students will participate in activities with their Houses that allow them to interact with students with whom they most likely don't have class. They will play games, have discussions, participate in friendly competitions with their fellow Houses, and get know a variety of teachers and staff who are also members of their House. Students will earn points for their Houses by showing Falcon P.R.I.D.E., arriving to class on-time, earning strong grades, and much more. Students will meet in their Houses at least every two weeks. Parents & Guardians: We'd love you to join our Houses, too! If you want to be involved and can attend most House meetings, let us know. Though each student has membership in one House, all students support the other Houses because at Finn Hill, we support each other. Learn more about the house system

Falcon Time. Falcon Time is our personalization period and lasts the entire year. Classes tend to be smaller than academic classes (typically 25 students or less) which allows students to get to know each other and their teacher well. The purpose of Falcon Time is to build a community within the student's grade level. Students will likely know a few members of their Falcon Time and will get the opportunity to build relationships with students who are not in their classes. Students will play games, learn about themselves through the Character Strong curriculum, and participate in activities. Each student is assigned to a grade-level Falcon Time. 

Falcon Pride Ambassadors. Our Falcon Pride Ambassadors (formerly Web Leaders) are leaders in Falcon Time and throughout the school and community. Students interested in becoming Falcon Pride Ambassadors apply for the role, submitting an application and participating in an interview at the end of 7th grade. Students selected from this process become the following year's Falcon Pride Ambassadors. Each ambassador is assigned a Falcon Time class. Our ambassadors lead a number of activities. Perhaps the most important role for our ambassadors is in making connections with their Falcon Time and House members. For our 6th graders, our ambassadors act as older siblings - answering questions, giving advice and tips, and making students feel welcome in our school. Falcon Pride Ambassadors model Falcon P.R.I.D.E. in and out of school.