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Principal's Weekly Update

August 19th-23rd

Principal'sWeekly UpdateAugust 19th-23rd

Dear Families,


Where did the summer go? I know we always seem to say that time passes quickly, but this summer seemed exceptionally fast. While the building is always quieter in the summer, the work in the office at Holy Name certainly did not slow down. Our admissions office was very busy and we had many new families enroll this summer. I am happy to share that we have 37 new students joining Holy Name this year. Many of them will be at our Back-to-School cookout tomorrow, so please help us to welcome them to the Husky family.


Our middle school classrooms are looking bright and shiny with a new coat of paint. We have started planning our renovations of the new student support area as well. A special thank you to Mrs. Chippendale and Mr. Sears for all their work to ensure that the school is ready for the return of our students.


We also have new things this year that are not as visible, but will have positive impacts on our academic program. All of our teachers in PK through grade 3 participated in training to implement our new phonics program, Fundations. As I mentioned before, Fundations is one of the most well-regarded and successful phonics programs to help students become strong readers. To support our new program, a new class schedule was created to support these efforts in our literacy program. All students in PK-3 will start off the day with our phonemic awareness program (Heggerty), transition to a phonics lesson (Fundations), and then work on various aspects of reading comprehension, grammar, vocabulary, etc. They will then have their recess and begin their math instruction. Additionally, new resources were purchased for vocabulary and grammar for our students in grades 3 and 4. These workbooks will allow for instruction in vocabulary and grammar in grades 3-8 to be vertically aligned. I look forward to sharing more about our 3 year strategic plan for our reading program at our Back-to-School Night next month.


Last year, students in grades 6-8 returned to using the Open Up math curriculum. We saw such significant growth in our MAP math scores with our middle school students and decided to trial lessons with our fifth grade classes last year. The decision was made to adopt Open Up for our fifth grade math resources as well. I think our fifth grade students will experience the same benefits that our middle school students did last year. Additionally, I believe that the collaboration through a common curriculum between our middle school team and fifth grade will only strengthen our focus on middle school preparedness for our fifth grade students.


Lastly, a new schedule was created for our middle school students. A common concern from our middle school teachers has been that classes were never long enough for instruction. To address this, our middle school will go from having 7 periods a day to 6 periods so as to increase instructional minutes each period. There are many benefits to having longer class periods. This will allow for a lab period for science, extra time to practice new skills in math, and engagement in activities that require more time in all other classes.


Below you will find all the back to school information that you will need. Please pay close attention to our new drop-off and pick-up procedures.


We will have a photo station set up by the main entrance for the first day of school. We look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!


Sincerely,

Megan dos Santos

Principal

August/September Calendar

August

25 - Blessing of the Backpacks (8:30 & 10:30 Mass at Holy Name Church)

26 - First day for faculty and staff

27- First day for students

30 - No School


September

2 - No School (Labor Day)

5 - Opening of the new school year Mass at Holy Name Church @ 9 am

5 - SLC Meeting @ 6 pm

6 - 5-8 field trip (St. Anthony of the Desert: Eucharistic Miracle Exhibit)

9 - Oktoberfest Meeting @ 6 pm

12 - Back to School Night @ 6 pm

18 - Papa Gino's fundraiser night

27 - 6-8 field trip to Colt State Park

First Day Forms

All families are required to fill out the First Day Forms. Please note that these forms were updated recently and must be filled out for each student. Having this information is essential to keep our email lists, pick-up lists, emergency contact information, etc. updated. These must be completed by September 3rd.

New Drop-off and Dismissal Procedures

We have created new drop-off and dismissal procedures for students in Kindergarten through grade 8. This decision was made based on safety concerns. I have heard many comments during my first year from parents, faculty members, and even our NEASC visiting team, that they saw students crossing the street without looking. (Our NEASC visiting team counted three students within a few minutes of observing drop-off!) Having drop-off and dismissal in the middle of a busy street makes it a difficult situation for school staff to monitor and ensure the safety of students. For that reason, all students in Kindergarten through grade 8 will be dropped-off and picked-up at the main entrance in the parking lot.


All students in Kindergarten through grade 8 will be dropped off in the carline in the morning. To accommodate the increased number of cars, the orange cones will be moved up to allow for more cars to enter the lot and line up. Students should exit the car, preferably on the driver's side and proceed to the sidewalk to enter the building. We ask parents to remain in their car so as not to cause a delay in the line.


To increase safety for all students, and considering that cars will be asked to pull up further into the lot, parking is not allowed in the lot. We will have cars pull up towards the basketball hoops, not leaving enough room for children to exit the car safely and have parked cars exit the parking lot. Parents who choose to walk their child to the door must park on the street. If you do park in the parking lot, we will request that you stay there until the carline ends at 8 am.


All students in Kindergarten through grade 8 will be dismissed in the parking lot as well. Students in Kindergarten through grade 4 will exit from the left door and grades 5 through 8 will exit on the right side. Each class will have a designated area to line up. Please allow for students to line up before approaching the teacher to have your child dismissed.


I appreciate your cooperation with this as we work towards increasing the safety of all students. We also ask for your patience during the first few days of school as we work out any kinks and our students learn the new routine.


Our PreK students will continue to be dropped-off and picked-up at the Pearce St. doors.

Handbook Updates: Discipline

I want to highlight the updates that were made to the discipline section of our handbook. In collaboration with Mr. Deschenes, we have revised the written policy to be clearer and reflect the practical application of our policies. Please review these policies.

Lunch Menu

Below is a link to order for lunch.


Please note that there will be no lunches served on Tuesday, August 27th. All students must bring their own lunch.

Celebrating Mass at Holy Name Church

On holy days of obligation and other special occasions, the school community celebrates Mass at Holy Name Church. On those days, students walk to the church. Our younger students are paired up with older students so that they have a walking buddy.


Teachers will send home a permission slip to allow students to walk up to the church. This permission slip covers all times that students walk up to church for the year. I will notify families of the dates and times we walk up to church in the weekly newsletter as those dates approach.


Our first Mass at Holy Name Church will be on September 5th at 9 am. We will celebrate the start of our new school year. Families are welcome to join us.

Before School Care

Before school care will now take place in the cafeteria. Parents should escort their children to the school entrance in the parking lot on Stetson St. Please ring the bell and school staff will meet you.

Blessing of the Backpacks

Holy Name School