CLA Newsletter

Visit us anytime between 11:00am and 1:00pm to drop off school supplies,

meet your teacher, and see the classroom!

Drop off begins at 7:15am.

Classes begin at 7:30am.

Dismissal is at 2:15pm.

STUDENT SUPPLIES: Click here for the Student Supplies Lists. These items can be dropped off during our Open House on August 26th.

Students in grades 3-6 will need to send in $10 (cash or check) to purchase a recorder for Music class. This will be due on September 4th.

REQUIRED FORMS: Click here for the required beginning-of-the-year forms. Please submit these forms no later than the first day of school. The forms may be emailed to Mrs. de Barros but must be scanned and in PDF format. Photos of the forms will not be accepted.

Printed forms will be available at our Open House.

UNIFORMS: Uniforms can be purchased online at Land's End, Global Schoolwear, and McGill's. Consider placing your order as soon as possible, as it may take several weeks for your order to be delivered, especially this time of year.

Our Used Uniform Closet is open. Please feel free to stop by to browse the closet. All the items are free of charge.

Additionally, if you have any uniform items in good condition that your child has outgrown, please drop them off as soon as you can.

Please see the Uniform Policy on our website.

AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAM: Have you registered yet? Even if you do not plan on having your child/children attend the program regularly, you should consider registering in the event you are unable to pick up your child/children on time. The YMCA staff will be at our Open House to help families register.

Register online at graniteymca.org/child-care

Dear CLA Families and Friends!

I hope that all of you have been enjoying this beautiful, albeit sizzling summer! We are all looking forward to the return of your child/ren on Opening Day, Tuesday, August 27th!

The summer has been a busy one here with many of the customary tasks being completed. The teachers have begun setting up their classrooms. The carpets and windows are scheduled to be cleaned before school begins. And of course, boxes full of school supplies and textbooks are arriving daily!

As Fr. Richard shared at Mass one Sunday, “Man plans, and God laughs!” There have been a few changes here at CLA over the summer months.

Kindergarten News:

Currently we are looking to hire a Kindergarten teacher. We are thankful for Mrs. Nickels for stepping in and getting us started in the first few months of school.

Grade 1 News:

Mrs. De Oliveira will now be teaching Grade 1. I am very thankful that she will move with her students to Grade 1 as she not only will be a familiar face, but she knows exactly where to begin her lessons for the year. Thank you, Mrs. De Oliveira for saying “YES!”

At the end of June, Miss Caito made the difficult decision to accept a position at a different school. I cannot thank her enough for the time she was here with all of us. She is an exceptional teacher and person, and I wish her the best as she begins the next chapter of her teaching career.

Grade 2 News:

Miss Smillie and Miss Tishie, our former art teacher, are going to job share the Grade 2 teaching position. Miss Smillie will teach Monday, Tuesday, and a half day on Wednesday. Miss Tishie will teach Wednesday afternoon, Thursday, and Friday!

Grade 4 News:

Mrs. Johnson is stepping out of Grade 4 this year, and Ms. Meghan Croto is stepping into Grade 4! I am so excited for both of these women, and I know the students will be as well.

Mrs. Johnson will be teaching Art, Music, and Library! For those of you who know Mrs. Johnson, it will not come as a surprise to you that she has been hard at work preparing lessons, setting-up and decorating her three new areas, and ordering frequently from AMAZON!!

In addition to these teaching responsibilities, she is also serving as our liaison with the Manchester School District. In this role, we will be working closely together regarding educational testing for CLA students.

Finally, she is going to support students in Grades 5 and 6. Beginning this year, Title I Services will no longer be offered to 5th Grade students. As you know, they have not been available to Grade 6 students for several years, so this is one way we can offer additional academic support in those grades.

Many of you know Ms. Croto as a CLA parent and basketball coach. What you may not know is that she has always wanted to be a teacher! Through a new program offered by the Catholic Schools Office, she is able to earn her teaching certification.

Ms. Croto has been working with Mrs. Johnson and me all summer to develop lesson plans, design her classroom, and to review the Diocesan Curriculum. She is beyond excited to welcome her students to Grade 4. Welcome, Ms. Croto! We are blessed to have you join us!

Grade 5 News:

The 2023-2024 school year marked Miss Eillen Perry’s 25th year as a CLA teacher! In my absence, Miss Perry also serves as the Acting Administrator. In the Spring, Superintendent Thibault and I met with Miss Perry to discuss an opportunity for her to begin in a Leadership Program made possible through the Catholic Schools Office. This year, she is set to begin this program!

She is still teaching 5th Grade, Monday-Thursday, but she will step out of her classroom on Fridays to work as an Administrator. I will be on campus, but I will be doing classroom observations and meeting with teachers. This is such an exciting and well-deserved opportunity for Miss Perry! I am beyond thrilled for her!

On Fridays, Miss. Lily Johnson will cover Grade 5. She will be using plans developed by Miss Perry. The 5th Grade students already know Miss. Johnson as she spent a lot of time in her mom’s 4th Grade classroom last year! Yes, she is Mrs. Johnson’s oldest daughter! Welcome, Lily!

Gym Class News:

We are currently looking to hire a PE teacher for all day on Thursdays or Fridays.

School Year Theme:

“Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”

Proverbs 16:24

Virtues Program:

At the end of last year, the teachers and I debriefed the school year and began making plans for the new school year. With our Catholic faith at the forefront of all that we do, we discussed ways that we could bring greater consistency and collaboration to our shared ministry.

In our discussions, we kept coming back to the same word: kindness. From that one word, our theme led to the following:

1. Over the summer, Mrs. Cote developed a new virtues program for all of us to use this year. She paired the virtues with saints and scripture passages, and we will begin the year with the kindness virtue. Thank you, Mrs. Cote! As the students say, “You rock!”

2. Next Mrs. Johnson launched a Library Refresh Book Campaign, and she included lots of saint books! To date, we have been blessed with several new books being added to our collection. Please consider donating a book or two to this campaign!

3. On Friday mornings, we are all gathering in the gym for a Morning Meeting. Again, as a Catholic school, we will begin our day in prayer. We are also using this time to teach students how to pray the Rosary! As part of this weekly meeting, we will recognize birthdays and other accomplishments.

4. Since Fr. Richard frequently ends Mass with the Prayer to Saint Michael the Archangel, we are adding this prayer to our list of daily prayers. It will be our closing prayer.

These changes may be small, but we believe that they are meaningful for all of us!

Weekly Mass:

Last year, we had a several students who consistently arrived late on Wednesdays and therefore were unable to attend weekly Mass. Please note, we are a Catholic School, and weekly Mass is not optional! Sadly, I am now forced to add this clarifying sentence to the Family Handbook.

Tardies and Absences:

Please make sure that you carefully read the updated information regarding tardies and absences in the Family Handbook.

As always, please feel free to contact me at bbroomhall@clanh.com with any questions, suggestions, or concerns.

Blessings,

Mrs. B.

We are working on refreshing our school Library. Please help us breathe new life to this space with new books for the students. You can shop our Amazon wish list, or send a directed donation to the school.

"A book is a gift you can open again and again."

Amazon Wishlist Link

Hot lunch ordering for the month of September is open. This year the price is $5.50 per meal, which includes a milk, white or chocolate. Please be sure to select your choice of milk when ordering. Snack milk, white or chocolate, is $1.00. Hot lunch begins on September 3rd. The deadline to order is August 25th. No late orders will be accepted.

ALL STUDENTS MUST BRING A LUNCH FROM HOME ON THE FIRST WEEK OF SCHOOL.

How to Order:

1. Log in to your Family Portal Account (District code: cla-nh)
2. Click on "Student"
3. Click "Lunch"
4. Towards the top of the window you will see your child's name. Click "Create Web Order" next to your child's name.
5. Select the days you would like your child to have hot lunch. Be sure to select if they want chocolate milk or white milk. This is included with the meal.
6. Click "Submit" all the way through until you order has been processed. If the payment does not process, you order will not go through and will not be counted.

Yes! Popcorn Fridays have returned. Thank you to Mrs. Rouillard for allowing us to keep this oh-so-fun tradition!

Students may order popcorn to have during snack time on select Fridays (twice per month). The order form is included in the School Forms link. Orders are due September 4th.

Are you good at painting? We are looking for help with painting the cafeteria with Mr. Broomhall. We also need someone to paint the base of the St. Anne statue.

Can you assemble things? We have picnic tables to add to our playground and court yard area that need to be assembled.

Can you help? Please let Mrs. Broomhall or Mrs. de Barros know. Thank you!!

CLA's Facebook Parent Group is a great way to connect with other CLA families. Also, be sure to like and follow our Facebook Page.

Our website, clanh.org, is another great resource to get information you might be looking for.