Amy Stino - Assistant Principal

Tammy Nye - Administrative Assistant

Joanne Solecki - Administrative Assistant

Email: Klevenduski@hwporter.org

Astino@hwporter.org

Website: hwporter.org

Location: 3 Schoolhouse Road, Columbia, CT 06237
Phone: (860)228-9493

12/02 - 12/13 - Candy Cane Grams

12/07 - 8th Grade Pancake Breakfast

12/11 - 1/2 Day of School for students

12/13 - CCMC PJ Day

12/13 - Lil shoppers (PTO)

12/16-12/22 Spirt Week (more to come)

12/17 - Sing-a-Long (2 pm - 2:30 pm)

12/20- 1/2 Day of School

12/22-1/2- Holiday Recess

01/8 - 1/2 Day of School for Students

01/15 - 8th Grade High School Expo Night (5 pm - 6:30 pm)

02/01 - PTO Mattress Fundraiser (10 am-5 pm)

Congratulations to our Porter students who earned this week's award for showing empathy! We are so proud of you!

Mrs. Therrien has put together a wonderful library book display for everyone to enjoy this Winter Holiday Season.

As a friendly reminder, please DO NOT allow your child to bring in glass water bottles of any type. We are trying to avoid a dangerous breakage. Thank you

Students in 7A art class are busy creating original, accordion-folded books. The project is called The Heritage Project, and the supplies were donated by Donors Choose. Students were asked to interview parents to discover details about their families' nationalities, and ancestors' countries of origin, along with family stories, traditions, and favorite foods. They created draft books and are now using watercolor, marker, and Prismacolor markers to bring their stories to life!

Mrs. MacDonald is very proud of her class for sharing their family stories with her, and for working diligently to illustrate their books. Books will be on display soon!

Art Acceleration Enrichment class is designing their own town using architectural renderings of buildings they're designing. They will then construct them out of clay. We are learning about scale and proportions in this project. Look for a town in the library display case in the near future!

First Trimester Art Exhibit

Porter student artists have been busy since September creating beautiful works of art!

Completed work will be hung during the week of fall conferences and remain up for the holiday season.

It will be a revolving art show. Each trimester, new work will be hung.

You can view the artwork in the halls around the office during winter events at the school.

Well done, Porter artists!!

First graders have been working on developing literacy skills with engaging, hands-on, and physical activities that align with our CKLA program. In these photographs students are participating in interactive experiences with a focus on letters and sounds.

ParentSquare is our new platform for communication. We are encouraging all families to join ParentSquare. This is the platform we will be switching over to instead of using School Messenger. We are hoping to fully transition by November this year. If you are having difficulty, please click the link below for more information so you do not miss out on notices, alerts, or messages from your child's teachers.

• Drop off is 7:50am. Some mornings students get dropped off early because they are in clubs; however, if your child is not in a club they can not get dropped off before 7:50am.
• Please bring an ID for entering the building and parent pick up. We understand it is not convenient, but it is for your child's safety. We appreciate your help with this!
• If you plan to pick up your child from school or need to make any changes to their transportation please complete the Transportation & Notes Form.
• All cellphones must remain in student's lockers.

• Registration for After School Clubs is open. You can register your child through Family ID. Please read the After School Clubs Flyer to view the clubs offered for this session. Please feel free to contact Jessica Doubleday at jdoubleday@hwporter.org if you have any questions. Session 2 is open to sign up.

• Don't forget to check out our PTO page for many fundraisers and events that are happening this month!

• We have many things happening in our community! Be sure to click the "Events Around The Community" down below to check them all out!

Substitute Paras and Teachers needed. Please contact Klevenduski@hwporter.org

Everyone can help take action to prevent suicide. Click on the link for more information. https://www.preventsuicidect.org/

• Connecticut Public Act 22-47 - legislation regarding suicide. Connecticut Public Act 22-47, Section 28, requires that the 988 National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline number be included on identification (ID) badges of students in Grades 6 through 12. Due to the timing of the implementation of 988, the requirement becomes effective for the 2024-25 school year. The United Way of Connecticut has provided the 988 QR code for access to the Connecticut Suicide Advisory Board website that may be posted to the back of student IDs with a brief statement such as “Call or text 988 for crisis support,” or an equivalent. The 988 Contact Center services include rapid 24/7 access to trained staff who can help students (and adults) experiencing suicidal, substance use, and other mental health crises, provide referrals to resources, and perform warm transfers to Mobile Crisis or emergency services as needed/desired.

AHM is OPEN to the public and excited to offer our services to Porter students and Columbia residents!

AHM Youth and Family Services offers mental health clinical services to youth and their families! These

services are designed to support families in transition, crisis, or normal developmental processes.

Individual and/or family therapy is available for children, adolescents, and young adults up to age 26 to

address social, emotional and/or behavioral issues. Family and parent sessions are often utilized in

conjunction with individual sessions to support a child’s progress in therapy.

In addition, many fun programs are offered throughout the year for all ages, including theater, health & wellness, and craft programs. For more information and registration links, please visit ahmyouth.org or call the office at (860) 228-9488.