Mill Street Parent Newsletter

Parents,

Thank you for your patience in receiving this final Principal Newsletter. I have been holding off on sharing with you until several staffing decision had been made for the 2024-2025 school year and secondly, because I have somewhat been in denial that this is the final communication I will share with this wonderful community.

As I shared with the staff this past week when I was treated like a queen, showered with gifts and given heartfelt messages from students with advice and words of wisdom on retirement, my gift has truly been working alongside this wonderful staff and parent community for these past 7 years. What a blessing to end my career at Mill Street and to have found a home here among the most beautiful, genuine, caring, funny, inspiring and perfectly adorable students, families and staff.

It has been my life's work to foster growth and learning and I hope the legacy I leave is one of servant leadership and holding students at the center of all things school and education.

There is a time and season for everything and although my time has come to an end here, I am excited for the new leadership and many changes for Mill Street. I know the level of excellence we have established will remain and that students and families will continue to find that Mill Street is the very best place to learn and grow.

With Sincere Gratitude,

Mrs. Salness

As many of you know, we are celebrating the retirements of Mr. Buckley, Mrs. Connell, Mrs. Crockett, Mrs. Lehmann, and Mrs. Roy. Additionally we are saying a fond farewell to Ms. Cortez who will be moving to Texas with her future husband and family. We are also saying a fond farewell to Ms. Carrico, as she moves on to the Lincoln Jr. High and to Mrs. Cundiff, as she moves on to Prairie Elementary.

With these absences, our administrative team has been working diligently to fill open positions for the fall and to build grade level teacher teams to ensure we have a mix of both seasoned and novice teachers working together to support students. We have successfully hired several new teachers who are all dynamic and passionate and who fit seamlessly into our current staff structure.

Ms. Thurman will now take over the hiring of our math specialist and learning support coach, permanent building subs, long term subs and any new vacancies that may occur over the summer.

Listed below are our grade level teams to date for the 2024-2025 school year.

Kindergarten Team:

Mrs. Hanafi ( dual language)

Mrs. Martin

Ms. Nagel ( moving from 1st to K)

Ms. Funk ( new hire from Ann Reid Early Childhood Center)

First Grade Team:

Mrs. Garcia ( dual language)

Mrs. Bean

Mrs. Berg

Mrs. Goode( moving from 3rd to 1st)

Mrs. Sheridan

2nd Grade Team:

Mrs. Pena (dual language)

Ms. Godfrey (new hire from Highlands Elementary)

Ms. Hynes

Mrs. Reich ( moving from K to 2nd)

Mrs. Smith

3rd Grade Team:

Mrs. Chirumbolo (dual language)

Ms. Baumgartner

Ms. Ciesla ( moving from 2nd to 3rd)

Mrs. Hund ( our former permanent building substitute)

Mrs. Schramer

4th Grade Team:

Mrs. Weir ( dual language)- Moving from Learning Behavior Specialist to 4th DL

Mrs. Eggert

Mrs. Hayes

Mrs. Martinelli

Mrs. Reilly

5th Grade Team:

Mrs. Rivera (dual language)

Mr. Dahn

Ms. Balaskas (new hire from Steeple Run Elementary)

Mrs. Nelson

Ms. Paulson

Additional changes to staff assignments include Mrs. Emily Keiner moving from primary structured learning to general education Learning Behavior Specialist. Mrs. Laurie Walton will be replacing Mrs. Keiner in one of our two Primary Structure Learning classrooms. Ms. Angela Brancato will also be teaching a new section of Primary Structured Learning and Mrs. Spoolstra will be returning to teach our Intermediate Structured Learning classroom. We will be receiving additional social work, occupational therapist and speech pathologist staff to support our 3rd section of our structured learning program.

These are the staff updates to date. Look for communication from Ms. Thurman later this summer regarding additional changes, updates and staffing moves.

May 6th:4th & 5th Grade Band & Orchestra Crosstown Festival

May 6-10: MAP Growth TestingMay 7th: Final Service Club Meeting, School Store Closeout Sale

May 8th: Run Club, National School Nurse Appreciation Day

May 9th: Share Completed "Our Teachers Take The Gold" Worksheet

May 10th: Run Club, My "KIND" of Hero Day - dress like an everyday hero OR wear Mustang gear (black and red) to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week!

May 13-17: MAP Fluency Testing

May16th : Principal Limo Lunch w/ Raffle Winners

May16th: Home and School Reception to Honor all Mill Street Retirees in MPR from 3:00-4:00. All families and students are welcome to attend!

May 17th: 5th Grade Celebration

May 20th: Select Student Council Members to say Pledge of Allegiance at the district BOE meeting

May 21st: 5th grade Dual Language Celebration/Graduation

May 22nd: Mill Street Stampede

May 23rd : Last Day of School

May 23rd: MAP Scores Sent Home to Parents

May 30th: Report Cards Available on Infinite Campus for Parent Review

June 3rd: Summer School Begins

July 1st: Ms. Thurman begins as Principal of Mill Street