I hope everyone is enjoying the last few weeks of summer! At the Stokes house we are preparing for my oldest son's senior year of college and my youngest son's first year. We'll be an 'empty nest' very soon. I spent a little time this summer updating my newsletter format for the new year. I hope you find the style easier to navigate.
Things here at Simonds are definitely ramping up for the start of school. This summer our custodial crew did an amazing job cleaning the school, painting rooms and preparing for the return of students. The whole school received new blinds and new sun shades are in the process of being installed on the playground. I spent last week with other Kearsarge administrators as part of our Kearsarge Leadership Kickoff. This was a great chance to 'set the stage' for the school year and identify our major themes. We spent a great deal of time discussing the Facilities Consolidation Project and changes to legislation in Concord that may impact the timeline for this project. This will definitely be on my mind all year and I would strongly suggest that you become informed about the school board's next step by either reading their minutes, attending meetings or reading about the project at the link below.
Simonds will also have a few other new themes to start the school year. The district transitioned from our old benchmark assessment platform called Aimsweb Plus this summer to a new platform called i-Ready. There were several reasons for the shift, but most importantly i-Ready has a far more robust platform to help us better identify areas of improvement and levels of performance. All staff will be learning about i-Ready at our summer institute and throughout the fall. Kearsarge teachers are also in the process of implementing a new reading program called Being a Reader. This year at Simonds a few teachers will be 'early implementers.' They will help us better understand the program and how it fits within our KRSD competencies and learning targets. The rest of the school will implement the program next year.
We have a few new staff members that we are excited for you to meet soon. Ms. Tory Rudolph will be a new first grade teacher to accommodate for a larger first grade class. Mr. Ethan Gietz will be our new physical education and health teacher. We are excited for them to join our school family. Additionally, Mr. Restuccia moved to 5th grade and Mrs. Gordon is now our Title One Teacher.
Each year I receive a few common questions about the start of the school year. I'll try to answer a few of them here as well as later in the newsletter. In terms of school supplies, there is very little that your child will need to bring to school. Teachers supply these items through the budget process. Students should bring a water bottle, back pack and snack/lunch (or be prepared to order lunch). Teachers will reach out directly if they require something more specific. Thanks to a community donation, we also have a selection of free backpacks (see picture below) available here in the main entry. You should feel free to take one as needed. Lastly, the district is in the process of updating PowerSchool forms. These should be available to families by the end of the week. It is the responsibility of each family to update these forms each year.
Below I've created links to a few important sites. You should be able to find the lunch menu (and options for loading money to student accounts), updated bus routes and a district calendar. Also, please take note of the important dates below. As a reminder, our annual PTO-sponsored Pancake Breakfast will start at 8 am on the first day of school.
As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions before the start of school. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing everyone in the comings weeks!
