Haynes Monthly

August - pt. 1

Dear Haynes Families,

I hope this newsletter finds you enjoying the warmth and relaxation of the summer season. Over the past week, I had the opportunity to meet with parents and guardians at the Principal Meet and Greet where I was able to hear some of the values that families have here at Haynes. A trend that appeared was around communication and community. We also had our kindergarten meet-up day this past Saturday which was another chance for all of our incoming families, current families with kindergartners, and myself to make connections here at Haynes.

This newsletter will be part 1 of my August communications, as I would like to share with you the new staff members we have hired along with some operational updates for the upcoming school year. I will send another newsletter next week with additional information and any other updates that we have.

New Hires

Below you will find a short bio on the teachers we have hired this past spring and summer. I would like to thank all of the staff members that helped out with the hiring process in finding our new staff.

Lena Karotkin - Kindergarten

My name is Lena Karotkin and I am one of the new Kindergarten teachers this year; I could not

be more excited to be starting at Haynes in just a couple short weeks! I grew up down the road from Sudbury in Harvard, MA. I received my undergraduate degree in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Connecticut before pursuing my Master’s in Early Childhood Education at Lesley University. Most recently, I worked in the Somerville public school system, covering two long term substitute positions. I taught second grade the first half of the year, and then was an SEI Kindergarten teacher for the remainder of the year.

Some of you may recognize me as I spend my summers coaching swimming down the street at Greenwood! I am thrilled for this opportunity and can’t wait to see lots of familiar faces while

getting to know students and staff. Enjoy every last bit of summer!

Stacey Lavigne - Kindergarten

G’day! I am an early childhood educator at heart and enjoy building relationships with students, families and staff. I’ve been teaching for twenty years as both a classroom teacher and reading specialist, and have taught in Australia and more locally in Massachusetts. I’m thrilled to be joining the Sudbury community.

Jessica Penney - 4th Grade

Jess Penney is excited to be joining the Josiah Haynes community this year as a fourth grade teacher. She has taught fifth grade for the last six years, teaching in both Winchester and Acton public schools. She has her Bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of Delaware and a Master’s in Special Education from Fitchburg State University. Her favorite subjects to teach are math and social studies. She’s looking forward to making the move to fourth grade and meeting her new students!

Ashley Terry - STEPS Special Educator

Hi! My name is Ashley Terry. I am originally from Wisconsin and attended Western Illinois University for my bachelor of science in elementary and special education, where I also played soccer and basketball. I moved from Wisconsin twelve years ago and I currently live in Marlborough with my husband (Jeff), son (Finley, 5) and daughter (Madelyn, 3). I most recently worked in the Ayer Shirley Regional School District as the K-2 Student Support Center Special Education Teacher for the last 8 years. I enjoy watching and playing sports, gardening and Crossfit. I am excited to meet everyone and to see where this year leads!

Speech Language Pathologist

We recently had one of our SLP’s, Mary Baker, resign in order to pursue other opportunities and I want to wish her all the best. With that vacancy, we have begun the process and will hopefully be wrapping that position up soon. I will update the school community once we have solidified a hire.

Literacy Specialist

Our Literacy Specialist Megan Ring will be extending her maternity leave through this school year in order to be home and support her family. We are in the process of hiring a Literacy Specialist and will announce our new hire as soon as we can.

Class Placement

Class placement will be available for most families in the Aspen Family Portal on Wednesday, August 16 by 4 PM. Families of elementary students will see a homeroom teacher listed; families of middle school students will see a team assignment.

Placement for incoming kindergarten students and new students are mailed to families and are not in Aspen. If you do not receive a mailing from the school with placement by the end of the week, please reach out to the Haynes front office. The mailing is being timed to try to coincide with the same August 16 date for notification.

The district sets up Aspen Family Portal accounts for new families (kindergarten and new-to-Sudbury) as the year gets underway.

Back To School Packets

While checking your child’s placement, please also fill out the Back to School packet to make sure their information is up-to-date.

If your child is entering kindergarten or new to Sudbury, you have completed these forms during registration and do not need to complete the Back to School Packet until next year.

We have some additional information on accessing Placement Information and Back to School Packets on our website.

SPS Calendar

Here is the calendar for the upcoming 23-24 School Year which can also be found on the SPS website. Please note that the first day of school for grades 1-8 is Wednesday, August 30. Students entering kindergarten will participate in Welcome Days at an assigned time during August 30-September 1. The first day of school for incoming kindergarten students is Tuesday, September 5.

New to Sudbury Student Orientation

We will be hosting a New to Sudbury Student Orientation on Thursday August 24th at 11am at Haynes. This will be an opportunity for students and parents/guardians to visit the school and become more familiar with the Haynes building. We look forward to welcoming our new students! New families should be receiving this information in the mail next week.

Back to School Resources

SPS has an awesome website for Social-Emotional Resources that may be helpful for you as students return to school. One area that may be particularly helpful is the Back to School Resources page.