Dear Parents,
Please join us in welcoming Christina Ali to the front office for three hours a day. Her schedule will be 8 am - 11 am for now. She is bi-lingual and speaks both Spanish and English. We are thrilled to welcome her to JC!
It time to focus on student and parent responsibility when it comes to remembering what they need to bring to school each day. We are a small school of 250 students and that includes preschool. Preschool is not an issue here so we are actually referring to 221 students in K-5. We are receiving "drop-offs" in the office every single day! In 16 days of school from October 9th to October 30th we had 34 "drop -offs" in the office. This included backpacks, instruments, snacks, water, stuffed animals, lunch, computers, etc.
These 34 drop -offs translate into 34 classroom disruptions. A phone call to the class while the teacher is in the middle of instruction is difficult for the entire class to say the least! In addition, Ms. Lisa Maniscalco is in the office by herself most of the day. This adds 34 phone calls to her already busy schedule and that is if the teacher answers the first time. It often takes several tries to reach one teacher.
GOING FORWARD WE ARE NOT ACCEPTING DROP-OFFS IN THE OFFICE.
I see two important items on the drop off list: Lunch and water. When it is forgotten we can provide both at school. If a student forgets their lunch we will make sure they get one in the cafeteria. If they forget their water they are permitted to go to the water fountain. The other items such as instruments and computers will result in missed school work that they will have to make up.
We are all busy and life is chaotic but there are strategies that can put in place to avoid this. We all have occasional emergencies but the data is telling a different story. Here is one helpful article about organizing your child's day:
https://www.understood.org/en/articles/school-morning-routines-tips
Please join us in making your child independent.
Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to turn back the clocks!
Sincerely,
Trish McGuire and Matthew Hartigan
