Bancroft Bulletin

Hello Bancroft Community,

It is time for your AUGUST UPDATE!

Welcome back, Bobcats! The countdown is officially on, and we cannot wait to open our doors and fill the hallways with energy, laughter, and learning next Wednesday, September 2nd. Our dedicated custodial team has spent the summer making sure every corner of Bancroft shines, while our teachers have been thoughtfully setting up creative, welcoming spaces for your children to thrive.

Before diving into the rest of the newsletter—have you completed your mandatory Aspen forms yet? If you have, awesome job—keep reading! If not, please pause right here and log in to the Aspen Family/Student Portal. Getting 100% of our families completed is critical because these forms contain essential health, emergency contact, and dismissal details that our IT team needs to sync with PickUp Patrol before the first bell. Help us race to the finish line!

Exciting Campus Update: You may have noticed the construction on campus! Work is officially underway on the new turf field, which is expected to be completed by mid-October. The construction area is currently fenced off for everyone's safety. Please talk with your children and remind them that this entire area is strictly off-limits and that they must stay clear of the fencing during school hours, arrival, and dismissal.

Below, you'll find key information on PickUp Patrol, arrival and dismissal routines, lunch procedures, and important upcoming dates. A huge welcome back to our returning staff and families, and a warm high-five to all the new Bobcat staff and families joining us this year! As routines kick back in, please drive extra carefully around the campus and double-check dismissal plans with your kids.

Let's make it an incredible school year!

Have a great final week of summer! See you on Wednesday, September 2nd!

See you soon,

Beth & Kim

Beth Leavitt, Principal

Kim Rabold, Assistant Principal

beth.leavitt@andoverma.us or kimberly.rabold@andoverma.us

2026-2027 School Year

Wednesday, September 2: First day of school for students in grades 1 - 5

Thursday, September 3: Regular school day Grades 1 - 5

Friday, September 4: No School

Monday, September 7: No School; Labor Day

Tuesday, September 8: First day of school for kindergarteners; regular school day grades K-5

MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE 2026 -2027 OPEN HOUSE

September 16th

More details to come, but please note that this event will be for children as well!

The times will be:

5:15 - 6:00 Grades 3 - 5

6:15 - 7:00 Grades K - 2

We will begin switching each year with which grade span is first and this year it will be 3 - 5.

Andover Public School 2026-2027 Calendar

Here are the teams for our next school year:

Kindergarten - Ms. Amato, Ms. Chiozzi, Ms. Gagnon (previously Ms. Corbin), Ms. Gohr, Ms. Miller

First - Ms. Gillette, Ms. Hart, Ms. Lachance (previously Ms. Reming), Ms. MacAllister

Second - Ms. Doherty (previously Ms. Keefe) Ms. Farnham, Ms. Mundy, Ms. Shea (previously Ms. O'Brien)

Third - Mr. Egitto, Ms. Mallon, Ms. McCarthy. Ms. Prinn

Fourth - Ms. Minigell, Ms. Pappafotopoulos, Ms. Pehrson, Ms. Ryan, Ms. Thorner

Fifth - Ms. Lovejoy, Ms. McDonough, Ms. Moriarty, Mr. Scanlon, Ms. Weymouth

Congratulations to our newly married teachers (see name changes above) and welcome to our new classroom teachers!

Each year, our lost and found overflows with unlabeled jackets, sweatshirts, water bottles, shoes, etc.

You can help us return missing items quickly by putting your child's last name on everything brought to school.

Order stickers from Mabels Labels (search for Bancroft PTO on the site) - honestly, the families who use the labels get their items back quickly and it really helps us!

Registration for Next Year

3rd Grade:

2026-2027 APS Elementary Strings Information Letter

4th and 5th Grade:

2026-2027 APS Elementary Instrumental and Band Information Letter

MOST IMPORTANT - CARS DO NOT TRAVEL FROM THE BANCROFT ROAD SIDE OF THE SCHOOL. YOU ENTER THE CAR LANE FROM WEST KNOLL.

OUR BUSES MUST USE BANCROFT ROAD AND IT IS NOT WIDE ENOUGH FOR CARS AND BUSES. YOUR COOPERATION IS GREATLY APPRECIATED FOR THE SAFETY OF ALL!

When cars are waiting prior to 8:45 and prior to 3:30, they must be TURNED OFF. This is a NO IDLING ZONE as the SIGNAGE INDICATES.

DROP OFF: ALL CARS MUST DRIVE UP WEST KNOLL TO DROP OFF STUDENTS. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not get out of the car in the morning to help your child. We have staff on duty to assist and this will hold up the line quite a bit. We know many have to rush off and we want to help in any way we can. This is a way we can help one another!

There is a staff member there to direct traffic and it is a single lane so you may not pass even if your child has exited your car.

PARENT PICK-UP: ALL CARS MUST DRIVE UP WEST KNOLL TO PICK UP STUDENTS. NO CARS WILL BE PERMITTED TO ENTER FROM BANCROFT ROAD.

In order to help expedite the pick-up procedure, please write your last name ONLY in LARGE, BLACK, BOLD print on a piece of tag board/paper and have it prominently displayed when you arrive to pick up your child. We are asking each family to have this prepared for the first day of school and to use it every day. :)

AGAIN . . . DO NOT EXIT YOUR CAR DURING THIS TIME OR PASS CARS!

Thank you very much!

School Times for the 2026 - 2027 School Year

• 8:15 am: School office opens
• 8:45 am - 9:00 am: School drop off (there are NO adults supervising until 8:45 so please do NOT drop off early)
• 9:00 am: School day begins
• After 9:00 am: Children are considered tardy and must be accompanied by a parent into the office.
• After 2:00 pm: Unless it’s an emergency, no dismissal changes please.
• 3:30 pm: School ends

Bus routes will be emailed a few days before school starts. Please arrive 10 minutes before the bus time noted on the route and allow for an extra 10 minutes after the route time for the first few weeks of school as bus drivers learn the new routes.

To learn more about the bus information, please visit the APS transportation page.

PickUp Patrol is an app-based system where users can quickly alert the school of a change in dismissal routine for that day. Changes will be allowed until 2:30 PM each day, at which point no dismissal changes will be accepted.

We use this for absences as well!!

How It Works:

1. Your child’s regular dismissal plan from Aspen has been entered into the system. This is called their Default Plan.
2. Whenever your child is following a plan other than their Default Plan you’ll submit the change using the PickUp Patrol app.

Examples of a plan change:

· Your child has a doctor's appointment and will be leaving early.

· Your child normally rides the bus but is getting picked up today.

· Your child normally goes to an afterschool program but will be taking the bus today.

• 3. When the change is submitted, the school will be notified. Before the end of the school day, the teachers are notified and we’ll relay the change to your child.

If you have any questions, please first check the PUP Parent Guide, then contact us in the main office. Please remember that PickUp Patrol changes only reflect that single day, not the on-going default plans. If you need to make a change to a default plan, please do so in the Aspen portal, or feel free to email the office and we will make sure that default plan is reflected in PickUp Patrol.

laureen.parvin@andoverma.us or shelley.mequita@andoverma.us

All students are able to receive 1 free breakfast and 1 free lunch daily during the 2025 - 2026 school year. Breakfast will be served in the cafeteria from 8:45 - 9:00 and does not need to be ordered ahead of time.

Lunches will need be preordered. It is very important that our cafeteria has an accurate lunch count each day. Please review with your children each morning what you have ordered for them.

Please click below for the monthly menu and more information about Andover's Nutrition Program including how to sign up.

Bobcat to Bobcat is a committee in our school of staff members who work to support families who may need assistance with various needs throughout the year. This includes helping with scholarships for events, holidays, and more. Our work is confidential and financially supported by our PTO as well as our staff and families who donate when needed.

All donations are given anonymously and recipients’ information will be kept in strict confidence.

We have an amazing community here at Bancroft and know that when there is a need, everyone pitches in. We will reach out throughout the year!

If you are a family wanting to be on our list needing support, please email our social worker, Nancy Modlish at nancyjo.modlish@andoverma.us or me, Beth Leavitt at beth.leavitt@andoverma.us.

• Bancroft School
• Bancroft PTO

Important Links (APS):

• Andover Public Schools
• Handbook
  
• Elementary School Libraries
• Bullying Incident Report Form
• Menu
• LINQ Ordering System

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Email: beth.leavitt@andoverma.us
Website: Bancroft School

Instagram: @bancroftaps
Location: 15 Bancroft Rd, Andover, MA, USA
Phone: (978) 247-9500

X: @BancroftAPS