CHIRPS Chatter
2022
Important Dates to Remember
August 30th: First Day of School!
September 5th: No School (Labor Day)
September 7th: MES Ice Cream Social! 5pm
September 9th: School Picture Day
September 14th: Our First PTO Meeting @ 6pm
September 22nd: Open House (More info to come)
September 26th: No School (Rosh Hashanah)
Arrival and dismissal Times and Protocols
ARRIVAL
Students will be let off of buses and out of cars at 9am. The school day begins at 9:15am, so please plan accordingly if you plan to drop your child off.
Parents will pull into the Visitors Lot when arriving and position themselves in the loop. Students will be removed from their vehicles by staff members at that loop beginning at 9am. Please do not allow your child out of the car without an MES adult signaling to do so as we want to maintain safety.
DISMISSAL
Students will begin to load buses and be brought to parent pick up at approximately 3:30. Parents who are picking up students, please stage yourselves in the Visitors Parking Loop. A staff member will be checking you in via the SDM app (more information coming later this week).
Similarly to last year, we appreciate your patience as we work through any kinks at the beginning of the school year. Our hope is that by week two we will be a well-oiled and efficient machine!!
School Lunch Program Updates
Due to an unexpected receipt of funds from the State of Connecticut, breakfast and lunch will be provided to our students at no charge at the start of the 2022-23 school year.
Please note, we do not know how long breakfast and lunch will be available at no cost, as it is dependent on how many meals our students consume. At some point, we anticipate it will be before January 1, we will resume charging for breakfast and lunch. We will provide families with notification prior to this change. We apologize for the inconvenience this change may cause and as always appreciate your flexibility.
Both breakfast and lunch are free at this time, but families are still encouraged to submit a free and reduced lunch application to receive additional benefits in the district and to eliminate the potential for any unnecessary charges.
Bus Information
Thank you all for your patience regarding Bus Routes and Information!
Here is a link for the District Routes!
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1StXdUNCzSm6i19QVUlBTndd124KDqcq8
We encourage all students to ride the bus if possible. This will help MES arrival and dismissal to run smoothly and efficiently!
Important Information for School Dismissal Manager App
A “Hello Parent” email will be sent from a member of the Region 15 team this week.
ALL parents: You will need to add the SDM App to a smartphone, tablet, or web browser.
For new families an email will be forthcoming with your usernames and password. Families who have a login from last year, you will keep your same login information. SDM sends an email out to each family so if you already have a login your credentials will be blank when the email comes.
IMPORTANT: All students will be defaulted to their bus. Please note: If your child will not be taking the bus you will need to log into SDM and make a change. For example, if you are going to pick up your child, you need to log in and make that change, otherwise they will board their bus home.
School Dismissal Manager will start on day 1, Tuesday 8/30/2021
If you are picking your child up at Parent Pick Up, please have your name displayed on the dashboard with your pin number. If you need us to create another card for you, please email Lisa Zinno at lzinno@region15.org.
A Message from the PTO
Welcome to the 2022-2023 School Year!
Message from PTO President Michele Dunn
I can’t believe it, but this will be my ninth and final year as a Middlebury Elementary School parent. During these years, I have seen so many amazing experiences provided to our students through PTO programs, events, and services. All parents and guardians of students, and all teachers, administrators and staff employed at Middlebury Elementary School, are members of the PTO. The PTO funds and organizes cultural arts events, teacher grants, author visits, community events, book fairs, family dances, and so much more. This is all possible with two key contributions from our MES families: donations and volunteering.
This year, our fundraising efforts will once again include direct donations, our non-hassle fundraisers, and a fall fun run. Last year, we raised $20,000 for our school playground fund, which will eventually allow the school to purchase much-needed upgrades to its playgrounds. This year, proceeds from our fall fun run will again help support this vital project.
There will be plenty of opportunities to volunteer during an event, or from home. I am excited to see how we can all come together to energize our programs and community. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with ideas, suggestions, or questions to mespto@region15.org or at our first PTO meeting on September 14 at 6 p.m.
I look forward to seeing everyone at our first event, the “Welcome Back to School Ice Cream Social.” If you are interested in volunteering, please sign up here.
Thank you to the companies that have become sponsors already! Interested in becoming a sponsor contact Michele Dunn at mespto@region15.org
Meet our New Crickets!
Sarah Kate Walkup: Interventionist
Joanna Jung: Student Teacher
Joanna was born and raised in Southbury, CT, and was lucky enough to receive an education through Region 15 schools. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with Honors from The University of the Arts, in Philadelphia. After dancing professionally for many years, Joanna continued her education by pursuing her Masters in Elementary Education at the University of Bridgeport. Joanna spent the Spring 2021 semester as a Building Substitute at MES, and this past year as their Intern. Joanna is now very excited to continue her training at Middlebury Elementary School as the Student Teacher. She will be working with Mrs. Samson in third grade. Although Joanna has known for some time that teaching is the career path she wanted to take, her time at MES reinforced her passion even more. She can’t wait for another great year with MES!
Isabelle Pires: Intern
Isabelle Pires is so excited to begin her internship at MES this year! After over 20 years in the corporate world in various roles, she has decided to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an educator and working with children. She currently holds a Bachelor’s degree, as well as a certificate in early childhood education from Post University . She looks forward to beginning her graduate studies in elementary education this fall. She loves traveling with her husband and three children and spending time with friends and family.
Bambi Smith: General Para
Bambi Smith and will be a general para professional at Middlebury Elementary School. For the past 7 years she has been working in Before and After school programs for grades K-5. The first two years were with EdAdvance and the last 5 going on six years are with Region 15 BAS.
Bambi really enjoys working with children. She grew up on Long Island in New York but moved to Newtown, Connecticut in 2002. She is married and has one son that is off to Quinnipiac College this year. Bambi also has a French bulldog named Zeus that she fostered and he ended up being her forever foster. She adopted him this year. Bambi volunteers for a rescue organization called SNORT which stands for short noses only rescue team. (That’s how she met Zeus). Mrs. Smith also has two cats named Butchie a Burmese cat and Georgia a very “sassy” calico.
Roseann Visconti: General Para
Roseann was born and raised in Florida. The past two
years she was a Substitute Teacher/ Teachers
Assistant at Classical Preparatory school where she
worked with kindergarten through fifth grade.
Mrs. Visconti and her husband of 18 years recently
moved to Connecticut to be closer to family. She has
three wonderful boys ranging from 26 to 8 years old.
When she is not at work, you can find Roseann spending
her time at football practice with her 8-year-old
son.
Mrs. Visconti is excited to be part of the MES team and
get this year started!
Jasmyn Franco
MES is on Instagram! Please follow us
@middleburyelementary
We will be posting plenty of pictures for you to stay "in the know!"
Contact Information
Email: hpellicone@region15.org
Website: http://www.region15.org/mes
Location: 550 Whittemore Road, Middlebury, CT, United States
Phone: (203) 758-2401
Twitter: @MiddleburyES