Personal Best Parent Bulletin
...by Donald F. Gately Ed.D.
September 18, 2020 Volume VIII No. 4
Hi everybody,
So, as of today we have made it through 11 days of school. I know, for some of you it has felt like 111 days. But as Lena Horne once said, “It's not the weight, it’s how you carry it.” We are thrilled to see the smiles on kids' faces behind their masks and to get back to the work of learning and growing at the middle school. This is a good opportunity for me to express my gratitude to our amazing staff who have risen to every challenge and maintained a positive attitude throughout the beginning of the school year. I have a note on my desk that reminds me, “Our plans may fail, our people never fail, we always come through for our kids!”
I also want to thank our families for giving us a chance to work with your kids and for maintaining a sense of optimism and hope throughout these unusual times. When this is all over, and it will one day be over, we will look back and have countless memories and we will have learned a great deal about ourselves. We’ve all developed new coping skills and discovered fortitude and elements of character we didn’t know we possessed.
This is one of my favorite songs. In fact, it was one of two wedding songs my wife and I chose when we got married. The sentiments have never been more true than in our present circumstances: “It’s always better when we’re together.”
Please read below some reminders and clarification notes:
Student Drop Off and Pick Up
Fewer students are traveling to school using buses. Parents picking up and dropping off students at the middle school have increased. So far it’s going very well and I thank parents for their cooperation and patience.
A few reminders:
- Please follow the directions of the security guards in the lower lot.
- Don’t wait to get to the main entrance to the middle school for your child to exit your vehicle. Once you’ve come to a stop, near the curb, please let them off onto the sidewalk. Upon arrival at school, students are all going to one of the two cafeterias or Sam Springer gym to avoid congregating in the hallways. Hence, if you’re waiting to drop your child off at the main middle school entrance, they’re having to walk all the way around to Sam Springer anyway. So… um.. Yeah…
- At the end of the day, all pickup must be in the lower lot. Students may not walk across the parking lot to meet you in the upper lot. Cars parked in the upper lot impedes the flow of traffic and there is no safe area for children to enter vehicles.
- If you do exit your vehicle for any reason, please remember to wear your mask.
- Reminder: there’s no lunch dropoff or delivering any other items to students during the school day. Middle School is a great time for students to begin taking more responsibility for the items they need to bring to school, so they’ll remember next time!
Health Checks
Please remember to do the health check by 7:00am for your child every day (that’s correct, Chad moved the deadline back by a half-hour, so, good news sleepy heads). Students who haven’t completed the health check are sent to the gym where Chad and I, along with some of our clerical staff, must contact you. In many instances, students miss most of their first period class when the health check is not completed by 7:00am.
Here’s the link: Click Here - Parent Power School Log In
Try putting a daily reminder on your Amazon, Alexa or Siri at a certain time each morning during the week.
Below are directions to put a shortcut on the home screen of your phone for the location on Powerschool where the Health Check can be easily accessed.
Add Health Questionnaire App to Your Phone/Tablet
Back to School Night
So many ways to follow #JerichoMS
Jericho Middle School
Email: dgately@jerichoschools.org
Website: Jerichoschools.org
Location: 99 Old Cedar Swamp Road, Jericho, NY, United States
Phone: (516) 203-2600
Twitter: @JerichoMS