DAVIS HILL COMMUNITY SUMMER UPDATE
August 20, 2018
EXCITED TO START SCHOOL!
I am so excited that the first day of school is only a little more than a week away! It will be wonderful to see our students, families and staff return for the 2018-2019 School Year! It is a busy time in the building as our staff continues to work hard to ensure that we are ready for the beginning of school. I am hopeful to see many of you at the Open House this Thursday (See below for more information).
Shout out to our awesome custodial staff for their efforts and dedication to getting the building clean and ready for school. It looks amazing!
Shout out to our teachers who have been giving of their time to make sure that they are ready to get started on Day 1! No matter the hour... no matter the day... our staff is working to get ready for our students!
Kindly,
Jay C. Norton, Principal
*Don't forget to read through the entire update... there are always more dates in the Upcoming Events Section. If you have any questions/ concerns- please don't hesitate to contact me/ the office.
Highlighted Events/ Information
General Information
Summer Reading: It is not too late to take part in the summer reading. Please see the links below regarding Summer Reading/ Logs. Thanks to Mrs. Rosbach and Mrs. Prevosk for all of their work in putting this together! There are plenty of days left in the summer to get into a routine for reading! See the 'Library' link below for more information.
Letters for new students with their PowerSchool Parent Portal Information (for logging in) have been mailed. Once you receive your letter, if you have any difficulty setting up your PowerSchool access, please email Pat Johnson (patricia_johnson@wrsd.net) for help.
The PowerSchool Parent Portal opened for all parents on August 13th in order to access and sign-off on the Student Handbook. If you have not done so already- please take a moment to complete. Link: PowerSchool Parent Portal
As of the 13th the PowerSchool Parent Portal also had transportation information for full-day kindergarten through fifth grade students. Half-day kindergarten students and new students will receive a separate letter from the school with transportation information as soon as it is available.
Supply list links are available on our website for all grades K-5. LINK HERE
The first day of school is scheduled for August 28th for all students. Please see link below for the District Calendar for 2018-2019.
Please be sure to note the Half-Day Professional Development Days. Dismissal for Davis Hill Students will be at 12:20 on half-days.
POWERSCHOOL PARENT PORTAL/ CLASSROOM ASSIGNMENTS
POWERSCHOOL PARENT PORTAL
Once again this school year all families will be accessing classroom assignments through PowerSchool. This practice is consistent with other elementary schools in the District. Teacher assignments will be available starting on *Wednesday, August 22nd via the PowerSchool Parent Portal.
*Dates are subject to change depending on technical issues/ concerns.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
This year, teacher specific welcome letters/ information will be emailed to parents/ students on the 22nd for students in Grades 1-5.
Kindergarten students will receive a paper letter/ packet, which will include a name tag for the first day of school. Letters for Kindergarten students will be available at the Open House on Thursday for pick up. Any letters not picked up at the Open House will be mailed Thursday evening.
CLASSROOM PLACEMENT
A reminder that our staff has worked very hard to develop class lists. Sending and receiving grade level teaching teams and special education staff (when applicable) work together, with administration, to create class lists that are in line with the goal of our WRSD School Committee Policy (“establish classes that will enhance the dynamics of the classroom by bringing students together who will work as a learning team, and challenge and complement one another”). Classroom placement is an important, complex and time-consuming process that our staff takes very seriously.
A volunteer parent questionnaire was sent home last spring in order to provide parents an opportunity to offer input related to their child’s learning style and provide any pertinent information that may support Davis Hill staff in the placement process. Per School Committee Policy, parental requests for specific teachers are not to be considered in the placement process.
OPEN HOUSE/ NEW FAMILY ORIENTATION/ KINDERGARTEN PLAYDATE
OPEN HOUSE
We will be holding our annual Open House on Thursday, August 23rd at 10:00am-11:00am and again at 5:00pm-6:00pm.
The Open House is designed to allow students and parents time to visit your child’s classroom and provide new students and families the time to walk through the school. During each Open House session (approximately 10:30 and 5:30), I will invite any new students and their families (as well as any kindergarten students and their families who may have missed our Kindergarten Orientation in June) to join me in our Community Room (second floor/ across from library) so that I may introduce myself, provide general information, and answer questions.
Due to all the work that is being done by teachers and custodians, the time frame for the Open House has to be kept to what is listed. Also, I ask that parents please let your children know that teachers are not present at the Open House and that the school is still being prepared for the first day. The meeting of their classroom teacher happens on the first day of school, not at the Open House. Additionally, not all rooms will look ready for the first day of school, as some rooms will be in the process of getting ready for the start of school.
I want to thank all of our staff for the work that they do in preparation for the Open House! We are fortunate to have such a dedicated group of custodians and teachers!
KINDERGARTEN PLAYDATE
Prior to the morning session of the Open House on Thursday, August 23rd, I invite all incoming kindergarten students and their families to an informal ‘playdate’ on our playground at 9:30. You are all invited to attend as an opportunity for both the children and parents to meet and greet! I will also be there prior to the start of the Open House to say hello and welcome our kindergarten students.
FIRST DAY TRANSPORTATION REQUEST
One of the challenges during the first few days of school is making sure that there is a clear understanding of how students will be transported to and from the building. Subsequently, we take care in attempting to ensure that we have accurate information related to the transportation of our students. We do ask all families to print and complete the form attached HERE and return it to their teacher on the first day of school. Printed copies of these forms will also be available at Open House.
If the dismissal plan for your child will change after the first day, please make sure to write a note outlining the changes to your child’s classroom teacher. For example, if your child will be in parent pick up on first day but normally will ride bus #33, please communicate that to your child's teacher.The more specific information we receive, the better we are able to address any transportation concerns.
If you have any questions/ concerns related to transportation, please feel free to contact our office at any time.
Volunteering/ Summer Reading
If you are interested in volunteering in the Library during the 2018/2019 school year, please e-mail us the following information:
- your day/time preference
- your child(ren)'s name & grade & their specific class(es).
It is extremely helpful for us to get a list started now of who is interested so we can start working on the volunteer schedule at the end of August as soon as we get the library class schedule & what class each student is going to be in. The quicker we have the volunteer schedule done, the sooner we can welcome classes into the library in the new school year.
This year's summer reading theme is "Open a Book & Start your Adventure". Packets were sent home with students during the last week of school. Please see links below if you can not find your packet. Any student who turns in a summer reading log at the beginning of the next school year will have the chance of winning a prize. Read during the summer, log your reading adventures & enjoy!
Candice Prevosk - jaycan@charter.net
Laura Rosbach - lcrosbach@yahoo.com
Davis Hill Library Volunteers/Co-Coordinators
Link: Parent Letter
Link: K-2 Log
Link: 3-5 Log
See link for more information: LINK HERE
Staff Update
For the most part, the Davis Hill Teaching staff has remained stable this summer. However, we do have some changes:
-Mrs. Kerry Riedle has moved from 5th grade to 2nd Grade. Mrs. Riedle is looking forward to having the opportunity to work with our younger DHDragons!
-Mrs. Gina Sullivan has joined the Davis Hill staff. Mrs. Sullivan has taught for 14 years prior to the start of the 2018/ 2019 school year. She previously taught 4th grade at Houghton Elementary in Sterling. We are thrilled to have Mrs. Sullivan join our Davis Hill staff!
-Finally, Mr. Terry Schlegel, who was the long term substitute for Ms. Howell last spring, will be our new Physical Education Teacher moving forward. Mr. Schlegel is eager to get started this August and have a full year working with our Dragons!
Kindergarten:
Half-Day Kindergarten- Mrs. Alcock
Full-Day Kindergarten- Mrs. Benoit, Mrs. McCarthy, Ms. Whitman
First Grade:
Mrs. Colton, Ms. Cortis, Mrs. Nunnemacher and Mrs. Shoro
Second Grade:
Mrs. Grensavitch, Mrs. Madden, Mrs. Riedle and Mrs. Sachse
Third Grade:
Mrs. Manjarrez, Ms. OBey and Mrs. Sherblom
Fourth Grade:
Mr. Miner, Ms. Poh and Mr. Vincent
Fifth Grade:
Mrs. Austin, Mrs. Pisano, Mrs. Sullivan and Mrs. Walsh (Ms. Engdahl got married this summer! Congrats!)
PARENT INFORMATION
KINDNESS
8/22-PowerSchool Portal open for Classroom Assignments.
8/23- Open House (10:00AM-11:00AM and 5:00PM-6:00PM)**
8/23-Kindergarten 'Meet and Greet' at 9:30AM on Playground.
8/28-First Day of School!
9/3-Labor Day/ No School for Students
9/7-Ice Cream Social (6:00-8:00PM)
9/20-Professional Development Half-Day of School (12:20 Dismissal)
9/28-Spaghetti Supper (5:30 and 6:30 Seatings)
10/4-Picture Day
10/8-Columbus Day- No School
10/14-Dragon Dash (12:00)
10/23-10/26-Ecology School Trip for 5th Grade
10/25-Professional Development Half-Day of School (12:20 Dismissal)
*=Tentative
**=Open House is a time for children and families to walk through the building and see their classrooms. Teachers are not in attendance.
**=During Open House, I will hold a New Family Orientation at 10:30/ 5:30 in the Community Room.
Davis Hill Elementary School
Email: jay_norton@wrsd.net
Website: http://www.wrsd.net/davishill/
Location: 80 Jamieson Road, Holden, MA 01520, United States
Phone: 508-829-1754
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavisHillDragons/
Twitter: @DHPrincipal