Upcoming Events:

• 9/15: Early Release Day (Ps/Pk dismiss at 11:15, K-3 dismiss at 11:40)

• 9/28 & 9/29: Picture Day

• 10/5: Open House

• 6:00 pm: Ps/Pk, K and Grade 1

• 7:00 pm: Grades 2 & 3

• 11/2 (evening): Parent Teacher Conferences

• 11/15 (after-school): Parent Teacher Conferences

We are thrilled to have Erin Gibson with us as our new Special Education Coordinator. Erin comes to us from Andover experience as a special educator coordinator, special education teacher and school psychologist. We invite you to attend a meet and greet coffee hour on Thursday, October 5th from 8:30-9:00 AM in the Bresnahan Cafeteria. Sign up to attend our Meet and Greet Coffee HERE. Maximum attendance 30. Thank you for understanding.

A message from Erin:

Hello! I am excited to join the dedicated staff at Francis T. Bresnahan School as the special education team coordinator. I am passionate about working with families and educators to ensure the academic, social, and emotional success of every student. Prior to coming to Newburyport, I worked in Andover Public Schools for 8 years as a school psychologist and educational team facilitator. I started my career in Northern Virginia as an elementary special education teacher and later, a school psychologist. I live nearby with my husband, two children, and many assorted animals. When time allows, I enjoy horseback riding, mountain biking, and reading.

We welcome all families to review our 2023-2024 Francis T. Bresnahan Student & Family Handbook. Please fill out this GOOGLE FORM to acknowledge reading the 2023-2024 Francis T. Bresnahan School Handbook and reach out to Jamie Sokolowski (jsokolowski@newburyport.k12.ma.us) with any questions.

The Bresnahan Green Team is seeking parent volunteers to help support our Green School Initiatives this year in the cafeteria. This year students will be using washable trays and metal silverware instead of single-use silverware packets. They will also be composting their food scraps and emptying liquids from single-use drink containers. Our students will need teaching and hands-on help as they learn these new routines. We are hoping to find volunteers who are able to consistently commit to volunteering each week. Come visit your student at lunch and help our school go green! Thank you for your support!

Our first session of Clipper Courses (our FREE After School Program) will be starting the week of October 2nd. Based on the overwhelming amount of interest we had last year, we are moving to a lottery based registration to ensure equity among our students. We cannot guarantee that every child will be placed in a course each session. We will wait until the registration window has closed before entering student’s names in the lottery. Please note that this process may change as we continue to determine the best registration process for this new program. The registration link will be sent out Monday at 12pm and will be open until September 22nd at 12 pm.

A note to kindergarten families:

Welcome to the first week of kindergarten!!! As we transition into a new school year, adding an additional activity at the end of the day may be challenging for your youngster. If your child shows signs of being hungry, tired, fussy, emotional or even burned out at the end of the day, you may not want to commit to an afternoon activity at this time. We will offer Clipper courses throughout the year (winter and spring), so they will not miss an opportunity to enjoy our after school programs.

Please review the following protocol for car riders. It is important that we all work together to make sure the car rider line is safe.

Students must be able to get out of their cars independently-parents should not be getting out of the cars. This is a great time to review buckling with your child.

As the driver, please stay in the car (sorry, please do not get out and hug!)

Please make sure your child is entering or exiting through the passenger's side (closest to sidewalk). Students should not walk into the road to get into cars.

Please stay in a single car line, please do not pass.

Please do not be on your cell phone while driving in the rider line.

Please make sure placard is propped up and visible for staff (dismissal only)

We appreciate your cooperation to help keep all of our students safe.

We are excited to introduce you to our Bresnahan Birthday Boulder. The Bresnahan Birthday Boulder will be a place for our K-3 students to sign their artist signature during their birthday week. It is located right outside Door 1. We will begin adding to our boulder next week! Be on the lookout for the BBB on the mulch area near door 1.

Join the PTO

Did you know that you, as a parent/caregiver of a student in grades PreK-8, are automatically a member of the PTO? There are so many ways to get involved and feel connected to your school community:

• Check out our volunteer interest survey to find out more and

• Join us at our first meeting, Thursday 9/14 7:00 pm in the Bresnahan Library (enter through door 1)

Classroom Liaison

Would you like to be a classroom liaison for your child’s classroom? As a classroom liaison, you will assist your child’s teacher in organizing class events, recruiting parent or caregiver volunteers, and meeting any classroom needs. You may also be asked to communicate with parents and caregivers about PTO events and any potential classroom gifts. If interested, please contact your child’s classroom teacher.

This year the PTO will communicate in three ways:

Weekly Wednesday

The Bresnahan Weekly Wednesday email will include timely details on upcoming events and volunteer needs/opportunities.

NewburyportPTO.com

Our new website is LIVE at: NewburyportPTO.com. The PTO website includes a calendar of events as well as information on PTO programs, fundraisers, and volunteer opportunities.

PTO on Facebook

Join our private Facebook community to reach out, ask questions and get the latest details on events.

Please email us at newburyportpto@gmail.com if you have any questions.