From the Principal's Pen
Trish McGuire - Julian Curtiss Elementary School
Welcome Back Julian Curtiss Eagles
Dear Parents,
We had a wonderful Opening Day at Julian Curtiss! Our JC Eagles are back and ready to soar! Thank you to all of the parents and guardians that were able to come out and join us for the beginning of our new school year! As I mentioned in my speech, there is nothing better than a brand new start of a new school year!
Our students received a warm welcome with open arms from all of our teachers and staff! The energy in the building was so high and the feeling in the air was positive and uplifting. Our goal is to always provide our students with a loving, happy, compassionate, kind, and supportive welcome. Each and every classroom engaged in activities that assisted staff in getting to know their new students and students getting to know one another. Support staff sprinted around the building ensuring that every staff member and every student was assisted.
I am always truly grateful and humble to be the Principal of this wonderful little school! I am blessed with the opportunity to step back and view the entire picture and as I see if from my perspective, the view from the balcony is superb!
Have a wonderful three-day weekend!
Warmest regards,
Trish McGuire
Opening Day
Recap of Opening Day Remarks
For those of you who were unable to attend the Opening Day Reception the following three paragraphs is a recap of the information in my speech.
Much planning, construction, and hard work has gone into preparing our school building for a successful school year. Our roof is 98% complete after 2 summers of hard work, the patio wall outside the cafe has been rebuilt, our cafe has beautiful new air conditioning, we have new stage curtains, and asbestos has been removed from the tunnels under the building! Lastly, our custodial staff has cleaned the school from top to bottom.
I am excited to announce that we have 18 classrooms with three sections at every grade level this year. Our teaching staff has moved around, many have new assignments and they are ready for new beginnings just like our students.
Communication is the key to building a strong home-school connection. Our goal is that our families always feel well informed and comfortable enough to contact our staff when you need something. Your first point of contact should always be your child’s teacher, but Mrs. Brush and I are always available to meet or speak with parents. To provide parents with timely and current information, we will continue to utilize our JC Weekly Newsletters, SMORE newsletters, and email blasts. Your job is to read them. I encourage you to check our website for the most updated information on a regular basis and please read all of the Back to School Information this week. You can also follow us on Twitter at @JCSPrincipal and @JCAsstPrincipal to see snapshots of the wonderful things going on at JC!
Labor Day
Labor Day Weekend
As we head into the weekend keep in mind that Labor Day, a public holiday in the United States, celebrated on the first Monday in September honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws and well-being of the country. The long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend is considered the unofficial end of summer in the United States. Although, it is the unofficial end of summer let’s try to hold on to the sunshine and the relaxing feel that long summer days provide us.
Music Staff at JC
As you may have read in the opening school communication we were ready to go with a brand new General Music Teacher at Julian Curtiss. Unfortunately, our candidate reneged a few days before the opening of school. Laura White, Arts Program Coordinator, and I immediately went to work and we were able to hire a knowledgeable and accomplished teacher. It is procedure in the education field to stay in your position for 30 days if you have given notice after a certain date. Ms. Melanie Champion will be beginning her new position at Julian Curtiss on October 1st. I have added a note from Ms. Champion to the students below. Your children should have seen this note before.
We will have a substitute in place until Ms. Champion can arrive. The district music staff is assisting with lesson plans and providing support to the substitute.
In addition, our Orchestra Teacher, Giulia Sanford will be on maternity leave until November. Thomas Purcell will be teaching lessons during this time. Ms. Sanford and Mr. Purcell will be in contact so that Mr. Purcell follows Ms. Sanford’s procedures. We will inform you of Mr. Purcell’s start date as soon as soon as it is finalized.
Introduction to Ms. Champion
Dismissal Reminders
Please make sure that the last name of the student is prominently displayed in large letters on your front visor. This helps tremendously to move the line along more quickly. Also, please do not pass the line. This is for safety purposes.
Front Circle
Cars are not permitted to come into the front circle from the East Elm Street entrance between 2:15 and 3:15. This is for buses only. Please safely park to come to the blacktop and pick up your child. Students may not cross the driveway unattended to meet you. You must check in with your child's teacher to ensure safety.
For a complete review of Arrival and Dismissal Procedures please check the JC website at the link below:
JC Arrival/Dismissal Procedures
A little politeness goes a long way during drop off and pick up! For some comic relief read the link below:
The 7 rules parents must not break in the school drop-off line
Scheduling
All JC learners will participate in a five day rotation of core classes and specials for the 2018-19 school year. Days will be identified as Days A-E rather than Monday- Friday. This will help avoid having students miss specific classes throughout the year. For example, students who have a certain class such as Art, Music or Physical Education on Mondays always miss that class for Monday holidays, this can also occur with Wednesday early releases. The only teachers who will NOT rotate are our instrumental music teachers, so orchestra and band will take place on a day of the week rather than an A or E day. These flexible instructional blocks will provide teachers with opportunities to develop partnerships in learning, empower students to take ownership for their learning, while making all experiences personal.
The goals of the innovative schedules to be implemented in the fall of 2018 are to:
Increase instructional time within flexible blocks for Humanities and STEM
Increase common, collaborative time for teacher teams
Explore the desire to schedule consistent time blocks for enrichment and targeted intervention that focuses on the learner profile/pathway.
Below is the rotation schedule for the month of September.