Deer Families
Deer Hill School News . September 17, 2021
Dear Deer Hill Families,
It's been a whirlwind of a start to the school year, but in a very good way! There is so much laughing, learning, thinking, playing, rule following, helping, creating, and growing. . . the best way to illustrate this is through the many pictures I have to share at the end of this newsletter. Thank you for taking the time to read the information below and then I hope you enjoy a peek at our busy first days of school.
All the best,
Alexandra L. Sullivan
Principal, Deer Hill School
P.S. Our next newsletter will be published October 1, 2021.
P.P.S. Follow me on Twitter @DeerHillSchool for ongoing info and joy throughout the week.
Need to Knows
- Deer Hill's Open House will be held on Thursday, September 23 from 6:00-7:30. This is an event for adults only. We will be staggering arrivals by alphabet to minimize crowds. Additionally, teachers will share important classroom information via a slide deck that will be emailed to families on Wednesday, September 22. These slides will serve as a resource for all families and will accommodate those who are not able to attend in person. I will email more detailed information about Open House, including a schedule, early next week.
- Today all families will receive two green car placards similar to those we used last year. To keep our dismissal process running smoothly, please display your placard in the windshield (passenger side) when picking up your student from school.
- Please take time to review the Deer Hill policies for communicating absences, early dismissals, and changes of plans in the Deer Hill Handbook (p11). Please do not email the classroom teacher to communicate information to your child as they often do not check email during the day.
- Apple watches and similar devices such as Gizmos continue to be visible at school. Please remember that we have an away-for-the-day policy at Deer Hill and any such devices must be stored in backpacks and not used during the school day. If students need to contact home, they must ask to use the classroom or office phone.
- As we continue in a not-quite-normal-but-getting-closer school format, Deer Hill is acutely aware of the impact on our students and continues to emphasize strong SEL practices. One part of the day that feels quite different is recess and lunch where grade levels are split into two groups who alternately eat and play. Please know that while we must maintain this format for safety reasons, each grade level is planning ways for students to interact with students from other classes, especially those that they may not see at recess. This may occur through shared outdoor snack times, buddy lessons, extra recess with different classes or as a whole grade, etc. While we are working to reunite friends who may not see each other as regularly due to opposing schedules, we are also working to help students develop new friendships and expand their social circles. If you have any concerns, please feel free to contact your child's classroom teacher. Our adjustment counselors (Mrs. Dolan, grade 3, and Mrs. Costa, grades 4 and 5) are also excellent resources if your child would benefit from social-emotional supports.
Keeping the Joy (happenings at Deer Hill)
- We have an additional staff member joining our Deer Hill community on Monday! Jenna Ellis will be joining Sarah MacDonald, our current reading specialist. Jenna will be working part time on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. We are so fortunate to have Jenna's expertise as we strive to offer meaningful literacy support to our students.
- As we opened our doors on the first day of school, Deer Hill looked AMAZING, in part to the help of volunteers in our own community. Many thanks to Taylor Gibson, Riley Kennedy, their families, and Kennedy's Country Gardens for the beautiful plantings at the entrance to our school. Thank you also to Crosby Muir and her mom, Cassie, for the beautiful PSO bulletin board, "The Future of the World Is in Our School."
- Our first spirit day last Friday was a great way to show our commitment to our district vision statement, "Empower students to improve communities." The t-shirt graphic recognizes several of our community partnerships: Cohasset Working Dogs, Holly Hill Farm, Cohasset Pride Project, Cohasset Food Pantry, and our yoga program. A big shout out to Goodwin Graphics for printing our shirts for us.
- Speaking of our community partnerships, we are excited to get several programs up and running soon, including yoga, Reading Rovers, and lessons with Holly Hill Farm. Stay tuned for more details!
Deer Hill Dates
Open House: 9.23.21
Half Day: 9.24.21, 1:15 (lunch is served)
Scholastic Book Fair: 9.29.21, 3:30-8:00
No School, Full Day Professional Development: 10.8.21
No School, Indigenous Peoples Day: 10.11.21
Flyers of Interest
Deer Hill School
Alexandra L. Sullivan, Principal
Email: alsullivan@cohassetk12.org
Website: https://www.cohassetk12.org/
Location: 208 Sohier St., Cohasset, MA, USA
Phone: 781-383-6115
Twitter: @DeerHillSchool