From the Principal's Pen
January 21, 2022
IMPORTANT PROCEDURES FOR SAFETY AND LEARNING
Dear Julian Curtiss Families,
It is time for a refresh on our procedures at school. Please note the school hours below. We allow 15 minutes for arrival in the morning between 8:00 and 8:15. We expect that students are in their classroom at 8:15. There are so many factors out of our control at this time due to COVID and parents and educators are working together to do the best they can. The bottom line is that being at school on time during the elementary school years is the parent's responsibility. Too many students are late on a daily basis! Please get your child to school on time so that we can serve them to the best of our ability! For those families that are consistently on time...
THANK YOU!
Below are the arrival and dismissal procedures for the 2021-2022 school year. Your understanding and cooperation in following these policies and procedures is greatly appreciated. We know your lives are busy and you want arrival and dismissal to happen quickly but it is of great importance that our school campus is safe for our students. Drive slowly and be patient when you enter the campus.
School Hours: Arrival 8:00 a.m. - 8:15 a.m.
Dismissal: 2:45 p.m.
Drop off:
Staff will meet and supervise all arrivals outside of the building at 8:00 a.m.
Students arriving to classrooms after 8:15 are tardy.
Students driven to school are to be dropped off along the driveway in front of the school or the driveway on the gym side of the building and walk to the entrance.
U-turns are not permitted anywhere on school grounds
Drivers please follow this procedure:
Drive up to the white sign along the gymnasium side of the school or the stop sign in front of the school. Do not stop in front of the door. Pulling up to the top of the driveway will help keep the traffic moving.
Remain in the vehicle while students exit the car independently on the sidewalk side only.
Do not pass the car in front of you at any time. This is an extreme hazard and is strictly prohibited. Please wait in line, proceed around the loop, and exit onto East Elm Street or Milbank driveways.
Please refrain from using cell phones during drop-off.
Once a student has been dropped off, he/she MUST stay on grounds.
Please keep in mind that one of our goals is to maximize instructional time for students, so arriving on time will assist your child with organization and academics throughout the school year. Our goal is to have all students in their classrooms at 8:15 a.m.
Pick-up:
Dismissal begins at 2:45. Bus students, car riders, and walkers will be dismissed separately.
The front circle is restricted to buses from 2:45 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Cars are NOT allowed in the front circle during dismissal/pick-up. Drivers should park outside the school and park or enter the Milbank driveway only.
Car riders in grades 1-5 will be picked up on the gymnasium side of the building. There is no parking or standing. Vehicles must keep moving around the loop until their child is available for pick-up.
Walkers being picked up by parents should be met at the grade level designated spots.
Older siblings will be able to meet younger siblings at their classroom with written permission from the parent.
IF there is a planned change in pick-up for your child, you must enter it in School Dismissal Manager by 1:45 pm. Students will not be dismissed to an alternate party without written authorization from a parent/guardian.
Parking:
For parents and guests of the school, parking is available in the upper level of the back parking lot, along the east side of driveway. Please note that cars parked in the 5 spaces immediately in front of the school in the afternoon will not be able to move until buses have departed. There is NO PARKING along the entire north (field side), along the entire south part of the driveway from Milbank to the Teacher’s lot and anywhere there is a NO PARKING sign.
We hope this outline of policies and procedures will assist you throughout your family’s time at Julian Curtiss Elementary School. Please remember to enter your child’s plan in the School Dismissal Manager.
Thank you for your understanding and cooperation with these very important matters.
Trish McGuire
Principal
BOE PRESENTATION TO THE BOARD OF ESTIMATE AND TAXATION
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
As we have explained prior there is a 1.5 million dollar budget line to allow for planning for architecture and design that includes an update on ADA compliance, HVAC and security for Julian Curtiss.
It is important for you to be informed as a Julian Curtiss community member. If you would like to speak there is time for public comment at 7:00 pm. There will ask any members of the community that would like to speak to use the "raise your hand" feature in zoom.
If you do not want to speak please consider watching the meeting to gather information about what is being considered in the Capital Budget plan for our entire GPS school community.
TOWN OF GREENWICH
BOARD OF ESTIMATE AND TAXATION
BUDGET COMMITTEE VIRTUAL WEBINAR
FISCAL YEAR 2022 – 2023 BUDGET PRESENTATIONS
BY THE FIRST SELECTMAN
BOARD OF EDUCATION CHAIRMAN,
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS
FOLLOWED BY THE PUBLIC HEARING Tuesday, January 25, 2022 – 6:00 P.M.
https://greenwichct.zoom.us/j/83703837173?pwd=eUVkOHIyRm5IRDdMTVBUZ1NSbzVYQT09 Password: 3368534
Dial: +1 646 518 9805 or 877 853 5257
Webinar ID: 837 0383 7173
Password: 3368534
AGENDA
• First Selectman Recommended Fiscal Year 2022-2023 Budget Presentation
• Board of Education Chairman and Superintendent of Schools Fiscal Year 2022- 2023 Budget Presentation
• Public Hearing
Members of the public may submit comments to be added to the public record.
Public comments must be submitted no later than the close of the January 25, 2022 Public Hearing.
Link to the form: https://www.greenwichct.gov/FormCenter/BET-Board-of-Estimate-Taxation-81/BET-Budget-Committee-January-25-2022-Pub-335
OPEN HOUSE AT WESTERN MIDDLE SCHOOL ABOUT THE AVID MAGNET PROGRAM
IMPORTANT INFORMATION FROM THE SUPERINTENDENT
GPS Health Alerts - Opt-In
We have received feedback from so many of you and have decided to pivot with the way we report daily positive COVID cases. Some of you want this level of information and feel safer understanding the numbers, and some of you would like to opt out.
Beginning next Monday, instead of families receiving a daily email from their principals, we have created a new daily district report for those that wish to receive them. To subscribe, please go to our GPS Daily Health Alert page, click on the "Follow Greenwich Public Schools" box, and enter your email address to be automatically added to this specific distribution list. We will send a single email each Monday through Friday at the end of the school day.
Updates on Magnet Virtual Meetings
GPS is proud to offer choice to the families of Greenwich that wish to apply to any of the District’s four elementary schools and one middle school magnet program.
Current fourth and fifth grade parents are invited to learn more about what makes Western Middle School a unique and viable magnet school option for their children by attending a virtual meeting on Thursday, January 27 at 9;00 AM and 7:00 PM.
Due to yesterday’s school closure, New Lebanon rescheduled its virtual open house to Monday, January 24 at 9:00 AM and 6:30 PM.
BOE Business Meeting
We encourage you to watch last night’s Board of Education meeting on the District’s YouTube channel.
GPS District Digest
We invite you to read the newest issue of the GPS District Digest that was released earlier today. It is full of great stories from around the District. Subscribe to get it directly sent to your inbox.
Please follow Mrs. McGuire and Mr. Hartigan on Twitter
@JCSPrincipal and @JC_EagleAP
Mrs. Trish McGuire - Principal
Email: trish_mcguire@greenwich.k12.ct.us
Website: www.greenwichschools.org/jcs
Location: 180 East Elm Street, Greenwich, CT, USA
Phone: (203) 869-1896
Twitter: @jcsprincipal