Dear Parents,
We are just about ready for another school year to kick off! We are excited about the start of a new school year and look forward to welcoming back all the students. We hope you have enjoyed the summer and are looking forward to hearing about all the summer adventures whether it was playing in the backyard, going out on the lake, taking a trip, enjoying a good book, or going to camp. The possibilities for adventure are endless. School begins for students on Monday, August 30th. The first day will be a full day of school.
We are looking forward to welcoming our third graders to Meeting House Hill School. It will be an exciting year for them. To ensure a smooth and comfortable adjustment, the first week will include a building tour, support with the lunchroom process, and early boarding and exiting of buses. We would also like to invite our third graders to take a sneak peek of the school on Wednesday, August 25th from 3:00-3:30 to do a walk-through and meet their teacher. The sneak peak is contingent on the construction phase remaining on target for that date. We will notify our third grade families if we have to make any adjustments.
We are very excited to see our returning students as well. We say goodbye to Patrick McCormack, Stephanie Taylor, Courtney Danyliw, Donna Ng, Kelly Rich, Anya Tomaseski and wish them well in their new endeavors. We welcome new and returning staff in new positions; Roberta Linkletter as writing interventionist, Elizabeth Antonelli as math interventionist, Lauren MacDonald in 4th grade, Gina Tonner in 4th grade, Sarah Sanborn in 5th grade, Erin Hannagan in 5th grade, Brittany Goldrick in 5th grade, Alexa Sullivan in 4th grade, Amy Moody in Special Education, Melissa Hawkins in Special Education, Kelly Tannian as Art teacher, Kate Paixao as the Library and Media Specialist, Jennifer Berberian as STEAM teacher and Deanna Rivers as Band Director.
Some items to note:
- Regular school hours will be from 8:40 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Students should arrive at school no earlier than 8:35 a.m.
- Open House will be on Wednesday, September 14th at 7:00 p.m. for all grades.
- Bus schedules can be found on our school website. We would appreciate it if you would have your child ride the bus.
- Please see below for more information about the start of school.
Many of you are aware of our emergency automated call notification system. In the event of an
emergency, Dr. Cosentino, our Superintendent will utilize this call system. The call will go out to home numbers and also work numbers if you provided us with one. Please be sure to update us with any changes in phone numbers during the school year and also inform your employers of this possibility. We look forward to a successful year for your children. Please help your children prepare for the beginning of school by having them go to bed early, reading, practicing math facts and reconnecting with friends. Once school begins again, help your children by setting routines for homework and bedtimes and providing a healthy breakfast. Hopefully your children had a chance to complete the summer activities sent home at the end of the school year, which will be shared with classmates the first week of school. New students might bring a list of books read. We look forward to seeing your children on Monday, August 30th.
CLASS PLACEMENT
Your child’s class placement information can be found on the PowerSchool Parent Portal. Please know that every effort was made to place your child in the best possible learning environment. Parent and teacher input were consulted, and classes are heterogeneously balanced. Please know that class placements are final and cannot be changed.
DROP OFF PROCEDURES
For your convenience and the safety of our students, we highly recommend students ride the bus to and from school. Should you need to drive your child, Meeting House Hill School has a curbside drop off system. Starting at 8:35 a.m., please pull up to the main entrance and drop your child off to staff members who will assist your child in getting out of the car. For quicker drop-off, please have your child sit on the passenger side of the back seat.
Between 7:40 – 7:50 a.m. for any before school activities: Please refer to the supervising teacher's communication regarding the specific drop off location. There is no supervision for students prior to 7:40 a.m. (After 7:50 a.m., students must buzz in.)
Starting at 8:35 a.m. students can be dropped off to staff.
After 8:50 a.m. for late arrival: Park at the school, and ring the bell to be buzzed in.
PICK UP PROCEDURES
We will continue to utilize School Dismissal Manager in order for you to communicate dismissal changes with us. Please see this updated information from School Dismissal Manager about the NEW APP!
IMPORTANT: Returning parents need to UNINSTALL last year’s App from their phone before
installing the new App. The Apps are no longer available in the App Stores. New/Incoming parents will need to add the SDM App to a smartphone, tablet, or web browser via this link. The app is compatible with Android and Apple devices and is free.
Android – Open a Chrome browser window, go to www.schooldismissalmanager.com, and login. Then click the three stacked dots at the top right corner, scroll down and click on Add to Home Screen, and follow the onscreen instructions to install the app.
*Your login credentials for the new School Dismissal Manager app will be sent in a separate email shortly before school starts.
Please login to School Dismissal Manager (SDM) at www.schooldismissalmanager.com to ensure that your child’s correct default dismissal instructions are correct. If you need to make an exception to your child’s dismissal, please be sure to input this change into SDM by 2:05 p.m. on regular days and 11:05 a.m. on early dismissal days.
Please try to avoid picking up your child early from school. When students leave early in the afternoon, it poses a disruption to student learning as well as the class, but if you must do so, send a note with your child to give to the teacher that morning.
We appreciate your adherence to these safety procedures. If you have any questions, please feel free to call.
VOLUNTEERS and VISITORS
For the safety of our staff and students, parents and visitors will continue to be extremely limited, as per our Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Cosentino. We are currently planning for a (fully masked) in-person Open House on 9/14; the times are specified below.
MITIGATION STRATEGIES
While we all probably assumed the pandemic would be behind us by now, we aren’t quite there yet. We still have several mitigation strategies in place for the start of the upcoming school year.
- Masks will be required for all students and staff while inside the school building.* Masks can be removed outside.
- Lunch will be in the cafeteria but we will be reducing the number of students sitting at a table to ensure safety of our students.
- Assigned seating on the bus.
- Drinking fountains will remain inaccessible for students. We encourage you to send a water bottle with your child. There are sinks in every room and bottle fillers in the hallways for bottle filling.
We recognize that the community has mixed feelings about masks, and that this is an issue being debated across the country. At this time, we are in compliance with the Governor’s executive order requiring all individuals to wear masks inside the schools. We kindly ask that you send your child to school with a mask, though we are happy to supply one for him/her in the event he/she does not have one. We truly appreciate your continued cooperation and support as we continue to navigate these unprecedented times.
Thank you!
UPCOMING EVENT
- 8/25 Third Grade Sneak Peek 3:00 PM-3:30 PM
- 8/30 First Day of School
- 9/6 Labor Day / No School
- 9/14 Open House (in person as of right now.)
- 6:00-6:30 Grade 3, Special Education, and Specials
- 6:45-7:15 Grades 4 & 5
- 9/16 No School: Yom Kippur
- 9/17 No School: Professional Development
- 9/30 & 10/1 School Pictures: More information to come from your child’s classroom teacher.
Sincerely,
James Mandracchia
Principal
Allyson Story
Assistant Principal