Dear
I am pleased to welcome you to the upcoming 2009/2010 school
year. While it is clear that we have many challenges ahead, let me assure you
that the staff here at
Many of you have called or stopped by throughout the summer as we have begun to prepare for the September start. I want to thank you for all of the kind words of encouragement and support that you have offered to my staff and me. We realize that you are entrusting your student’s education to us and we readily accept that responsibility.
While we are all aware that budget cuts have forced us to make reductions in staffing in some areas that we all hold dear, we intend to provide a continuous arts experience for all of students in the coming year. Over the summer, we have worked tirelessly with a handful of staff members and community members to strategize ways to accomplish this. I feel confident that some of the steps we have already taken will go a long way to reaching that goal.
To that end Cathy Lee, a familiar face around SES, has been appointed to the role of Volunteer Coordinator for this upcoming year. Many of you know Cathy as the energetic director who has produced amazing plays with our sixth graders for the past four years. She intends to repeat that again this year. In addition to that, Cathy has already begun to gather community members interested in providing arts enrichment to all of our students during the school day. These volunteers will be interviewed and processed in much the same way that we would all of our employees. Cathy will look to match a volunteer’s service with the proper grade levels, so that we will be able to provide an age-appropriate enrichment experience for your children. If you are interested in participating, please contact Cathy at cathyannlee@comcast.net
In addition to the many interesting proposals that we have already received (things like travelogue slideshows, storytelling time, dance and movement time), volunteers have also expressed the willingness to serve in other areas of our school this fall. We appreciate their willingness to serve and we will continue to consider where best to distribute these welcome resources. I thank you all in advance.
Many things have not changed since June: our students will
continue to have access to and enjoy the resources of our school’s beautiful and
comfortable library and our updated computer and writing lab. Our physical
education classes will once again be staffed by Heidi Gebo, a familiar face who will also be repeating the very
popular Obstacle Course, which has become a mainstay here for some of our
younger students. Our lunches and our recesses will continue to be staffed by
As we get closer to our start date, please feel free to call, email, or stop by to introduce yourselves and your students. This year’s Open House will take place on Thursday, September 24, from 6:30-8:00pm. I hope you’ll plan to attend this annual event. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns that I can answer for you, please don’t hesitate to call me at school. I am looking forward to this year and I hope you are too. Together, we can achieve what we know is possible for our students. I challenge all of you to join me in this mission.
Sincerely,
Tim Merritt
Interim Principal