Hello from Bates! I am very honored and excited to be the interim principal at Bates this year. While I do not wish the remaining weeks of summer to go too quickly, I very much look forward to seeing our Bates students and families on the first day of school.
The past several weeks have been an exciting and busy time. I am well settled in and have been working alongside the teachers, staff and district administrators to get ready for the start of school. We are in the final stages of two building projects: upgrades to the art room and the addition of a door between the main office and the office next door that will soon be my office. In addition, the building is being cleaned and polished from top to bottom by our hard working custodial staff. We look forward to welcoming our students back on the first day of school, Wednesday, August 27.
At the end of this week you will receive your child’s class list. Included in that mailing you will also find a letter from me introducing two new Bates staff members. Soon you will also be receiving emails from the main office and the PTO with important back to school forms and notices.
In the coming weeks I welcome you to stop by the school and say hello. I am here most days and would love to visit. I also invite you to join us as we welcome new Bates families at a coffee on Tuesday, August 26. You will receive more details about this and other back to school events soon.
In the meantime, as you enjoy the final weeks of summer, I share two requests:
When I visited classrooms at the end of June I asked every student to bring on the first day of school something they have loved reading this summer. Please help your child to remember to bring the name of a book or the book itself. We will experience a school-wide sharing of our favorite summer reading as a get to know you activity in classrooms.
I ask you to please share a picture of your family with all of us here at Bates. You can email the photo to me (jolleya@wellesleyps.org) or bring in a hard copy before the end of September. Please label the picture with each family member’s name. I am reviving a former tradition of creating a Bates family album, which I will keep in my office. My hope is to be able to put every name to a face as I get to know you and your children.
Thank you. I look forward to seeing you soon!
Best,
Toni