Dear Hunnewell,
Welcome to the 2023-2024 school year! We have a busy and exciting year ahead of us.
I begin by thanking our host schools once again for welcoming our community into theirs. Due to some summer moves, our Ks and first graders are neighbors at Bates, our second graders and third graders are next door neighbors at Bates and Sprague, respectively, and our fifth graders are across the hall neighbors, and so I send huge kudos to the host school principals, secretaries and custodians, who have supported and done whatever possible to help our teachers with this herculean task. I also send a huge thank you to our teachers who have now packed, moved, and unpacked their classroom twice now, and still have one more move to go! As I have visited classrooms over the past few days, you would never know how much work has been done behind the scenes to make these rooms feel so welcome and ready for students. I also thank Kristyn Chin for coordinating these moves with Diamond Movers to make sure everything landed where it was supposed to land.
I feel like we are on the last lap of swing space and the checkered flag is waving us home! I continue to work with a large team including the project management team, the architects, the builders, as well as Wellesley’s Facilities Maintenance Department, members of the Public Building Committee and the School Committee, to make sure the building is ready for us after February break. The natural light throughout the space makes it such an inviting environment for learning. In the next few weeks, I will be sharing a timeline of key events in preparation for our move.
Although the start of school is not the official new year, it always feels like it is for those of us in education or with school age children. While we can save those big resolutions until January 1, I do think this is the perfect time of year to recommit to structures, routines and habits of mind that support academic and social emotional learning and growth. In the first six weeks of school, teachers will focus on building relationships with your child and fostering peer relationships in the classroom. They will also set routines and expectations that support a collaborative and respectful learning environment where children feel safe to take risks, ask for help and grow. The home-school partnership is critical. We need your help. Please make sure your child is well-rested, has a healthy breakfast and is at school between 8:15-8:25. Starting the day with their peers and participating in the morning routines helps children set their intention for learning. Please also make sure your child has a water bottle and a healthy snack every day, including the first day! Establish routines for packing or buying lunch, packing and unpacking backpacks and completing homework. These routines help with the transition between home and school and build good habits that will last a lifetime.
I also want to share a few reminders about bus tags and expectations for behavior on the bus. The bus tags will be given to the students on the first day of school. The bus tag is color-coded by school: Blue for Bates, Red for Hardy, Green for Sprague and Yellow for Upham. The bus tag will also have the student’s bus number and either a green, yellow or red dot on a stoplight. Our fourth and fifth graders have green dots, indicating that they can get off the bus without an adult. They can also take charge of a first or second grade sibling. The third graders have a yellow dot, which means that they can off the bus without an adult, but cannot take charge of a younger sibling. Our kindergarteners, first and second graders have a red dot, which means they need an older sibling or a parent or guardian in order to get off the bus. Below I have also listed the bus expectations. Please review these with your child. Our teachers will be doing the same.
1. The Hunnewell CARE values are expected at all times.
2. Food is not allowed on the bus. This is a safety issue, as we have students with allergies.
3. Students must remain seated and wear their seatbelts.
4. Students should keep their hands to themselves at all times.
5. Students should remain seated until the bus comes to a complete stop.
6. There is no assigned seating on the bus. Some younger children like to sit with an older sibling and some prefer to sit up front with a friend.
I encourage you to get to know families at your bus stop and help your children make connections with students of all ages.
There are video cameras on the bus and I have and can review them when incidents occur. These rules are taken seriously and violations can result in a temporary suspension from the bus. Please contact me with any concerns.
You should have all received information from your host school on Pick-Up Patrol. This system let’s us know student arrival and dismissal plans. Please record changes of arrival and dismissal plans in the app. This helps the children get where they need to be safely.
I look forward to meeting our new kindergarteners tomorrow at the Bates K orientation tomorrow from 2:00-2:30. I will be attending all of the Back-to-School Nights, so I look forward to catching up with everyone on those evenings.
Sincerely,
Ellen