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Dear Whitefield School Families, August 18, 2022

It is hard to believe that the summer vacation is winding down and the return to school is on the horizon.  I hope this summer has been less stressful for you than the past two have been.  At school, we enjoyed not having to reinvent instruction and configuration in light of a pandemic.  That is not to say that it hasn’t been busy.  Significant work on our HVAC system as well as professional development in instructional strategies defined the summer for many.  I’d like to take just a few minutes to tell you about some important things to make the return to school easier.

Staff

I would like to introduce a few new staff members.  Starting with Devin Cox in first grade, Cynthia Daly in middle school Social Studies, Sam Marston in Art and Linda Hicks in Title I.  A few staff members are making some shifts; Rebecca Lane is moving to grade one, and Kaylie Lapointe is moving to grade two.  Stephanie Cameron will be shifting to middle school ELA.  Heather Braase will be taking on the responsibilities of SEL Interventionist, while Brooke Dubriel will anchor the Wellness Center for grades five through eight and Andrea Glidden will concentrate on supporting PK through grade four.  We welcome Crystal Goodrich as our Occupational Therapist and Zach Preston and Bethany Baylies as School Psychologists.  Nicole D’Agnese, Crystal Chilafoe, Ashley Goodwin, Erika Kay and Denise Leslie join us as Paraprofessionals.  Finally, Terrance Jackson has joined the evening custodial crew and Leang Heng will be assisting in the kitchen.  We are excited to have our returning and new staff back on campus this fall.

Arrival & Dismissal

K-8 daily arrival time continues to be between 7:20 am and 7:45 am.  Remember that this means students need to be seated in their classrooms for morning attendance at 7:45 am to be considered Present and On Time.  Parent drop-off will be the same procedure as this past year.  Breakfast will continue to be served between those times and students in grades K-6 will have a morning recess.  K-8 dismissal will be at 2:25 pm.  The earlier dismissal time is a result of the need to align our day with the State of NH’s regulations for maximum number of instructional hours at the elementary and middle school level.  The parent pick up process out front will be the same as the past year.  It is critical that you not arrive in the parking lot before 2:15 pm as we will be dismissing preschool students at 1:45 pm and we need clear lanes to do that in a safe and timely way. Bus riders will be dismissed to their buses between 2:25 and 2:40 pm.

Buses

An updated route schedule was published on August 17th.  Please be sure you have reviewed that information to know which stop your child should be at, and which bus they will be taking to and from school.  Contact WW Berry at (603) 631-6100 to confirm your child’s bus plans with them.  Once you have done so, please contact earmstrong@sau36.org with the information.  

Meals

Over the past year and a half, breakfast and lunch have been free to all students.  However, our current guidance from the USDA does not allow us to serve free meals to our students in the 2022-2023 school year unless you qualify with a Free and Reduced Priced Meals application.  This year meal prices are as follows:

$1.95 breakfast

$2.95 elem. Lunch

$3.20 high school lunch

Snack milk cost is $0.50  Snack juice cost is $0.50

Please review the protocol for charging school mealsYou are highly encouraged to fill out the free and reduced meal application for your family. Applications are now available along with pricing and payment options on our website and paper copies will be sent home with students on the first day of school.  Our Free and Reduced meal rate is used to calculate Federal Funding for our schools, regardless if your child takes the meals. This funds our Title I teachers, instructional resources and materials, and professional development.  This lowers our tax rates so that these essential services are not funded by local dollars. The more qualifying applications we receive, the more revenue we receive for the support of our students.

Upcoming Events

Our Preschool/Kindergarten Open House will take place on Wednesday the 31st at 4:00 pm, along with a New Family tour of the building.  We are planning a Back to School BBQ for Friday, September 9th at 5:00 pm and hope that your family will be able to join us.  A sign up to RSVP, volunteer help and donations has gone via email.  We will be inviting parents/guardians to early Parent-Teacher conferences this fall.  The goal is to allow parents/guardians and teachers to get to know each other early.  Conference invitations will go out during the first week of school.  We will follow with Open Houses during the week of November 7th.

Registration & Annual Forms

If you have not completed your new student online registration or annual forms updates, it is critical that you do so in the next few days so that your child is ready for the first day.   Our Student & Family Handbooks are being finalized and will be available for download just before school starts.

There is still much to be done here at the building before we welcome students on September 6th.  Between now and then I hope you enjoy your time and reach out if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Michael J Cronin, Principal