September 6, 2007
From the Principal...
Dear Families,
Welcome to our 2007-08 school year! We have had a great opening to school this year. The hallways, outside window trim, and Occupational Therapy/Physical Therapy room in our building were all painted over the summer. The custodial staff did a great job cleaning and waxing the floors. Laura Richards School is certainly a bright and cheerful place for your children to learn.
We welcomed 278 students last week on the first day of school. The children have adjusted well to the beginning of school. I see happy, polite, respectful boys and girls in the classrooms, hallways, cafeteria, and playground. In addition, we have six new staff members in our building. Christine Hutchinson is our new baker. Gary Levine, Pat Struble, and Marla Morgan are our new special education education technicians. Transferring from T.C. Hamlin School, Andrea Gruber has joined our Title 1 staff and Tiffany Cockrell is our new first grade teacher. We welcome them and look forward to an awesome year!
Last week our school handbook was sent home. Please be sure to read it and discuss it with your children where appropriate. Please let me know if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions.
Again, I am very excited to be here this year as principal of Laura Richards School. I believe that a positive school culture fosters creativity, risk taking, and life-long learning. Our goal is for your child to have a happy, successful learning experience. I look forward to meeting each of you. Please stop in and say hi!
Yours in the service of children,
Mrs. Moody, Principal
Upcoming Events
September
11th: Walking School Bus @ 7:55
15th: Reading Rumpus, Downtown Gardiner
17th: Planning meeting for Octoberfest,6:00 - 8:00
18th: Walking School Bus @ 7:55
19th: Grade 2 to Bug Maine-ia at Maine State Museum
19th: Early Release Day, students dismissed @ 12:30
24th: Fall Fundraiser kick-off assembly @ 1:30
25th: Walking School Bus @ 7:55
27th: School Assembly @ 8:45 - 9:15
28th: School pictures for K-2
October
2nd: Walking School Bus @ 7:55
5th: Teacher Workshop Day - no school for students
8th: Columbus Day- no school
9th: Walking School Bus @ 7:55
9th: PTA meeting, 6:00 @ River View
13th: Octoberfest @ 11:00 - 3:00
14th: Rain date for Octoberfest
16th: Walking School Bus @ 7:55
17th: Early Release Day, students dismissed @ 12:30
23rd: Walking School Bus @ 7:55
30th: Walking School Bus @ 7:55
Early Release Days
The first Early Release day of the school year will be Wednesday, September 19th. Elementary school students are dismissed at 12:30.
For safety reasons, please do not drop your child off at school before 8:10. There is no supervision inside or on the playground until then.
GEPTA Meeting
The next GEPTA meeting is October 9th at 6:00 at River View School.
Child care is available.
Notes from the Office
If you know you will be picking up your child from school, please send in a note or call the office. This way we can have your child ready for pick up at 2:55. Please note that we can only release students to the people you have listed on the blue emergency contact form.
Thank you for respecting our learning time by not dismissing your child early unless it is an emergency.
Also, if your child is sick and won’t be in school, please call the office to let us know or e-mail the secretary at shoudlette@msad11.org. If your child arrives to school late, be sure to sign them in in at the office so that they are not marked absent for the day. Thank you!
Walking School Bus
Our first walking school bus day will be September 11th at 7:55. Every Tuesday, students may be dropped off at the Common by parents to walk to school with Mrs. Moody, Anthony Anderson (District Health Coordinator), and staff members. Parents are welcome to join us! Please return the permission slip which was sent home with your child earlier this week. Thank you!
GEPTA Fall Fundraiser
Be watching for the Fall Fundraiser which will kick off on Monday, September 24th!
Readers in Bloom
A young child is like a flower.
Some grow quickly, full to bloom.
Others need a helping hand
Gentle pruning, but not too soon.
They need time, guidance, a push – reading work, patience, and smiles.
They need a teacher to teach, across struggling reading miles.
Like sun, water, soil, and air
Reading teachers give life to joyous reading!
Letting children bloom fully, without strife.
A young child is like a flower.
For their learning, give them room to learn HOW to learn.
Then, watch their learning ever bloom!
Cecelia Timberlake
THANK YOU for taking the time this school year to help your child bloom by reading with and to them EACH day!!
Spare Clothing
It would be helpful for each student to have a complete change of clothing to be kept at school or in his/her backpack. It is sometimes not convenient for parents to bring clothing in if a child spills a snack, falls in a puddle, or needs extra clothing during the school day for any reason.
Forms for the New School Year
Please be sure to complete all of the forms that were sent home with your student and return them to school if you have not already done so. This information will help us to provide a safe and positive school year for your child.
Families should also review the school calendar and make a note of important dates such as Early Release Days, workshops days, holidays and school vacations.
Ongoing Fundraisers-
LER will continue to participate in these
ongoing programs which will help us to raise funds for our school
Hannaford Helps Schools - From now through December 1st, shoppers will receive school dollar certificates at the register with the purchase of participating products, which Hannaford will redeem for cash for our school. Hannaford will also grant an additional $1,000 to the school that raises the most funds! Please be sure to send these valuable certificates to school.
Box Tops for Education - “BoxTop” labels are a great fundraiser for our school. Each label is worth 10 cents. The money goes to purchasing items for our school. At Mrs. Moody’s past school they bought a sound system, 3 DVD players and 3 televisions, a new refrigerator for the staff room, 3 digital cameras, and new Ellison machine die cuts. Please take a look at opposite page to find out what products have “BoxTops for Education.”
Printer cartridges - We participate in two different programs to collect printer cartridges of all types and sizes, which are redeemed for cash. Please send your empty cartridges to school. We can also provide collection boxes for your office.
Campbell’s Labels for Education -Collect UPC codes and logos (instead of front labels) from Campbell’s products as well as many other products with the “Labels for Education” logo.
Toys and Balls at School
Toys should not be brought to school unless they are “Show and Tell” items. Otherwise, they can be quite a distraction for children and, at times, cause a crisis if they get broken or lost.
We are working on increasing the kinds and quantities of playground balls at school. Balls should also be kept at home as they too can become an issue of conflict at recess.
School Picture Day
Lifetouch will be here to take school pictures on Friday, September 28th for our k-2 students. Pre-K will be photographed at a later date. More information will be coming home with your student soon!