Dear Peirce Families,
I hope that this busy season is going well for your family. Thank you to everyone who participated in last Friday’s Walk to School Day, including everyone who made a flag to represent a place that is important to your family. It was wonderful to see reflections of connections to locations both near and far. In addition to all of the important reminders below, please also be sure to sign up for a fall conference with your child’s teacher. Conferences will be held during the weeks of October 28th and November 4th. This is an opportunity to learn more about how your child is making progress academically and socially relative to our grade-level benchmarks and hear about the strategies that are most important for continual growth. We value our partnership with all of you and look forward to these conversations.
Last week, you all received a message from Superintendent of Schools Dr. David Fleishman about changes to our Safety and Security plans and upcoming drills in our schools. I will be writing with more details about these matters during the week of October 21st, including the specific date when we will practice the drills in late October or early November. Our emphasis will remain upon safe and efficient evacuation and lockdown practices that put children out of harm’s way in the case of an emergency. We will continue to use age-appropriate language to minimize worry and engage students in understanding safe paths out of the school building and secure locations within the school.
We wish a meaningful fast to all of our families who are observing Yom Kippur this week.
Important Health Office Update: Nurse Chloe Ainley is out of the building on a medical leave, and we are pleased to welcome Nurse Donna Clarke to our Health Room in her absence.
Book Fair: Our 2019 Peirce School Book Fair is coming up in two weeks! Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 23rd and Thursday October 24th and watch for more information in weekly PTO email updates!
Absences: If your child will be absent from school for any reason, please call the Student Absence Line at 617-559-9650 before 8:00. Also, please be sure that teachers have accurate information about dismissal routines for your child.
Social Action: Thank you to everyone who is supporting our Birthday Wishes Drive! Collection boxes will remain in the front and back lobbies during the next couple of weeks . To learn more about this Newton-based nonprofit organization, please visit birthdaywishes.org. Many thanks to parent volunteers Charlotte Stafford and Pam Sarian for leading this service project!
Parent Coffees: Our first PTO/Principal Coffee will be held on Friday, November 15th. Please join the PTO Presidents, Principal, Math Coach, and other parents in the Art Room at 8:30 for coffee and conversation about topics of interest in our school community, including our Investigations Math Program. Future coffees will be held on January 10th, February 14th, March 13th, and May 1st.
Concert Dates: The Fifth Grade Choral and Instrumental Concert will be held on Thursday, January 30th, 10:00 a.m. for students and staff and 7:00 p.m. for families. In the spring, the Fourth Grade Concert will be held on Thursday, May 21st, and the Fifth Grade Concert will be held on Thursday, May 28th.
Peirce Mystery Dinner: Saturday, November 2, 2019, 6:00 p.m. We hope you can join us for this annual, community-building event that is always a night of fun, great food, and meeting new friends! Tickets will go on sale in two weeks. For more information, please contact Erica Chamberlain at [email protected], Suzanne Demeo at [email protected], or Robin Stuart at [email protected].
Early Release Dates: Please note that the following Wednesdays and Thursdays will have dismissal at 12:30 for the purpose of professional development and conferences: October 30th, December 4th, February 6th, March 19th, and May 7th.
Photo Retakes: Our school portrait retake day is scheduled for Thursday, November 14th.
It is a privilege and pleasure to serve as your principal, and I hope that you always feel free to contact me at [email protected] or (617)559-9630 with any questions, thoughts, or concerns.
With best wishes,
Mark Chitty