Welcome Back

September 2, 2015

Dear Parents/Guardians, Students and Friends of the J. Turner Hood School,

I hope this note finds you well rested and excited about the upcoming school year.  We have been very busy over the past few months in preparation for the opening of school grades 1-5 on Wednesday, September 9, 2015.  The first day of school for Kindergarten students is Friday, September 11, 2015.  

New Staff: We are excited to welcome three new staff members to our school community. Please welcome Ms. Heather Blackmun, Special Education Teacher, Ms. Janna Comeau, Music Teacher, and Mrs. Kelly Daigle, Para-Professional, to our team! I know that you and your children will make these individuals feel welcome to North Reading and the Hood School. I appreciate your continued support of the entire Hood School staff.

Kindergarten Popsicle Social: Our annual Kindergarten Popsicle Social will be on Thursday, September 3rd. from 2:30-3:30 pm. All incoming Kindergarten students are invited to attend. Please join us if you can. We are sure it will be an hour of fun.

School Website & Email: In North Reading,  each school’s and the district’s website will be upgraded to make it more informative, engaging, user-friendly, and a better resource to showcase student work and photos of the good things happening in each of our schools and across the district. Secondly, the email domain for the faculty and staff of the North Reading Public Schools has recently undergone a transition to a new domain, @nrpsk12.org. This domain is active presently and families are urged to now begin updating their contacts and communicating with district faculty and staff using the @nrpsk12.org domain. It should be noted that emails sent using the old domain will still be received during a brief period of transition

Twitter: Social media and Twitter in particular, is fast becoming an important tool in the world of education. Teachers are using it to connect with other professionals around the world to enhance their learning and break down the walls of their classrooms. Administrators are using it to enhance their leadership skills and connect with parents and other members of the school community. Stay up-to-date on the latest happenings at the Hood School! Follow the Hood School on Twitter @jthoodelemen.

Arrival/Morning Drop-Off: School begins at 8:30, and staff will be available to welcome students beginning at 8:20.  Children should not be brought to school before 8:20 AM as there is no adult supervision.  School staff will greet you and your children at the drop-off loop at 8:25 to let you know that students may now enter the building. We do have a morning program that is tuition-based. If your child arrives in the building earlier than 8:20, he/she will be sent to the morning care program and a note will be sent home with a friendly reminder to you to pay the fee.

Drop Off Procedures:

Drop off children at the side rotary.

Pull all the way up to the end of the sidewalk before letting your child out.

Let your child out opposite the driver’s side, only.

Do not get out of the car yourself.

There is NO PARKING within the rotary. 

Please remain in your car and move forward once your child exits the car, in order to keep the line moving. For safety reasons, it is important that you follow this procedure. 

Parking:

If you must come into the building, please park within the parking lot.

Going Green: We have an obligation to conserve our natural resources. Schools should set a good example by demonstrating to others the methods and benefits of energy conservation. Going Green is the smart choice for our environment, but it also may prove to be savings for our school’s budget during these times.  It will be our goal to utilize email as a primary source of communication for school notices and newsletters.  That being said, we want to be sure that all parents and families receive information to remain involved and informed.  If email communication isn’t available for your household hard copy notices will continue to be provided.

Student Absences: The office appreciates phone calls regarding absence or tardiness prior to school starting. This decreases the number of phone calls the office staff must make searching for students who are unaccounted for.  

Food Pantry: For those new to our school community, September is the month the Hood School adopts the North Reading Food Pantry by sponsoring a food drive. Please feel free to drop any of the items listed on our school website in our food pantry drop box located in our lobby.  

Looking forward to seeing you soon,

Mr. Glen S. McKay, Principal