Hello Families and Supporters,
We are so excited to begin the 2021-2022 school year. This year we have many returning students as well as many new students joining us in all grade Kindergarten through 4th. Welcome to our new families and welcome back to our returning families!
Our new teachers started with us on August 18th and the rest of the instructional team joined us this past Monday. We have all been hard at work planning for a strong start to the school year and can't wait for all of our students to join us!
I know many of you have been anxiously waiting to hear about our instructional staff. We will have 6 classrooms this year which will be supported by 3 teaching assistants. We are also adding music and makerspace to the special area classes our students will have in addition to PE and Spanish. Here is a quick introduction to all of our staff (the names in parentheses are what students will use to refer to those they will have regular interactions with):
Instructional Team
Kindergarten: Kayla Elliott (Ms. Elliott)
Kindergarten/ First Grade: Marci Francis (Mrs. Francis)
K and K/1 Teaching Assistant: TBD
First Grade: Brianna Smith (Ms. Smith)
Second Grade: Jessica Fallon (Ms. Jess)
Grade 1 and 2 Teaching Assistant: Jasminique Harris (Ms. Bella)
Third Grade: Madysen Eckhardt (Ms. Madysen)
Fourth Grade: Rhodara Abu El Fadl (Ms. Dara)
Grade 3 and 4 Teaching Assistant: Daniel Massarini (Mr. Daniel)
Physical Education and Makerspace: Heather Boyden (Mrs. Boyden)- returning from maternity leave in October
Physical Education and Makerspace Long-Term Substitute: Ashley Pearson (Ms. Ashley)- until October
Spanish Teacher: Sheri Herlihy (Senora H.)
Music Teacher: Chris Cresswell (Mr. C.)
Administrative Team
Head of School: Sara Petit-McClure (Ms. Sara/ Ms. Petit-McClure)
Head of Operations/ Administrative Assistant: Leaf Carmer (Mrs. Leaf)
Student Achievement Coordinator: Jenny Hull (Mrs. Hull)
Support Team
School Nutrition Program Director: Taylor Foster
School Chef: Ashley Reihlman (Mrs. Reihlman)
Cafeteria Aide: TBD
Part-Time Administrative Assistant: Lauri Guay
Custodian: Shannon Seaward
Maintenance: Steve Reed
Community Building Half Days
As a school, we strongly value our school community; so much so that we refer to ourselves as a school family. Part of building that strong school family is getting to know one another and learning our classroom and school procedures and routines as a group. Because of this, we have 2 half days of community building before we start the full days of our school year. This year, these days are on September 1st and September 2nd. These were noted on the school calendar that was sent at the end of last year or when you enrolled and is also attached here. These are days for ALL students, not just new students as community building is important for all.
Parents will need to provide transportation for these half days. Students should be brought to the school at 8:30 and picked up at 11:30. Drop off for the first day will happen on the front steps where the teachers will be introduced and students will go with their teachers. Students will be brought back outside for pick-up on these days. There will be additional paperwork coming home with students on these days, so please look for it and return it as soon as possible to the main office.
Student Screenings We do screenings of all of our new incoming students so our teachers have some information about how to best meet their needs. All kindergarten and first grade families have been contacted about student screenings. These screenings are particularly important for these grades as we have a mixed grade classroom. We added some times on 8/31. The sign-up for these screenings can be found here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805094EABA629A5FD0-newstudent For new students in these grades who have not been screened prior to Sept. 1st, we will screen them at our first community building half-day. Parents will find out who their child's teacher will be at the end of this day. For students in grade 2-4 who are new, please see the link to sign your child up for a screening on 8/31, 9/1, or 9/2: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/805094EABA629A5FD0-2nd In-Person Schooling This year, we will begin the school year with all of our students attending in-person. As such, there are a few important safety guidelines we will be following to ensure that we can keep our students learning in-person and keep our community safe. The attached document has more details, but the main points are as follows: Masks: All individuals entering the school building will wear masks in the school building. In outside learning spaces, masks will be optional for students as long as students are 3 feet apart. Distancing: Students will be 3 feet apart in classrooms and during other times throughout the day as much as is possible. Health Screenings: We are requiring a Daily Health Screening to be done at home daily. You can find the link to the google form where we will collect this information here: https://forms.gle/FzGXZJp81XGPnSm67 Please complete one form for each of your children if you have more than one attending our school. If you answer yes to any of the questions, please keep your child home and notify the main office (607) 842-6252 or info@truxtonacademy.org. This link will remain consistent from Sept. 1st through October 31st. We will not be taking student temperatures at school unless they have symptoms. Students with symptoms will be sent home. Quarantines: Should there be a positive case in school, students who are masked and 3 feet apart will not need to be quarantined. To minimize quarantines, we will keep students 3 feet apart in classrooms and spread them out for mask breaks. We will move instruction and meals outside as much as possible as well. Enrollment and Updated Paperwork If Mrs. Leaf has contacted you about paperwork, or if you have not completed all of the enrollment or update paperwork for your child(ren), please do so as soon as possible and get the paperwork to the main office. Thank you for your assistance in making sure we have all the information we need to best meet the needs of your child(ren). Upcoming Dates: Sept. 1 and 2, 8:30- 11:30- Community Building Half- Days for ALL students Sept. 3- Teacher Work Day (No School for Students) Sept. 4- Sept. 6- Labor Day Holiday Weekend Sept. 7- First Full Day of School Thank you for your support of our school! We are looking forward to a great school year! - Sara and the Truxton Academy Team