Dear Parents:
The faculty and staff has been busy getting ready for school to begin tomorrow morning. We are all looking forward to a great year!
I wish to update you on several items and remind you of others:
1. PHYSICAL EDUCATION TEACHER: I am glad to announce that MS. KSENIA YANK will serve as our Physical Education teacher this school year. Ms. Yank is from Kasakhstan and earned her Masters Degree in Physical Education there before emigrating to the United States. Here she has attended Broome Community College where she earned a degree in Liberal Arts and has served for several years as a swim instructor at the YMCA working with children of all ages. I welcome her to our faculty.
Please note that Gym classes will begin the week of September 12.
2. STUDENT ARRIVAL TIME: I wish to reiterate the new policy that was published in the Parent Manual (p. 5) that you received, regarding the time that students may arrive in school. This policy has been introduced in order to assure your child's safety. Please note this policy, which is reproduced below:
Students are expected to arrive after 8:20 AM (or, if riding the school bus, when the bus arrives). If you must drop off your child between 8:00 and 8:20 AM, there is a $5 per day/per child fee for providing supervision, payable in advance. These students must report to the Kindergarten room and will be under the supervision of Mrs. Green. Under no circumstances are children to be brought to school before 8:00 AM.
3. ELECTRONIC GAMES AND DEVICES: At today's Faculty Meeting we decided to amend the school policy regarding electronic games and devices, as follows:
Kindergarten - Grade 5: Children will be permitted to bring to school electronic games, music players and other electronic devices that do not access the internet in any manner and the use of them will be allowed during indoor recess or with teacher permission. They may not be used during lunch.
Middle School: Students are permitted to bring electronic games, music players and other electronic devices to school that do not contain cellular access and the use of them will be allowed during lunch and indoor recess or with teacher permission. Devices such as iPads that have wireless internet capability may be registered with Mr. Hoose and used during school. The school reserves the right to remove this privilege if it is misused, for example by accessing inappropriate sites.
Cell Phones: These may not be used during the school day by any student. If you feel that your child must have a cell phone for use after school hours, you may send one with your child. The student must bring the cell phone to the office as soon as s/he arrives at school, and pick it up at the end of school. If a cell phone is found in the possession of a child during the school day it will be confiscated and the parent may pick it up at the office.
4. LUNCH: The faculty has decided to eliminate the specific day on which meat lunches may be brought to school. Meat or dairy may now be brought to school any day (except when there is Pasta lunch - more on that later in the week!). I wish to remind you that meat may not be warmed up in the school's microwave, which is reserved for dairy or pareve, and no food that was not prepared in school, or under acceptable rabbinic supervision, may be heated in the school oven.
Again, we look forward to a great year!
Rabbi Zev Silber
Principal