December 16, 2011
Dear Parents,
This week flew by in a combination of budget and board meetings, and concerts. I am thankful for the talents of Ms. Bernstein and Ms. Wood, our music teachers. The concerts were sweet. I never tire of the excitement of the students as they perform, and of the incredible talent they display. As a child, I was terrified of speaking or performing publicly, so I marvel at our students’ comfort on stage.
This year, three of our School Board members will complete their terms in office. Debbie Carter, Tom Kennedy and Susan McGrath have served this community for years, and deserve thanks from the school and community for their hard work. We now need to replace them. Please seriously consider volunteering as a School Board member. In order to do so, you need to be elected by the community on Town Meeting Day. A petition must be picked up from the Town Clerk’s office and then returned with signatures from 25 residents of the town. (This is quite easy and can be accomplished by spending a half hour in the lobby of the school on any morning or afternoon.) The completed petition must be submitted to the Town Clerk’s office by January 30 at 5:00 PM.
Tom Christensen and the School Board have mapped out a process to search for a new HES Principal. They are inviting and community members to a public forum on January 5 at 6:30 PM in our library. The purpose of the discussion is to gather input on the characteristics that you would like to see in a new principal. This information will help the search committee select applicants. I hope that you will plan to attend. I also hope that you will bring your children to participate in this process.
We had an exciting week in the library with author visits! Two authors made visits via Skype. The students thoroughly enjoyed talking in real time to an author on the big screen. Todd Parr, author of I like to Read,, and It’s OK To Be Different, and Mary Amato, author of Chicken of the Family described how to become an author, what it is like to write books, and how they got their ideas. Students loved it. Today author Jan Reynolds visits in person! Mrs. Hill has several additional authors scheduled to visit classes electronically during January and February.
Have a wonderful weekend. I will start baking in preparation of the holidays. My children are both planning to visit over break and will actually overlap their visits for 24 hours! It has been a long time since we have been together as a family. Since this is the last newsletter before the holiday break, and the last newsletter of 2011, I wish you peace and happiness. As always, give your child a hug for me.
Judy Callens
