November 4, 2019

Letter from the Principal – November 2019 

October was filled with some exciting firsts for me as Principal of Alcott!

I had an amazing first experience at the Alcott Turkey Trot last week!  It was a wonderful community building experience coordinated by our very own Mr. Gaudreau.  I especially loved seeing our kindergarteners cheer on their 5th grade buddies and watching everyone push themselves at their own pace to achieve as many laps as possible.  Collectively, Alcott students completed 2,462 laps for a total of 615.5 miles! Once pledges have been collected, we will share the final amount raised for Open Table and the Concord Recreation Scholarship Fund.

I also experienced my first Fall Fest last month. This too was an example of a wonderful community building event for students and their families.  I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with families and seeing how much fun students were having playing games, engaging in crafts, and perusing the book fair.  I was also incredibly impressed with the raffle baskets each classroom created. Thank you to all the parents who contributed to making this event a success.  (And, no, to dispel the rumor I heard circulating, it was not me in disguise in the dunk tank this year!)

I look forward to many more months of fabulous firsts!  Below please find a few reminders as well as a calendar of upcoming events.

Conferences: Conferences are this Wednesday.  I look forward to seeing many of you when you are at school this week to meet with your child’s teacher!

Slight Adjustment to Parent Pick Up Location: In an attempt to ease the congestion that can occur if any bus is running late, we are asking families to stand in a slightly different location than they have been in the past.  We would like to reserve the curb where buses park for bus loading only and shift parent pick up a few feet over to the walkway that runs parallel to the school and perpendicular to the buses.  This shift will help teachers keep their bus students separate from their pick up students. This will be particularly helpful on days when buses are late because it will put a little bit of distance between the late bus lines and parent pick up; currently those groups tend to mingle making it a challenge for teachers to supervise.  Once you have your child(ren), we ask that you move away from the pick up area so that staff know all students are accounted for and that we can release the buses. We will begin this change on Thursday and will have cones and staff out to assist. Thank you for your help in managing a smooth and safe dismissal!

Clarification on Pets and Bikes: In my October newsletter, I made an error in describing past practice about pets and bikes at arrival and dismissal.  I stated that pets and bikes were not allowed at all. However, past practice was simply to keep pets and bikes away from highly trafficked areas at arrival and dismissal.  As such, we ask that you do not bring pets up to or beyond the walkway that runs parallel to the school. With respect to bikes, we ask that you walk them once you get to that same path.  Thank you for your understanding and support!

CMS Coat Drive: Concord Middle School’s Coats for Kids Club is asking for our help collecting coats for Anton’s Cleaners’ 25th annual Coats for Kids drive.  They are accepting winter coats – kids, adults and babies – that are in good wearable condition.  They cannot accept vests, hats, gloves or snow pants. Coats are being collected October 17 through January 9, 2020.

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