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Current PTA Newsletter
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The Principal's Folder WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL! FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK: MRS. CHRISTINE SMITHDear Parents, On behalf of the faculty and staff of Gunpowder Elementary, welcome back to a new school year, where we will continue to plant the seeds of success to ensure that our students are appropriately challenged and supported in a safe and nurturing environment. I would like to extend an extra special welcome to our new students and their families who have joined our school community. We look forward to getting to know you and making your first experiences at Gunpowder happy ones. Gunpowder has been extremely busy this summer getting our school ready for you and your children. We are excited to be getting ready to welcome the students back to school August 25th. “21st Century Education: Making it Relevant, Getting it Right”, is an appropriate theme for the 2008-09 school year. At Gunpowder, we have always had an “open door” policy. We understand how extremely important it is to keep the lines of communication open. So in an effort to further invite parent input, we are very excited to announce the date of our first “Principal’s Tea” of the 2008-09 school year. On September 18th at 2:00 p.m., we welcome parents to join us in the cafeteria for an informal opportunity to stop by and chat about the school and have your questions answered. This will be the first of many “Principal’s Teas”, and we will schedule them throughout the year at varying times of the day to accommodate parent’s varying schedules. If you are unable to attend on September 18th, please consider joining us at the next tea. Gunpowder is a wonderful school because of the wonderful community you have created around this building. If you think about it, parents are directly responsible for the success of a school. This is not to take away from the work of an exceptionally talented staff, but they are really here because of you. It starts with families that have high standards and values who send their children to school every day ready to learn and contribute to the class. Those children begin to set the standard for the school based on what they have learned at home. The success of the school then grows and the best teachers are attracted. The staff then grows in expertise helping the students perform. Take credit for your parenting skills because we are taking credit for our teaching skills. Together, we are a great team. Not all of the success at Gunpowder can be attributed to the talented teaching staff, motivated students, and supportive families. Our volunteers play a huge part. If you are looking for a way to become an active member in our school, please consider becoming a volunteer or joining our School Improvement Team (SIT). Our first school improvement meeting will be on September 22nd at 3:45 pm in the library. If you have any questions regarding volunteering, please do not hesitate to call me at 410-887-5121. I look forward to working with you and your children and encourage you to become involved as we strive to provide the best educational experience possible in a safe and nurturing environment. We are also hosting a “Meet ‘n Greet” for new families to Gunpowder for the first time on Friday, August 15th at 2:00 pm in the library. The PTA president and administration will be happy to answer any questions that you may have during this time. At Gunpowder, we hold ourselves to high performance standards. We encourage you to challenge your child to continue to excel in their educational endeavors. We will continue to provide an outstanding instructional program. We will provide students with a daily regimen of new content knowledge, concepts, skills, and academic rigor. Expect that your child will experience academic success. We expect that your child will grow and develop in a learning environment of love, respect, and encouragement and will continue to excel. We expect each of these events and much more as we rise to “Making it Relevant” for the 2008-2009 school year. I hope that your summer days have been chock full of exciting family events, and that it brought you time to relax, and time for your family to be together. We all need some time to rest and step back from the hectic pace of August to June. I am sure many of the students will have camp and vacation experiences to share. It is hard to believe that the summer break is almost over. However, this peaceful time will soon be disrupted with television commercials and newspaper circulars inspiring the “Back-To-School” frame of mind. And with this mailing you will begin the perennial “Completion of School Forms”. Included in this packet is a great deal of information, along with papers and forms to read and return to school. These papers and forms are important for the efficiency and effectiveness of our school as well as the safety of your children. Please take time to review all the information enclosed and complete the forms carefully. Your child will need to bring these forms to school with them on Monday, August 25th. We will continue with the tradition of inviting students into the school to “Find Your Seat Night” on Thursday, August 21st from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Although teachers are not required to be present for this event, it is the perfect time for you and your child to visit the school and become familiar with their classroom. Back-To-School Night will be held on Tuesday, September 2nd at 6:30 p.m. Please continue to help us meet our goals by becoming an active member of our school community and participate in the many events offered throughout the year, attend School Improvement Team meetings, or volunteer at school or home. In closing, I would like to tell you that your child’s safety and his/her education is my top priority. I look forward to working with you and your children as we strive to provide the best educational experience possible at Gunpowder. If you have any concerns at any time, I encourage you to work with your child’s teacher to resolve any situation. If you continue to have concerns, please contact me immediately so we can work together to ensure a safe and orderly learning environment for all students. I am delighted to be your child’s principal for the 2008-09 school year and I look forward to working with each one of you as we continue to build a school program that is “focused on quality and committed to educational excellence.” Here’s to continuing to make “Gunpowder a Great Place to Grow”. ~Mrs. Smith, Principal
To view Principal Smith's August 2008 letter (Adobe .pdf) in its entirety, click here. |
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