It's that time again! Time to come back to where you belong. We hope your summer vacation has been relaxing and enjoyable. We've missed you and are excited about the new school year. As we begin the new year, it seems that the end-of-year pressures that may have plagued us in June may seem quite inconsequential. Though every school year presents its own challenges, I anticipate that the 2008-2009 school year will be much different--- but one of our best, yet!

Many of the important things that will be different this school year are very much related to the new construction that is happening on our campus. As you know, the Metrowest Rebuild is scheduled to take 2 years to complete, and as a result, we will do many things differently to enhance the safety and supervision of our students and employees. For example: Traffic patterns during arrival and dismissal may change periodically depending on where the construction crew is working. Public parking zones may be relocated to an area further away from construction, offices or classrooms and all visitors must continue to check in the office for a badge prior to walking directly to classrooms or the cafeteria.

What a nice feeling it is to begin a new year having earned our 7th "A" from the DOE! Congratulations to our students on their monumental achievement! Their hard work and your support of our teachers and your children have been consistent throughout our many "journeys" together and I am confident that you will continue to support our students and staff so that we may meet and overcome the challenges and changes that we will face during reconstruction.

This year our school theme is "Building our Future…Today!"
Starting a new school year gives us the opportunity to put on our hard hats, "construct" new plans, "renovate and expand" existing ones, "design" new strategies, and implement new ideas---all with your support. Please make it a priority to become an ADDitions Volunteer and/or join PTA, PLC or SAC. We need and encourage your support. Research suggests that students whose parents are actively involved in their child's education, perform at a higher level as is reflected in our school's "A" status. I am proud of our teachers and students for the achievements they have made and I thank you for your continued support.

In the face of rising costs and declining resources Metrowest will need additional financial support from each family in the way of a $20 donation, per child, to help keep our school nurse. Twenty dollars per year, seems like a small price to pay for the peace of mind of having immediate health care readily available for your child should it become necessary. The Nurse's presence on campus may even prevent you from having to pick your child up from school for a doctor's visit if certified medical professional is not available on campus. We are privileged to even be able to have this discussion because with recent budgetary concerns, Health Central has greatly reduced the number of nurses they can provide to schools in the area. Due to your diligence and concern for the care of our children we have been able to be a partner in good standing with the Health Central School Nurse Program for many years. Please make checks payable to the Health Central Foundation and ensure your check is delivered to your child's teacher for documentation purposes. We cannot make this happen without you and we appreciate your continued support with this effort each year.

A concern that relates to our construction and our nurse is that we always have current information on file should we need to contact you. Current contact numbers and addresses for you and any secondary contacts are crucial should we need to contact you in an emergency situation and for our phone information distribution system, Connect-Ed. To ensure that we are always able to reach you should there be an emergency or important announcement for a school event, please update your address and phone numbers if they change.

I am looking forward to spending another year with you, building relationships and constructing new memories. This year will be one full of challenges and opportunities but more importantly, it will be one where we can grow together for the betterment of our children. I hope you are looking forward to this school year as much as I am.