Welcome Back from Tony Byers

Dear Families,

I hope everyone had an excellent summer. Here at Graham and Parks, we have been busy with a number of larger and smaller plant maintenance projects. When students return in September, the school will have a new roof and a new playground. I suspect students will be more interested in the playground than the roof. We have also replaced the flooring in several classrooms and created an ADA compliant adult restroom and a more accessible front entrance. In addition, we have taken advantage of an empty building to complete many smaller maintenance and repair tasks. Some work will be ongoing through September. I am grateful to the plant maintenance department for all their work this summer.

I announced a number of new hires last year, but as we move from looping to single graded classrooms, I thought it would be helpful to include a staff list with this letter (please see attached). As you may recall, we are excited that long-time Graham and Parks kindergarten teacher Claudie Jean-Baptiste will be our new Assistant Principal. To replace her in kindergarten, we hired Jacqueline Romero, who previously taught kindergarten at the Baldwin School before taking some time off to complete a degree in educational technology. Our other new classroom teachers are Drew Thorne-Stewart in second grade and Frances Brandt in first grade. Amanda Robinson will be our new SEI Reading Interventionist. Amanada previously taught at Graham and Parks as an extended term substitute teacher. We have also hired a number of new assistant teachers and interns. I know you will join me in welcoming our new staff to Graham and Parks.

One additional plant maintenance note: We renumbered the classrooms at Graham and Parks to follow a more logical order. We also moved several Sheltered English Immersion and Language-Based Learning Disability classrooms. Due to these changes, classroom numbers you received last year may no longer be accurate. Please consult the attached staff list for new room numbers.

Click here to find the G&P Handy Reference. It is a shorter version of our Family Handbook, which can be found on our school’s website. Also included is the Graham and Parks Family Calendar. The calendar outlines important dates for the upcoming school year. I would like to highlight a few especially important upcoming dates:

  • The first day of school is September 3rd.

  • Kindergarten begins on September 4th, with an orientation on September 4th (further information will be sent to kindergarten families).

  • Back-to-School Curriculum Night is the evening of September 18th from 5:30 – 7:30PM for all grades. At Back-to-School Curriculum Night, you will join your child’s teacher to hear about their classroom, the curriculum, and how you can support your child’s learning.

  • Our International Potluck and Dance Festival is on October 3rd from 5:30-7:30PM. The food is always amazing!

Also, take a look at the dates for Steering Committee and Friends of G&P meetings and join us if you can!

We are looking forward to a great year ahead.

All best,

Tony Byers
Principal

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