Welcome Back!

The excitement at Clough began with the arrival of the first yellow bus and continued until every child stepped off the bus smiling, ready to meet their new teacher and their classmates.  It is wonderful having the students and staff back. Our start of the year went extremely well.

Our Kindergarten Orientations and Pre-K Greet and Meet were held Wednesday, August 29th. Every child had an opportunity to meet their teacher and to become familiar with their classroom. The kindergarteners even got to ride on a bus with their parents. It was such a wonderful experience for them.

Special thanks to the PTO and all those who supported our Golf Classic Tournament last May. The funds from the golf event went to purchasing 7 LCD projectors, 2 Smart Boards and 2 IPADs. The teachers are eager to begin using them with their students. We greatly appreciate your support in assisting with our technology needs.  Open House for Pre-K, Kindergarten, Grade 1 & 2 students will be on September 18^th and for grades 3 and 4 it will be held on September 19^th.

We look forward to an exciting year working with our students, parents, and community members. We value and encourage parent and community volunteers. Working together as one team focusing on providing our students with the best education possible is what we strive for and with your help we will achieve this goal. “One, team, One Goal, No Limits”.

Dear Clough Community,

I cannot believe school starts in less than a week. I am so excited to have the children back! It’s been quiet here without them. I look forward to seeing their smiling faces and hearing all about their summer adventures.

Although the teachers have been in throughout the summer to set up their classrooms and prepare curriculum for their new students, they officially return to school on Monday August 27^th for a full in-service day. As an FYI, the school will be closed to parents and students on this day. Students in grades one through four will start the new 2012-2013 school year on Tuesday, August 28^th.  Students in preschool and kindergarten will have their “Meet and Greet” on Wednesday, August 29^th and they will officially start school on August 30^th.  There will be no school on Friday, August 31^st and Monday, September 3^rd in recognition of Labor Day.

I am pleased to introduce a few new teachers and share some changes in our staffing at Clough this year. Alexis Kornblum has been hired as our new art teacher, Margarita Mojica is our new Second Grade Spanish Immersion teacher and Jackie Nelson will be our new fourth grade teacher ( which thankfully has brought our class sizes down from 28 to 21 students).  Maureen O’Neil will be returning to Clough as a second grade teacher. Becky Pilkington will be teaching Lauren Poxon’s first grade class for the year while she is out on maternity leave.  Rene Smith has been appointed as the Extended Day teacher and Marcy Verrone will be the Extended Day Aide.

          I would like to inform you that in mid-September there will be a change in our district on how student lunches and milk are purchased. We will be introducing a new system whereby parents will be able to charge and recharge their card either on line or by sending a check to school.  Lunch tokens will continue to be accepted during the transition period.  Dianne Braga, our food service specialist, will be sharing more information with you in the next few weeks.

          I look forward to another wonderful and productive year with your and your children.

Best Regards,

Janice Gallagher