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Dear Parents,
As we move into the weekend, I wanted to provide some information about the school calendar and upcoming events:
Calendar
At the recent BOE meeting, the Board voted to make changes to the current school calendar by designating the last two days of school for teacher professional development and non-attendance days for students. Barring no additional emergency closings, the last day of school for students would be June 20th. Like last year, the last three school days for students would be early dismissal days.
In addition, the Board voted to set the 2018 Newtown High School graduation date for June 18th at 4:00 p.m. at the O'Neill Center at WestConn and the Newtown Middle School Moving Up ceremonies for June 19th at 4:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. in the Newtown High School gymnasium.
Seniors will be asked to come in on June 19th (for a short program) in order to fulfill mandated school days in alignment with the State of Connecticut. Seniors normally return the day following graduation to pick up their diplomas (as these are not handed out on stage). We will provide details for seniors as we get closer to that date.
Reunification Drill - NMS
Newtown Public Schools, in coordination with the Newtown Police Department (NPD), the Newtown Emergency Communications Center (NECC), All-Star Transportation, Raptor Technologies, and the Newtown Youth Academy (NYA), Newtown Public Schools will conduct a controlled "evacuation/student-parent reunification" exercise on Wednesday, April 11, 2018. The exercise will begin at Newtown Middle School at 8:30 am, and conclude at the Newtown Youth Academy by 11:30 a.m. as part of our mission to continuously assess and improve our District and school emergency operations plan. Participants include parent and student volunteers from Newtown Middle School, along with district and school administration, faculty, and staff. Officials from the State of Connecticut (Department of Emergency Management & Homeland Security) will be on site to observe and evaluate the exercise.
The District would like to assure all parents and guardians that the exercise on Wednesday, April 11th is only a DRILL. While it is possible that there will be increased emergency vehicle traffic, pedestrian activity, and noise in the vicinity of Newtown Middle School at the onset of the exercise, all will be alleviated once the exercise progresses to the Newtown Youth Academy. We thank you all for your cooperation, and your continued support for the security and safety of students and staff in the Newtown Public Schools.
The Arts
I hope many of you get a chance to see the Newtown Middle School production of Alice in Wonderland, Jr. (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday matinee). It should be entertaining for the whole family.
Finally, I want to thank so many community members and staff who have continued to send respectful and supportive emails (knowing Mother Nature has been tough this year), but also those of you who have offered insightful and honest feedback on other issues we have dealt with since the beginning of the year. I have continued to meet with PTAs from our schools around the 2018-19 budget, but please know that you can contact me on any subject at work 203-426-7621 or on my cell phone 203-360-2566.
Regards,
Dr. Lorrie Rodrigue
Superintendent
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