August 26, 2019
Dear Parent/Guardian,
Breaking News!
The first day of school is Wednesday, August 28 for students in Grades 1-12. Kindergarten starts on Tuesday, September 3. Preschool begins on Thursday, September 5.
Welcome Back to School! For our new families, a very warm welcome to you! You have made the right choice for your child’s public education. Our teachers are outstanding, and we pride ourselves on academic excellence.
We are all very excited to begin the 2019-2020 school year. The administrators and teachers have worked very hard this summer preparing for the start of school. We expect every child in the school district to thrive under our care and you should, too. Please never hesitate to contact your child’s teacher to discuss your concerns. Teachers also love to receive positive feedback!
Safety is our first priority. For the last five years, the District Safety Team has met monthly to ensure we are best prepared should we have an emergency. The Safety Team is comprised of Ayer & Shirley Police & Fire Departments and district administration. Each school has a Building Safety Team, which meets monthly. Please refer here for general safety guidelines and procedures. This document is also on the website under the Parent Tab. Throughout the school year, we will practice safety drills and you will be notified by the principal subsequent to each drill.
Through the hard work of many in the district, we developed a District Strategic Plan to guide us for the next three years. It is focused on the following Strategic Objectives:
- Teaching All Students
- Educator Effectiveness
- Social Emotional Learning
- District & School Culture
- Family & Community Partnerships
How will we support these strategic objectives? In addition to the robust curriculum and abundance of resources already implemented in our schools, below are new programs and innovations:
Focus on Social Emotional Learning - Together with you, we want to build strong skills in students on self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making.
- Therapy Dog - Our new School Psychologist, Beth Foley, comes with her therapy dog, Lady. Much research supports the use of a therapy dog with adolescents as having positive outcomes. Ms. Foley is assigned to the middle and high school. More information will be sent to you on how the dog will be used with students. Please see the policy on therapy dogs approved by the Ayer Shirley Regional School Committee.
- Early Learning Center (ELC) - All three pre-school classes are located at Page Hilltop along with Family Partnership and Ayer Child Care.
- Early Childhood Pathway at Ayer Shirley Regional High School - Juniors may take two dual enrollment courses in articulation with Mount Wachusett. Senior year they complete their practicum at the ELC.
- Implementation of a Developmental Guidance Curricula - The school counselors in all schools will teach lessons in the classrooms to all students in the domains of academic/technical, personal and social, and workplace readiness.
To keep you updated on district/school happenings, we will continue sending out the Weekly Update every Monday at 4:00pm. Be sure we have your current email. On Friday, August 23, 2019, we sent an email notification to all parents/guardians requesting you update your contact information in the Parent Portal. Please be sure to complete this prior to the start of school. If you need assistance, please contact the Administrative Assistant at your child’s school.
News flashes and all the great happenings in our schools throughout the year are posted on our website at www.asrsd.org, on Twitter, and on Facebook. Please consider joining Twitter; many teachers post information on Twitter. My handle is @MaryMalone7. Please sign up here to receive posts on Dr. Malone’s Blog.
In the coming days, your school principal will send out information on your particular school and always feel free to contact them.
On behalf of all in the school district, our best wishes to all of our families for a pleasant and wonderful school year.
Most sincerely,
Dr. Mary Malone
Superintendent of Schools
