Start of School Letter from Mr. Shea & Ms. Conklin

This is the same letter that the Crocker Farm office sent out earlier in Aug.  

Dear Parents/Guardians,

Ms. Conklin and I would like to warmly welcome you to the 2015-2016 school year at Crocker Farm School. Although our building is quieter than usual, I can tell you that many of our teachers are back at work, diligently preparing classrooms for the beginning of the school. In addition, Mr. Stedman and his custodial team are cleaning, polishing and shining the entire school.

Today, Wednesday August 19, Ms. Aldrich mailed a placement card to the home of all three hundred and seventy-five students enrolled in grades K-6. I would expect that card to arrive at your home sometime on Thursday or Friday of this week. We spent many hours reviewing the placement of our students. Please know that teacher placement is final. We will only consider adjustments if there are serious extenuating circumstances that you think need to be considered.

Our classroom line-up for 2015-2016 is as follows:

Kindergarten: Ms. McCloskey, Ms. Newcomb and Ms. Pratt (3 classrooms)

1^st grade: Ms. Bartolini and Ms. Donoghue (2 classrooms)|
2^nd grade: Ms. Carson, Mr. Lefebvre and Ms. Mattone (3 classrooms)
3^rd grade: Ms. Joyce, Ms. Perkins and Ms. Robinson (3 classrooms)
4^th grade: *Ms. Coley and Ms. Dougherty, Ms. Moriarty and Ms. Radtke (3 classrooms)
5^th grade: Ms. Donovan, Ms. Goodwin-Brown, and  *Mr. Hughes and Mr. Borrell (3 classrooms)
6^th grade: *Ms. Harvey and Ms. Millay, and Mr. Prather (2 classrooms)

*We have three co-taught classrooms in place for next year.  In these classrooms, two teachers, a classroom teacher and special education teacher, will both share teaching responsibilities.   Our school district is moving towards a more inclusive model to meet the needs of all students in the classroom.  Last school year and this summer, these teachers took part in additional trainings and workshops.  More to come on our work with this teaching model.

·         First Day of School for grades 1-6: Wednesday September 2.

·         First Day of School for Kindergarten: Friday September 4.

·         Bus schedules are busily being prepared. During the week of August 24 routes will be posted on the arps.org website, as well as printed in both the Daily Hampshire Gazette and Amherst Bulletin.

We look forward to seeing all of our students very soon. Please do not hesitate to call the school if you have any questions (362-1600).

Best for now,
Mr. Shea and Ms. Conklin