August 2010
Dear Lynch Families,
I would like to welcome you all back to school this year. As new principal, I’m just thrilled to take over the reigns of Dr. Goodwin who did such a great job during his tenure here.
As I have been settling in during the summer, I have had lots of time to meet people in small settings and have really loved getting a glimpse of what the Lynch School is all about. (Though I still look forward to meeting many, many more.) First off, (I probably don’t have to tell you this) Lynch School is a truly special place! People care about people here. Whether my discussions have included details about special care that a student may need in order to be successful or if it included the care that staff share for one another, I have been so impressed! I feel very lucky to have been brought here!
We have had a lot of traffic here this summer. Several summer camps called Lynch their home and with Administration Offices down the hall, I’ve learned first-hand that there is always something going on at Lynch! Many of our staff have been working or professional development activities and many of them have also been the facilitators of professional training. We have a very talented crew!
During my first few weeks (and truly months) here I will continue to listen, observe and meet with people to identify what works well and what things that although working, could really be improved upon. I’m sure that the staff and the Lynch Parents’ Association will assist me in their roles and together, we can forge ahead and build upon the success that is so obvious around here!
We have some new staff here and also some very recent staffing changes. Michele Mafara was hired as our third kindergarten teacher moving up from her former pre-school position. Karen Wilkerson will be switching classrooms and moving from part-time preschool teacher to a full-time placement. As a result, Barbara Donlon, who as served in a number of roles here at Lynch, was hired to serve as part-time preschool teacher. We also have several new teaching assistants: Laura Connors, Nicole Costello, Elizabeth Durant, Jane Ettenhoffer, Megan Harvey, Lauren Holmes, Courtney Sigsbury, and Carly Wilson. We are so happy to have them as part of our team! In addition, we have a new ELL teacher Misha Barton who has moved from Muraco School and will share her time between here and Lincoln School.
The Lynch Parents’ Association (LPA) will host a coffee for parents during the first three days of school in the Lynch Library at 9 am. LPA Co-Presidents Hillary Baker and Michelle Stewart and I will be there to welcome you and discuss the upcoming year. All parents (pre-K-grades 5) are invited to attend. The LPA is a great organization committed to supporting our students and staff and I would urge you to get involved! Whether your schedule is flexible or not, there is always some event or project that needs an extra set of hands…we’re happy to have you. The LPA will also hold their first meeting at 9 am on Friday, September 17th in the Lynch Library. The LPA will continue to update you on the many wonderful events that they sponsor throughout the school year.
The first two days of school, September 8 and 9th are early release days and students will be dismissed at 11:45 on those days. On Friday, September 10th students in grades 1-5 will have a full day of school and will be dismissed at the regular dismissal time of 2:50 p.m. Students should typically arrive to school between 8:30-8:45 and report to the gym (grades 2, 3, 4) or to the Dining Room (grades K, 1, 5). We do have adult coverage from 8:30 until 8:45 but if you require early morning care, we will offer it through the Winchester Recreation Dept. please call Mrs. Bonnie Hourican in the office for more information.
During our opening week, kindergarten students will enjoy a staggered start. Kindergarten families were sent their child’s specific start date in a separate mailing. On Friday, September 10th all kindergarten children will attend and will be dismissed at their daily routine of 12:30 (Friday dismissal time). The following week they will follow their normal routine of either a 12:30 dismissal or 2:50 dismissal.
Although new to the dismissal routings, I would like to remind Lynch families, to go over your child’s routine in the afternoon so that they know where they will be going. In addition, please remember that our school hallways are busy and especially busy at dismissal time, so we ask parents to not enter the school building to wait for them. Thank you so much for understanding that. The traffic circle on the pre-school side does not allow parking on its inner circle and outer circle parking is for live traffic only. Please also remember that handicapped spots are reserved for our families who require their use and can not be used even briefly for those who don’t require it. I am sure you realize that all of our safety rules are designed to keep all students safe. We will work together during the first few weeks of school to review previous safety rules and add to them as necessary.
As part of the welcome back packets that will go home with your child during the first week of school, you will be receiving information about the LPA Go-Direct Campaign, an Administrative Data Sheet, health update form, free and reduced lunch forms for each of your children. The data sheet is the most accurate information that we have in our database regarding your child. Please update this sheet by writing on it and returning it to school as soon as you receive it. In addition, the health form is very helpful to our school nurse, Mrs. Mary Murphy. Any information will be added and is extremely important to keep up-to-date records. Thank you in advance for completing the forms for each of your children.
A couple of quick notes regarding lunch: Eileen Corsetti, Lead Dining Room Attendant, will be selling lunch($3.00) and milk ($.60) before school during the first week of school and weekly thereafter.
Again, I am so thrilled to be a part of the wonderful Lynch PreK-5 community. I would like to thank Mrs. Bonnie Hourican for working so hard to get the office and all the supplies/paperwork up and running. As a fairly new secretary to the Lynch School, she is a huge asset and we are so lucky to have her.
If you have any comments, questions, or concerns throughout the year, please do not hesitate to contact me at 781-721-7016 x136 or email me at ckelley@winchester.k12.ma.us. On behalf of the amazing Lynch staff, I would like to wish all of you a wonderful school year.
Sincerely,
Chris Kelley, principal
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