April Newsletter

April 1, 2019 Dear Parents / Guardians / Friends of GF / JWL, We have made it to Spring! I hope everyone is enjoying the additional sunshine and warmer temperatures! It is indeed an exciting time of year! If you have a Kindergartener beginning with us for the 2019-20 school year, please contact Mrs. Davis, in the Gales Ferry main office, ASAP to schedule a screening appointment for your child - available dates are May 7, 8 and 14. We are very excited that our PBIS program is progressing well - behaviors have improved and referrals have decreased. As always, I want to thank our PBIS leadership team for their diligence and collaboration: Ms. Turetsky, Mrs. Armstrong, Mrs. Miner, Mrs. MacCall, Mrs. Longino, Mrs. Hansen, Mrs. Malone and Mrs. Shaughnessy. As a reminder, the following is our PBIS celebration policy: Students who receive three minor office referrals and / or one major office referral in a particular month will participate in an alternate activity which will be supervised by staff members. The alternate activity is not a further punishment, but rather an opportunity to participate in a reflective program ultimately designed to allow students to make improved behavior choices moving forward. The next PBIS celebration will be in late April - we will inform students and their families and will upload an announcement on the homepage when the date is finalized. Here are a few highlights for the month of April: Upcoming Events: April 4/3 - Paraprofessional Appreciation Day 4/8 - PTO Meeting, 5:30, GFS Media Center 4/11 - Imagine That Day (PK - 6) 4/12 - Early dismissal for students / PD for staff 4/12 - Wear purple to support military children 4/15 - 4/19 - Spring Break - no school for students and staff 4/23 - SBAC testing commences for grades 3 - 6 4/24 - Administrative Assistants Day 4/26 - Colonel Rally, 2:10, Gymnasium I hope all is well with everyone! Sincerely, Andrew R. Tripaldi Principal