Principal Newsletter

Friday, March 12, 2021

March 12, 2021 Newsletter

Dates to Remember:

  • Wednesday, March 17- Family Internet Safety Program- 6:00-7:00
  • Thursday, March 18th & Friday, March 19th -- Early Release Parent Conferences-NOON DISMISSAL

Dear Gill Families, Caregivers, and Staff,

As you may have heard on the news, Commissioner of Education Jeff Riley is directing school districts to go back to full time, in-person instruction, 5 days each week beginning in early April. While the Commissioner is allowing for families to choose to remain remote for this year, we are strongly encouraging all students to return to campus full time, in the month ahead. It is important for families to understand that when students return to full time in-person learning, remote instruction will not be as robust as it had been during the fall and winter. The shift to full time instruction will require significant adjustments, including the possibility that remote students may have different teachers and an increased amount of asynchronous instruction.

In order to assist with our planning and helping us to communicate a specific timeline for the return of all students to school, we need families to respond to a few questions, by 8AM Thursday March 18th:   Return to Full Time In School Learning Survey

I’d like to welcome several new staff members to Gill Elementary! Christina Thurston is the new Administrative Assistant, who replaced Marie Hutchinson. She is the new friendly face of the school! Please introduce yourself when you see her as she is trying to learn how everything works here and learning everyone’s names.

I’m pleased to also share that I’ve hired two staff members to support students with special learning needs. Stefani Leonczyk has been hired as a permanent part-time special education teacher. Son Hui May has been hired as a long-term substitute to cover Brittany Cooley’s leave of absence. I’d like to thank all of our new staff for their positive energy and for joining our team!

Conferences are scheduled for Thursday, March 18, and Friday, March 19. All students, grades K-6 will be released at noon. Lunches will be distributed for students to take home.

Have a wonderful weekend!
Sincerely,
Lisa Desjarlais