Principal's Message
September 3, 2024
Welcome to the start of the 2024-2025 school year at Morse Street! Everyone has been working very hard over the summer to be sure we are polished, scrubbed and ready for the coming school year. We are very excited to welcome a few new faces to our team and are looking forward to a fantastic new school year. If you have any questions, please call the office and either Michelle Bosse or Beth Wunder will be more than happy to help you as you navigate the school year. We have enjoyed our ‘Meet and Greets’ and feel complete now that we have students back in the building.
By now you should have received information about logging into Powerschool. This is important so that you can update your child's contact information, medical information and permissions. You must log in to your child’s portal and review and update any necessary information by Friday September 6th, 2024. Together with this letter, we have included other important information. Please take the time to read through everything.
School Day
Regular attendance and punctuality is important for our students to settle quickly and maximize engagement in their learning. Students are able to go to their classrooms starting at 8:25a.m. Our school day ends at 3:15p.m. Students will load buses by this time and If you are collecting your child from school, you will drive your car through our pick up loop at the front of Morse Street. You will drive your car through our loop and adults will bring your child to you. Please do not get out of your car unless you really have to, as this slows things down for everyone.
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Morning Drop Off PreK -2
If you plan on dropping your child at school instead of using the bus, please use the curbside drop-off during arrival. Say your ‘goodbyes’ inside the car and an adult will greet your child between 8:25 am and 8:35am. This system works best if parents do not get out of the car at all. Please make sure you have said all your goodbyes before you get to the front of the line. If you would like a little longer at the transitions it is best to park in the LL Bean parking lot and walk your child to the front of the school and adults will greet your child there.
Attendance
Consistent school attendance is important to your child’s success, both now and in the future. We are excited to see your child at school everyday, as the social, emotional and academic learning that occurs in the classroom and around school cannot be replicated. Research suggests that if children are not reading on grade level by 3rd grade, the likelihood of them dropping out later is high. Our data suggests that students who are deemed chronically absent, missing 10% of school do not make the expected growth and once gaps form it is very difficult to catch up.
Please consider the school calendar as you plan family vacations, if you are taking your child out of school for more than 1 day, you need to submit a planned absence form for approval prior to the trip. If your child is truly unwell and has a fever, is vomiting or has diarrhea, they should stay home. If you are unsure please feel free to check in with our school nurses. If your child is out for 3 or more consecutive days due to illness we require a note from your child’s physician.
Change of Clothes
Please make sure that all children have two extra full sets of clothing in their backpack at all times. Be sure to change this with the seasons. We encourage our children to maximize play opportunities outside and often this means getting wet or muddy! It is essential to have a change of clothes in case of accidents, spills and creative adventures!
Getting Involved
As many of you know, family involvement is very important to our school. We have a very active Parent Teacher Club that plans events and raises funds to enrich the learning experience of our students. Our volunteer program provides opportunities for parents to work in classrooms on a regular basis or chaperone the occasional field trip. We also have projects that can be worked on at home. We will be welcoming parent volunteers into school as soon as classrooms are settled. If you think you might be interested in volunteering later in the school year, you can watch an on-line video linked on our website that provides information about our schools. Once completed, you can come to the office and fill out the confidentiality/background check form. We welcome you to take an active role in your child's education and appreciate your participation and involvement. Both the video and the forms need to be completed BEFORE you may volunteer or chaperone for a field trip and should be done well in advance.
Communication
Teachers send newsletters home almost every week. In addition, a newsletter is sent from the Principal that shares whole school news and events with the Morse Street Community. Please contact the office if you are not receiving electronic communication from us. Updates and reminders are also posted on our school Instagram page, so don’t forget to follow us (@Morse_Street)!
School office hours are from 8:00am to 4:30pm. As classroom instruction will start promptly at 8:35a.m. please make sure to have your child at school by 8:25a.m.. This will give your child time to say hello and take care of his/her morning responsibilities and allow the class to start the day together. Dismissal for students who are leaving with their parents will start just before 3:15pm and students riding the buses will leave at 3:15pm. If you need to dismiss your child early for a medical appointment please avoid 2:45 - 3:15pm. The office gets busy at this time and our focus needs to be on the safety of all students. The school district calendar includes two Professional Compensation Days (PC) and 4 Professional Learning Days (PLD). Students will not be attending school on these days. As well as the PL days, there will be 2 early release days (dismissal on these days is at 11:50 a.m.). Freeport Recreation and Community Education usually plans special programs for PL days. Contact that office at 865-6171 for more information on these or any other after school programs.
We are excited and look forward to the year ahead of us. If you have questions, concerns, or suggestions throughout the year, please don't hesitate to contact your child’s teacher or either of us.
Sincerely
Julie Nickerson, Principal
Amanda Marsden, Assistant Principal