August 19th, 2024
Welcome Back Swallow Union Families - both returning and new!
As we gear up to start another school year, I wanted to communicate some information to get the year started smoothly.
On Monday, August 26th we welcome back all staff to GDRSD.
On Wednesday, August 28th, we welcome our students in grades 1 through 12 with our preschool and kindergarten students beginning on Thursday, August 29th.
All families have received a welcome letter from their child's teacher along with a supply list. This is always a fun time to get excited about returning to school - new supplies! If this is something that you would like assistance with, please reach out to Mrs. Jarvis (jjarvis@gdrsd.org) directly and we will certainly work with you on this.
Read on to learn about our elementary schools' new start/end times and upcoming dates, introduce new staff to our faculty, the breakfast program & additional items for purchase at lunch, review parent pick up and drop off procedures, Extended Day location, Ti-GRRR Cards and Swallow Union’s Core Values, and information from our PTO.
Parent partnerships and communication are essential to the success of your child(ren) both academically and socially. Please reach out to me or your child’s teacher with any questions or concerns, we would be more than happy to talk or meet with you to discuss and collaborate. Please stay tuned as these newsletters are sent every Friday with information and sharing of what is happening in school!
NEW START/END TIMES
The Elementary Schools (Florence Roche & Swallow Union) have new start and end times:
8:57* am to 3:22 pm - Full-Days
8:57* am to 12:17** pm - Half-Days
*Students are welcomed into the school starting at 8:47 am. This change is a shift of two minutes from previous years.
**Fridays, when a holiday weekend follows, will result in an earlier dismissal time (by 5 minutes). When this occurs, full-day dismissal begins at 3:17 pm, and half-day dismissal at 12:12 pm. Parents are reminded of these changes the evening prior via email notification. Please update your primary email in School Brains to ensure you receive such notification.
IMPORTANT DATES
August 28th - First Day of School Grades 1-12
August 29th - First Day of School PreK & Kindergarten
August 30th - Friday No School
September 2nd - Monday No School - Labor Day Observed
September 6th - Half Day - Dismissal at 12:17 pm
September 19th - PTO General Meeting
September 20th - Friday Half Day - Dismissal at 12:17 pm
September 26th - Open House Grades 1-4
September 27th - Friday Half Day - Dismissal at 12:17 pm
September 27th - PTO Color Run - Evening @ Swallow Union
NEW STAFF:
Please join me in welcoming the following new staff members to Swallow Union and for some, welcome to GDRSD!
Chrissy Conway - Special Education Team Chair
Heidi Delaney - PE Teacher
Adri Esterhuyse - Head Cook in our Kitchen
Kristin Long - Library/Technology Paraprofessional
Jen Marino - 4th Grade Teacher
Samantha White - District Behavior Tech
Sarah Woods, School Counselor
NEW BREAKFAST PROGRAM
GDRSD will offer free breakfast to all students starting after Labor Day Weekend on September 3rd.
Students interested in getting breakfast at school will go to the kitchen upon arrival to select a “Grab and Go” breakfast and bring it to their classrooms to eat. This will ensure students are present for all morning-related tasks including attendance.
More information will be shared in the coming days and you can also check the school website on the dining tab for updates, menu options (including lunch), and your School Buck account.
LUNCH PROGRAM
The state of Massachusetts has approved providing free school meals for all students, regardless of income. This means that all students can get a school lunch without cost.
If a student wishes to get a second lunch they are available for purchase ($2.75) and subject to availability.
Students must have money in their account to purchase a second lunch or water/milk or have cash in hand. Parents can fund their child's accounts through the MY School Bucks app or by bringing in a check or cash to the lunch room or office and the cashier will put the funds on the account immediately.
Milk is free with lunch.
Students may purchase an 8 oz. bottle of water ($0.50) or milk separately ($0.60).
Click here to access the district’s Food Service website.
Lunch menus (FD Meal Planner) are posted through the website and a quick link is here.
PICK UP/DROP OFF PROCEDURES
For families wishing to drive their child(ren) to and from school, we ask that you follow the traffic pattern as you enter the school driveway.
The parent pick up/drop off line needs to stay to the right (buses pull in to the left closest to the church) where you will then turn right in front of the Union Building and follow the road along the side of the school that leads to gym doors.
Car riders will be greeted by staff behind the school and students will enter through the gym doors. Please pull forward and work to support your child(ren) to be ready to hop out of your car (using the passenger door behind the driver seat for safety) without the adult needing to get out of the vehicle. Staff are there to help assist with opening the door and guiding your child out safely. For our younger students, we will use the first few weeks of the school year to help them learn the process and work to build their independence. Our goal is to keep students safe while working to keep the line moving as efficiently as possible to avoid backing up in the front of the school for buses to pull through and keep vehicles off Main Street to avoid blocking traffic.
EXTENDED DAY PROGRAM
GDRSD offers before and after-school programming for our students. At Swallow Union, this program had been housed in the Union Schoolhouse. However, given the building was returned to the town of Dunstable, the Extended Day Program location has been moved to one of the classroom spaces on our 1st floor.
Families dropping off and picking up their children to Extended Day will follow the same route alongside the building as the regular parent drop off/pick up line. The classroom entrance is located across from the red shed - Blue Door #6. There will be a sign noting Extended Day and a doorbell as in years past.
Please reach out to Megan Mastroianni, Director of Extended Day & Community with any questions or concerns. More information can be located on our website HERE.
Ti-GRRR CARDS
G ~ We believe that one can develop a GROWTH mindset and learn new things.
R ~ A RESPECTFUL school community member is considerate of others.
R ~ A RESPONSIBLE school community member takes care of themselves, others, and their environment.
R ~ A RESILIENT school community member takes on challenges, learns from mistakes, and experiences growth through this process.
We are excited to continue ackdowleging students throughout the school when they demonstrate Swallow Union’s Core Values and what it means to be a Ti-GRRR!
PTO NEWS
We still have two positions open - email swallowunionpto@gmail.com if interested.
President: Chrissy McLane
Vice President: Kristina Gannon
Secretary: Carron DeGrass
Treasurer: Tim DiNicola
Teacher Rep: TBA
Digital Marketing Coordinator: Katie Martin
Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator: OPEN
Events Coordination Update - for the upcoming year, we have decided to change things up concerning event coordination. Given the loss of almost half of our families (we will miss you!), we are in greater need of volunteers and came up with an idea to help those who wanted to get involved but weren't sure how. Starting in September, each GDRSD graduating class year (Class of 2035, 2034, etc.) will be assigned 2-3 events that they will be in charge of for all 5 years at SU. For example, rising 2nd graders will be in charge of the book fair until they graduate. Here is our current approach starting with the incoming class in the fall - we're open to ideas!
K (Class of 2037)
Winter Store (Winter)
Pottery Night (Spring)
1st (Class of 2036)
Spring Fling/Tiger Twist (Spring)
SquareOne Art (Fall)
Spirit Wear (Summer and Winter)
2nd (Class of 2035)
Book Fair (Fall and Spring)
Science Fair (Spring)
3rd (Class of 2034)
Monster Mash (Fall)
Restaurant Night (Fall and Spring)
4th (Class of 2033)
Trivia Night (Fall)
Teacher Appreciation Week baskets (Spring)
PTO
Color Run, K Meet the Teacher Night, Chalk the Walk, Stock the Teacher’s Lounge, Community Reading Day, Author Visit
