From the Desk of the Principal

August 18, 2009

Dear Families,

We have had quite a busy summer here.  The noise of progress is all around.  This is a brief note to bring you up to speed.  Mr. Comiciotto and Dick Cilley have worked hard to put the walls, panels and doors in the necessary portable classrooms.  The gym is almost empty as we have moved classroom items into the portable classrooms.  Our old school has been completely overhauled to allow for the framing of the new spaces.   As you walk inside, you have a feel for our new space already. The fastest way to share with you all what this looks like is to go to our website at www.islesborocentralschool.org.  I have included a map of the site to begin to get everyone situated with our new school setting.  For fun, I have plans on having the students create portable classroom names, mascots and signs in order to get us more bonded and acclimated to our new surroundings.  This will be a great, but, challenging year. 

First day of School:

The first day of school for students will be Thursday, September 3rd.  We will make bus information available before the first day.  There have only been a few adjustments due to the increase in magnet students and the housing of K-4 at the ICC.

New Hirings:

We have hired Michael McCoy from Chicago, Illinois to be our new PE/Health teacher and Athletic Director.

Connie Leach will be in charge of anything to do with buses and ferry runs as our transportation coordinator for year.

Judy Smith has been hired as the full time Special Education Ed. Tech. and will be spending her time in the kindergarten - second grade classroom with Nancy Wuori.

Lunch Program Changes:

Please see the included lunch program notice in regards to the new approach to the lunch payment process.  We have assumed almost $8,000 in debt under the old system over the past four years and we needed to address this situation from a different angle.  The new payment system will be a 'pay as you go' approach and no charges will be allowed starting September 3rd.

Construction Site Concerns:

Under the current situation, construction will be ongoing throughout the upcoming year.  Safety is our utmost concern.  An adult needs to supervise any student walking in the construction zone area which is located in between the portables and the Kinnicutt Center.

The office is located in the second portable by the kitchen.

In an effort to maintain a safe construction area, the following conditions are in place for the start of school:

-          There will be no student parking available until further notice.

-          There will be an adult on duty in the morning for drop off purposes.  Students being dropped off will need to be here between 8:20 - 8:40 a.m.

-          Any student that arrives late (beyond 8:40) will need to be escorted by an adult to the office for safety purposes.

-          Any student that arrives at other times during the day will need to be escorted by an adult to the office for safety purposes.

Physical Education Locker Room:

There are no walls in either locker room at this time. Therefore, until September 18th, the gym locker rooms will not be available.  This means students will not be able to take showers after gym class and changing will be limited.  Mr. McCoy and I will discuss how to approach classes for the first few weeks of school.

The Kindergarten - Grade Four Students:

We have consulted with our superintendent foreman to discuss the activity level on site for the first month of school.  According to the schedule, the cranes will be here setting the steel bars for the hallway and the gymnasium for the first two weeks of September.  There will be continued work on the back of the gymnasium wall and roof.  After a discussion with Ms. Nancy, Ms. Jan and the school board, it seems like it may be a good idea to hold off bringing students here until we can get everyone situated in their new locations.  Then, after a few weeks, we can re-assess where we are at and decide how to proceed so that we can maintain a focus on safety and instruction.  This means specials and lunch will be at the ICC until further notice.

New Students:

We have 8 new magnet students and 4 new island students joining us this year. They are very excited about joining our school.  Please do your best to help them out, and make them feel welcomed.

Workshop Offered - Creative Writing with Lily Tuck:

Lily Tuck, a nationally recognized author, and former resident of Islesboro and current summer resident of 700 Acre Island, contacted me with interest in working with our high school students.  I have met with Lily throughout the summer and we have created a 9 session workshop on creative writing.  This workshop will be offered on gray days starting September 15th.  During the first days, we will figure out schedules and student availability.  If all goes well, this may be something that is offered again next fall. 

That is all the news I can think of sharing right now.  Our first few days will feel a little different as we get adjusted to the sights and sounds of our school environment.  I am excited about the school year and I am looking forward to seeing all of you soon.  I promise to make it interesting.

I just wanted to review a few things about this week and provide a short review of upcoming events.

This was a great start to our school year.  We really needed the time to clean, to get all the air exchangers working and to properly process all the new routines that we have at both our school sites.  Thank you for your support and patience as we work this all through.  This year will be a work in progress year.

Students at both sites have done an outstanding job getting into the new routines and new places.  They have been enthusiastic and patient, they have been polite and alert to each other and the site activity.  This bodes well for a super year. 

Please remember to bring money in a labeled envelope on Mondays for lunch or snack as it makes the accounting system work a little smoother.  You can pay in line for lunch, if necessary. Thank you for your support and response to this approach.  It seems to be working out.

The soccer field is not in very good shape. In the best interest of safety, we have moved two games off island to Point Look Out and rescheduled our Sept. 11^th game to Oct. 13^th.   In order to address our field concerns, I have asked Ledgewood construction folks to look at the field and provide some support in getting the field ready for play soon.  There is a fan bus to the Saturday, Sept. 12^th on the Lincolnville side at 1:30.  You will need to pay for a round trip walk on ticket and be on the 12:30 boat.   Our plan is to have everyone back no later than the 5:00 boat home.

Open House for the K-4 will be Thursday, Sept. 17^th from 6-7:30 and Open House for the 5-12 is still yet to be determined as we are waiting until the building can be used for tours for students and parents.

Lily Tuck starts a workshop on creative writing on September 15^th.  We are fortunate to have her expertise at our school.  I am sure the students will learn much in her class.

There will be an offering of the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 shot free of charge to all students including students 18-24 years of age.  The date of the clinic is October 23^rd and November 15^th. Participation is determined by the parents. More paperwork and information to follow.

"80 and Above." You will be hearing more information about this goal.  Additionally, there will be support classes afterschool two times a week until 4:00 p.m. More information and specific information to follow.

That is all the news for now.  Thanks to all staff for putting the extra effort in making the start of our school year so great. Your many hours made our great start possible.  Thanks to Dick Cilley and his extra work in getting two schools ready. Thanks to Emily Bethune for the gingerbread muffins.  What a nice treat!