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The East Wareham and Ethel E. Hammond Schools continue to be accredited by NAEYC. Our annual reports were approved for both schools.

Dear Families,

June has arrived and the school year is almost at an end. The last fourteen days will be busy with field days, field trips, transition tours, and end of the year activities. The calendar of events will list important dates. I hope you have a safe, healthy summer with your family.

                  Talent Show: The Minot Forest talent show is a student event. Our cafetorium can’t accommodate students and parents so this is a school only event. Thanks to Mr. Steve Ruiz, the Minot Forest student talent show will be taped and will be aired on the local cable channel so families will be able to view it.

                  Last day of school: The last day of school for full-day students and morning session students will be Thursday, June 19. Dismissal begins at 10:50 AM. Students must attend school in order to receive his/her report card. Report cards will be held in the office for parent pickup if students are absent on the last day of school and if there are any remaining unpaid financial balances (kindergarten or preschool tuition and/or lunch accounts). The last day of school for our afternoon half-day preschool and kindergarten programs will be Wednesday, June 18. Dismissal will be at the regular time.

                  Summer reading: Students in grades 1-5 will be bringing home a summer reading book. Grade five students will have the option of two books to read. The assigned book must be read prior to school starting in September, and a project will need to be completed for the start of school. Additional information will be sent home soon. All books need to be returned to school so please store them in a safe place. Please encourage your child to read often this summer. Practice is very important and this is a good time for students to develop a love for reading.

                  Class assignments: Next year, there will be changes in some teacher assignments and building changes for some programs. This is to address cuts to our staff due to the difficult budget issues. With the closing of the East Wareham School, all preschool and kindergarten students will attend the Ethel E. Hammond School. Grade one and the transitional first grade students will attend the Minot Forest School.  In addition, we will be losing some valuable teacher assistants due to budget cuts. We will need our volunteers more than ever to help in classrooms. If you can help in any way, please be sure to contact your child’s teacher in September or contact the main office. All volunteers must have approved CORI forms on file. Students will receive their classroom assignment for the 2008/2009 school year by mail in August. 

                  School Calendar: The 2008/2009 school calendar is attached. There is an extended vacation period in December this year. The 2009 MCAS schedule also is attached. Students need to be in school during MCAS testing times. Absent students are given zeros and these zeros also are factored into the school’s scores towards making Adequate Yearly Progress. If the school does not have 95% attendance during this testing window, we automatically do not make AYP in the attendance category.  Family vacations should be planned during our scheduled vacation times. They should not be planned during MCAS time.

                  Wareham Community Partnerships for Children (CPC): The Wareham CPC is sponsoring “The Pitter Patter Puppets” for our preschool students on June 9 and 11. This show also will be held at 1:00 PM at the Wareham Free Library on June 9 for the public to attend.

Joan M. Seamans

Principal