Lynch Summer Update # 2

Greetings,

This a posting that will go out to all Lynch families Monday, August 22nd with information and updates as we approach the beginning of the school year.

August 22, 2016

Dear Lynch Families,

Welcome:  I hope that you have had time to enjoy your summer.  I for one am ready for some fall-like weather and having our Lynchies back in the building!   This year, Lynch was lucky enough once again to host several summer programs.  With that, our building is looking great.  Along with our general cleaning, we were able to get some painting around the building and many classroom moves. One of our bigger moves has been adding a grade 4 classroom. This in return has our Occupational Therapy classroom into our former computer lab. We are in the process of opening up some space in our library to create a media center work area for our students. This will allow students to research and work individually or in  small groups while using iPads, Chromebooks and desktops.   

A huge thank you to our outstanding custodial team of Mike Dinando, John Lannon and Danny Medwar. They have been working non-stop to ensure all the above is happening with care and dedication.

We are a busy, active school with now 24 homerooms at Lynch along with 6 preschool learning spaces.  We are excited to start this year and see our Lynch families soon!  

Below are updates and information as we prepare for opening day on September, 6th

School Hours for Grades 1-5:  
Regular hours- 8:45-2:50; Early Release Days-8:45-11:45
                
School Hours for Grade K:
All Day Kindergarten (ADK)  8:45-12:30 on Monday and Friday;
8:45-2:50 on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday
                       
Morning Kindergarten only - 8:45-12:30 Monday through Friday



Staffing Updates:  As mentioned in my email from August 2nd, we have some staffing updates for the upcoming school year (I have included those updates again below). We are in the final stages of hiring a great candidate in place of  Mrs. Foundas (who recently resigned to lessen her work-load and stay at home with her three young children) in grade 3. We plan to make an announcement to the families in this classroom by the end of the week with more information.

(The following is from the August 2nd email to families)

Lynch Teachers Moving Grade Levels:

Tracy Corley (formerly grade one classroom teacher) is moving into grade two as a classroom teacher. Mrs. Corley is a veteran Lynch teacher and  very excited to begin a new chapter in her career with the second grade students and team.

Liz Christo (formerly grade one classroom teacher) is moving into grade three as a classroom teacher. Mrs. Christo is also a veteran Lynch teacher and eager to lead our incoming third grade students to great successes.

Christen May (former grade two classroom teacher) is moving into grade three as a lead special education teacher. Ms. May has her Master’s degree in special education from UMass -Boston… Ms. May will be co-teaching in Ms. Moresco and Mrs. Christo’s classrooms for the 2016-17 school year. We are excited and happy for Ms. May to teach many familiar faces from grade two who are moving into grade three!

New Lynch Teachers!:

Please welcome Marcy Solomon as a new grade one teacher at Lynch. Ms. Solomon recently completed teaching grade three at Lynch during the spring of 2016 as Mrs. Desjardins was happily welcoming their new baby to the world. Ms. Solomon also taught second grade for a maternity leave in the Waltham public schools during the 2015-16 school year. Ms. Solomon is a graduate of the University of Vermont. We very happy to have Ms. Solomon as a permanent member of the Lynch faculty.

Please welcome Brittany Kearney as a new grade one teacher at Lynch. Ms. Kearney most recently taught second grade in Arlington, Va. at the Arlington Science Focus Elementary School. Ms. Kearney has also second grade in Bridgewater, Ma. Ms. Kearney has her Master’s in Early Childhood Education from Lesley University.

Please welcome  Leah Rogers as a new grade four teacher at Lynch. This is an added classroom as we will now have four sections in grade 4. Ms. Rogers taught a full-year grade 5 assignment (as a long-term substitute) in North Reading during the 2015-16 school year. She also has experience in the Newton (Ma.) public school system. Ms Rogers has both her Bachelor and Master’s degree from Brandeis University in Waltham, Ma.

Please welcome Kathleen McGourthy as a part-time English Language Learner (ELL) teacher. Ms. McGourthy has her degree from Merrimack College and has taught ELL in the Haverhill and Malden public schools.

Please welcome Mary Ellen Madden as Special Education Supervisor. Ms. Madden is taking Kristine Lacey’s position. Ms. Madden will also be working with Lincoln Elementary special education department.

Teachers Returning to Lynch:

Please welcome back Susan Vitale as a full-time English Language Learner (ELL) teacher. Ms. Vitale last year taught at Lincoln Elementary in Winchester and taught ELL at Lynch during the 2014-15 school year.

Thank you to all of our staff that have moved into new roles, moved classrooms, served on search committees and  have been flexible in so many ways in order to best serve Lynch..

The following is a list of our homeroom teachers this year:

Kindergarten - Ms. Bergeron, Mrs. Bianchini, Mrs. Cummings, Mrs. Mafera
Grade 1 - Ms. Kearney, Ms. Solomon, Mrs. Greco, Ms. Maguire
Grade 2 - Mrs. Aharonian, Ms. Bandi, Mrs. Johnson, Mrs. Corely
Grade 3 - Mrs. DesJardins, Mrs. Christo, Ms. Moresco, TBA
Grade 4- Ms. Rogers,  Ms. Keaveney, Mrs. Nolty, Ms. Pine
Grade 5 - Mrs. Barber, Mr. Casey, Mrs. Clements, Mrs. Duffy

                                    
Before School Procedures:  Students should  arrive to school between 8:30 and 8:45 a.m.   This year, we will once again offer free supervision starting at 8:20.  Children arriving between 8:20-8:30 should go to the cafeteria.

At 8:30 all children will wait in the following areas (until the 8:45 bell):
  • All kindergarten, 1st and 5th grade students will report to the cafeteria for before the 8:45 bell.  

  • All 2nd, 3rd and 4th grade students will report to the gymnasium before the 8:45 bell.

(The Recreation Department offers a before school program here at Lynch that is fee based.  The sessions will run from 7:15-8:20 Monday-Friday although parents can opt to use one or more days of the week for early morning care.  Please call them at 781-721-7125 for more information or to register).

Drop-Off & Parking Lot Updates:  We will be continuing with our parking lot and traffic plans that were generated several years ago.  If you are not familiar with them, please refer to:  http://lynchschool.com/parking-safety/  to familiarize yourself with our traffic/parking regulations.  We are looking for help with our “Orange Hat Committee” that helps with traffic flow and parking.  They could use volunteers to help especially in the morning.  Please consider helping with this important committee.  Please contact me to find out how you can help.  Also, thanks to our great senior volunteers and orange hat volunteers, we offer drop-off service in both traffic circles.  Don’t park, just drop off your child between 8:20-8:45 and we will make sure they get to the cafeteria or gymnasium safely.

After School Programming at Lynch:  Lynch Parent Association (LPA) runs seasonal afterschool quality courses through our Extended Learning Program (ELP).  The classes run generally three times per year (6 weeks per session) from 2:50-3:50 and are taught by on a variety of subjects by our talented Lynch staff. We are proud to offer such fantastic programming at a very affordable cost.  Once we have course listings ready and a starting date, all information will be found at http://lynchschool.com/ .   
If you need financial or other considerations for your child to register, please contact me at:  jdupuis@winchesterps.org

For the first time this year, the Winchester Recreation will be holding an after-school program in the Lynch building. Lynch Extended Day will be a program only for Lynch students. The program will run each day 3-6pm with parent pick-up in the cafeteria. Students will have snack, arts and crafts, sports activity options, outdoor play and board games. Please contact Chris Nelson at (781)-721-7125 or visit www.winrec.com for more information.

After-School Programs Outside of Lynch: The school district does offer a tuition based bus that can pick-up or drop off your child in your neighborhood.  If you would like information or wish to register for the bus, please contact Nancy Clark at 781-721-7001.
There are several after school programs that bus from our school to their sites.  Currently they are:
- WRAP-Winchester Recreation Afterschool Program 781-721-7125 (Lynch Students can still use this as an after-school option)
-  Kids’ Corner-781-721-1514·        
-  Chinese School-617-909-2497
·         YMCA-617-571-1496 
·         Ku’s Olympic Tae Kwon Do-781-935-3733 (Bus transportation is done through program - NOT  with Nancy Clark). 

                               
Lunch:  We will be sending out further information about lunch from our Lunchroom Supervisor - Mrs. Corsetti. Your student will have their own account number (they will be given a four-digit number if they are new to Winchester). Money can be given to Mrs. Corsetti on Tuesday mornings from 8:30-9:00am or dropped off in the main office. Student’s accounts will only charged when a child orders lunch or purchases milk, juice, water bottle or fruit.





Dates to note:
Thursday, August 25th (3pm) - Welcome to Lynch Popsicle party for NEW Lynch families. All new families are welcome to come, play on the playground, meet me and Assistant Principal Andrea Phelan and Lynch Parent Association representatives, and do a quick tour of the building.

Tuesday, September 6th - FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! This is also an early dismissal - 11:45am. Only half of Kindergarten students will be attending (we will send information out separately to parents as to which day their child will attend).
Tuesday, September 6th - LPA Welcome Back Coffee 8:30-9:00 in the library.

Wednesday, September 7th - Early Dismissal - 11:45am. Other half of Kindergarten students will be attending.
Wednesday, September 7th - LPA Welcome Back Coffee 8:30-9:00 in the library.

Thursday, September 8th - Full day of school for all (including all-day kindergarten students) - 2:50pm dismissal.

Thursday, September 15th - Lynch Curriculum Night (schedule to be released at a later date).

Friday, September 23rd (9:15am) - First LPA meeting in cafeteria. (Note: we alternate between morning and Wednesday evening - 7pm - LPA meetings each month)

Sunday, September 25- Fall LPA BBQ 4:00 pm (On the Lynch Campus)

Monday, September 26 - Tuesday September 27- K-5 School Photos

Thursday, September 29 - 11:45am dismissal for all students (Teacher Professional Development)

Friday September 30 - Pre-School Photos



LPA (Lynch Parent Association) info: Please visit lynchschool.com. Monthly meetings are open to all and held in our school cafeteria (for morning meetings) and library (evening meetings).  We love working with the parents at Lynch and our LPA’s commitment to our school and to all of you who have generously contributed to the school through “Go-Direct” funds in the past.   These funds directly support enrichment programs, technology and other school related supplies that are generally funded through our operating budget.  We appreciate your support!


School Council:  Every school in Massachusetts is required to have a school council that consults with the building principal in order to look at making school improvements as necessary. This year, as with others, we will have open parent spots for our council which is made up of principal, assistant principal, staff and parents.  If you wish to be a part of our committee, please contact Liz Schreiber or Stacy Princi at copresidents@lynchparents.org .  The LPA will coordinate an election process in order to fill the position(s).



Safety:  At Lynch, we ask that all parents or guests come directly to the main office (Pre-School families will need to use the door at the far end of the school and be buzzed in after regular arrival times).  After arrival, all doors will be locked and you must be buzzed into school.  All visitors must wear visitors’ badges while at Lynch.  We do have a number of senior helpers and parents who work at our lobby desk and welcome visitors into our office.  However, we have shifts that we could use more help.  If you are a parent that has a three hour shift to volunteer, please contact  Liz Schreiber or Stacy Princi at copresidents@lynchparents.org .  You can do a shift a week or a shift a month (and bring your laptop, you can access our wireless system and get some work done in between visitors).  Thank you to all of our senior helpers and parents who work hard to keep all of the children and staff safe.


Communication:    Our main line of communication is done through teacher led, school led emails/phone messages and/or LPA messages.   Please make it a habit to read our messages and weekly LPA newsletters (sent out on Mondays) as they contain important information and dates.  Our new school and district websites are currently being updated and edited for use. Once these are up and running, we will forward you the website addressed.
I run our school Twitter account and enjoy sharing information about upcoming events and day-in-the-life pictures.
Please follow at:
@TheLynch_School

I also like to send out a weekly blog post. This will also include updates about Lynch, any school-wide events, my views on life as a student, teacher and parent of young children and  updates within the education profession.
Please follow at:
http://lynchprincipal.blogspot.com/

More Communication info: If you do not have access to email or need translation, please let your child’s teacher know so that we may send hard copies or links of correspondences home.  In addition, if ANY of your contact information changes throughout the year, please let the office know.  Please note, that our office phone lines are very busy, so we appreciate any effort you can make to take care of phone calls to arrange after school plans at night or in the morning before school time.  However, if something does come up that requires immediate attention; you may reach us at 781-721-7013 ext 100.

The first day of school, we will plan to send a Welcome Back packet that includes lots of forms and information that will give further details to us or will need to be returned back that week.  Of most importance are student data sheets that should be reviewed (corrected if necessary) and returned.

If you have any comments, concerns or questions throughout the year, please call us at or email us.  Again, we are VERY  happy to begin a new year with our wonderful Lynch community!  On behalf of the entire staff and faculty, we would like to wish all of you a positive and healthy school year!

Sincerely,

John Dupuis, Principal

Andrea Phelan, Assistant Principal

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