Mr. Jeffrey Palmer

September 2010

Welcome to the 2010-2011 school year!  I hope everyone had a blast this summer and is looking forward to walking through the doors of Milton Terrace South in a few days.  We had a great turn out for our Welcome Back BBQ and could not be more pleased with how the event turned out.  Thank you to all who attended and the evening would not have been possible without the support of the Building Leadership Team, the MTS PTA, and the generosity of Stewart’s. 

Our first day of school for students is Tuesday, September 7th.  The elementary school day begins at 9:10am and ends at 3:25pm.  Please make note of our arrival and dismissal times as they have changed since last school year.  Additionally, we have two slight changes in our dismissal procedure.  Previously, students who were being picked up were dismissed before bus students.  However, entering this school year, in an attempt to ensure that our bus students leave the Wood Road Complex in a safe and efficient manner, we will be dismissing bus students first and then our students who will be picked up by a parent or guardian will be dismissed to the cafeteria where they will be signed out.  Parent pickups will begin at 3:25pm and will take place in the back corner of the cafeteria.  The other change involves where parents who are picking up children will enter the building.  Last year parents entered through the main entrance if they were picking up a child.  This year, to ease the congestion in the main foyer, we kindly ask that parents walk down the sidewalk that links Milton Terrace South and Milton Terrace North (we will have signs up the first week of school) to enter the cafeteria.  If your child needs to be picked up for an appointment, we kindly ask that you pick him/her up prior to 3:00pm as we are trying to avoid any early dismissals between 3:00pm and 3:25pm.  We appreciate your cooperation and patience as we transition to this new dismissal process.

The breakfast and lunch program will begin on Tuesday, September 7^th.  Any student who was receiving free or reduced lunch in June is on the list for September only.  It will be necessary for you to fill out a new application for the new school year.  New forms will be sent home for application and reapplication this year.  The cost of lunch is $1.75, breakfast is $1.00, and reduced prices are $.25 for breakfast and lunch.

For the 2010-2011 school year, we have a few new staff members.  Please join us in welcoming the following individuals:

Regina Markus, 2^nd Grade Teacher

Sarah Adams, 3^rd Grade Teacher

Robin Mason, Special Education Teacher

Kim Moryl, Speech Teacher

James Pisaturo, Art Teacher

Liz Duffney, Teacher’s Aide

Cherie Dowling, School Aid

The first meeting of the Milton Terrace South Elementary PTA will be Tuesday, September 14^th at 7:00 p.m. in the MTS Library.  We would like to extend a hearty welcome to our new PTA president, Laurie Sickles, and new PTA vice president, Shannon Meyer.  Both Laurie and Shannon previously held roles on the MTS PTA Board and I personally look forward to working closely with them in their new leadership roles.  Collectively, we encourage you to attend this first meeting (and future meetings) to find out how parents and teachers can work together to enrich our students’ years at MTS.  Please strongly consider becoming a member and help set the direction for the PTA by sharing your ideas.

“Meet the Teacher Night” will be held for our families on Wednesday, September 22nd at 6:30pm.   Additional details about this event will be forthcoming, but please save the date on your calendars. This is a great opportunity for parents and guardians to visit the school, their child’s classroom, and speak with school faculty about instructional programming. 

We know how important it is to keep the lines of communication open and we sincerely want to build positive relationships with our families.  To that end, please do not hesitate to contact the school office at sdistefano@bscsd.org or 884-7270 ext. 3372 if there is ever anything we can do to help.

            I would like to wish everyone a successful start to the school year and am personally looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones.  Please enjoy these last few weeks of summer and do not hesitate to contact me with any questions you might have.

Sincerely,

Mr. Palmer