I hope you had a wonderful, relaxing summer spending quality time with your families!
I welcome all of you to engage in collaborative conversations as we continue to provide learning opportunities for all students at Waters.
Our staff returned this week and have been busy preparing for the arrival of your children.
Office staff have been registering students throughout the summer while our Engineer and custodial team have worked non stop this summer to prepare the building for another year.
Our fabulous WatersToday team have also been preparing to welcome families (Popsicle hand out at Kinder day) and our first ever Volunteer Night on Wednesday, September 4, 2019 from
6 pm-7pm. Please join us at this event to get involved with Waters! There are so many ways for you to be a support to our school and community. You won’t want to miss this event!
Our kindergarten team met with new families onTuesday and the rest of us can’t wait to see you on Friday. If you haven’t already done so, please mark your calendar for Friday, August 30 at 8:15 am. This is our annual “Meet your teacher” day. Please feel free to stop in with your children and drop off your school supplies in your child’s classroom.
There have been some changes in our programming at Waters this year. Due to district mandates and other important student needs, I am happy to report that we have a fully staffed Diverse Learning Team which includes a part time case manager. We expanded our physical education program and added an additional PE teacher. Mrs. Bricker will work full time as a school counselor. She will be providing a great deal of social emotional supports for all students and will work closely with all staff to ensure all children have positive learning experiences at Waters. In addition, she will work with Right At School staff to provide supports during the recess hours. With a staff that have multiple certifications and/or endorsements we were able to make this transition. I am confident that your children, our students will continue to grow and learn with these opportunities. While we will take some time off from the digital media program, staff are considering options to incorporate digital media into their classroom learning environment. I will announce our new staff in my next blog.
I thank you for your patience as Aspen continues to roll out. Scheduling homerooms for your children is an art and this year was no exception. Please know that staff spends a great deal of thought when setting your child’s assignment. While I understand the anxiety this may cause, at Waters, we want to ensure that all aspects have been carefully considered prior to the release of classroom assignments. Please note that you may not see a teacher’s name posted with your child’s classroom. That is because some staff are still in the process of on boarding with central office.
As you know we are getting a 29,000 square foot addition! I will be providing you with updates as they become available. This week’s update is:
PBC’s Construction Manager (Gilbane) has fully mobilized and established site control. PBC and its CM have a full time presence on site. To date, the demolition and site clearing has been completed. Please see below for brief update regarding the upcoming activities.
- The CM’s Construction submittals and material procurement are on-going.
- On site construction activities are anticipated to commence in early September:
- Site electrical work – reconnection of power to the light poles at the east side.
- Temporary protection work for the existing trees along Wilson Avenue.
- Excavation work for the deep foundation work – caissons.
- Concrete foundations.
- Traffic control for the planned construction activities.
In addition, there will be a side walk on Campbell avenue (west side of street) for the school year. This is under construction as I type. :)
Thank you to all the families who donated classroom supplies and materials for families who may not have the necessary supplies to begin the year.
Also thank you to Gilbane construction for their generous Back to School supply drive for Waters!
As I close, I want to thank all of you for enrolling your children at Waters. Your commitment to insuring that Waters is a wonderful and celebrated school is humbling. It is with great excitement that I look forward to greeting students and families on opening day. I am honored to serve as your principal. Please be sure to stop by and say hello.
As a school community, I know we will make this school year our best ever! See you on the September 3rd!
Ms. Kipp
Principal