March 2018

Dear Families,

School staff everywhere recognizes the important contributions parents make toward a child’s success in school. There is no question about it; success at school begins at home. Parents are the single most important variable in a child’s schooling. One of the most important components of a good school is the partnership between the school and parents who work together for the best interest of children. The close partnership between home and school is one of the strengths at Farmington River Elementary School.

I wanted to update everyone on the Blizzard Bag program. To date we have used three Blizzard Bag days and one traditional snow day. The feedback has been positive from students and parents. The return rate is around 97% which is just incredible. The assignments are meaningful and take some effort. Because of the Blizzard Bags we are currently projected to have our last day of school on June 14th.

Spring also means MCAS testing. This newsletter has those dates enclosed. The staff and I believe in a low key approach to MCAS. Adding to a student’s anxiety level is not necessary so there will be no big assemblies kicking off the testing season as many schools do. In place of that, we at FRRES will offer our students continuous praise and support during testing. This year grades 4-6 will take their test online. This will be the final year for grade three who will still have the traditional paper based test, but transition to online next year.

Sincerely,

Tom Nadolny

Principal/Superintendent