Superintendent's Home
Hamdpen-Wilbraham Regional School District

August 2007

Dear Parents/Guardians:

Time passes so quickly. It seems as though we just said goodbye to our students and I am already writing a letter to you about next year. We continue to experience many changes throughout the District. More retirements seem to be the norm since we are clearly in the middle of a group of our teaching staff who were hired during a population boom that occurred in the late 60’s and early 70’s. Many of these people have reached over 35 years of dedicated service and are looking forward to the next stage of their lives. As we wish them well, we are also excited about the quality of their replacements and welcome the new recruits to their first year with us.

We greet each school year with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and this year is no different. Of special note, we have two administrative changes to highlight. Mrs. Sherrill Caruana will take the reins from Ms. Rebecca DeSmith as Principal at Stony Hill Elementary School. Mrs. Caruana, a 15-year veteran of the District, is very excited to welcome her students in just a few short weeks. With the recent departure of Bryan Lombardi, Associate Principal at Minnechaug, we anticipate some administrative changes at the high school for September. Other organizational changes will take place throughout the District before the school year begins and new personnel will be hired. We look forward to sharing updated information shortly after the start of school, which is Wednesday, August 29th.

School bus pick-up times vary according to route length. Individual route times will be posted by home address in mid-August at the town offices, libraries, post offices, and in front of the schools in Hampden and Wilbraham. The routes will also be posted on the District’s website (www.hwrsd.org). If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s bus schedule, please contact your child’s school or my office at 596-3884.

The starting times and beginning dates of schools are listed below. Your child’s assignment for the coming school year is:

Green Meadows Elementary School : Grades 1, 2, 3 and 4 students will begin their school year on Wednesday, August 29th. School hours are 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Kindergarten students will have an orientation on August 29th or August 30th, and their first full day of school will be Friday, August 31st .

Mile Tree Elementary School : Grade 1 students will begin their school year on Wednesday, August 29th. School hours are 8:30 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. Kindergarten students will have an orientation on August 29th or August 30th, and their first full day of school will be Friday, August 31st .

Memorial/Soule Road/Stony Hill Elementary Schools: Grades 2 – 6 students will begin their school year on Wednesday, August 29th. School hours are 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

Thornton W. Burgess Middle School : Grades 5 – 8 students will begin their school year on Wednesday, August 29th. School hours are 7:40 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Wilbraham Middle School : Grades 7 – 8 students will begin their school year on Wednesday, August 29th. School hours are 7:40 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

I wanted everyone to know that we plan to move toward the use of more technology tools to communicate information to you. This upcoming year we will be implementing a web-based program entitled, “Edline”. With the use of this system, parents will eventually be able to access student assignments and academic information for grades 7 through 12. As we begin this process, we will move away from hard copy grading notification and reduce the need for written communication. Our goal is that by the fall of 2008, you will have more instant access to this important information.

In addition to the new technology mentioned above, we will continue using the Connect-Ed system, the HWRSD List Serve and our website (www.hwrsd.org). Please be sure to sign up for the List Serve because I plan to use this communication vehicle more often this year.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and best wishes for a great school year!

Sincerely,

Paul C. Gagliarducci

Paul C. Gagliarducci, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools

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