Superintendent's Home
Hamdpen-Wilbraham Regional School District

October 2007

Dear Parents/Guardians:

As I write this letter the Red Sox are beginning another quest for the baseball championship. It seems odd that I use this as the start of my annual snow/emergency advisory letter. Time does move on and thus we are getting closer to inclement New England weather.

Included in this letter is the schedule in case school is delayed. There is also a list of communication sites that will host our announcement for cancellations and delays. Please remember that delays can be either 90 minutes or 2 hours long. As a parent, bear in mind that you always have the option of keeping your child at home if you believe that the weather conditions or my decision to hold school do not meet your expectations.

Allow me to use this letter for a few other announcements:

Connect-Ed Notification System:
As we utilize our new communication tools, we learn and adjust. Such is the case with Connect-Ed. Specifically we would like you to complete a new parent/home information data sheet. The information requested will allow us to improve communication. It is important to note that general Connect-Ed school-based announcements utilize main home phone numbers. We have a high degree of success reaching these numbers. During several emergency situations, however, secondary emergency numbers had us contacting out-of-state numbers, non-district resident homes or distant relatives. We were also blocked by calling workplace numbers that had extensions. Please be mindful when you provide us with your updated information as it will be a great help to us.

District and School List Serve:
The Principals and I continue to utilize our list serve capabilities and have heard some very positive comments. For example, if you subscribe to your child’s school’s list serve, you can automatically receive the monthly newsletter or a notice that the newsletter is posted on the website. Each school uses their list serve as they see fit, but overall it’s another effective communication tool between school and home. We encourage you to sign up for both the District and the school lists. Here is the direct link to do so: http://www.hwrsd.org/admin/list.html

Minnechaug Project:
We continue to proceed with the new process set in place by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). As of this writing we are awaiting a phone call to determine what our next step will be. Since much of this process is new, we can only wait until the State contacts us. It is very frustrating for me because I would like to know what their decision will be so we can plan accordingly. We are discussing the need to hold public forums to begin dialogue about the future of Minnechaug. We will make a decision soon about when to begin the meetings.

Superintendent’s Chat Sessions:
I have changed the format for these chat sessions. Instead of scheduling informal evening chats, Dr. Scanlon and I have been visiting parent/teacher organizations during their regular monthly meetings. To date we have met with parents from Mile Tree, Memorial and Minnechaug. For the morning sessions, I would like to offer the following three dates to anyone who would like to attend. The dates are Tuesday mornings starting at 9:00 a.m. - December 11, 2007; March 11, 2008; and May 13, 2008. We will send reminders through the individual school calendars. Hope to see you at these meetings.

Please continue to use our website for information and announcements. If you have concerns or comments, feel free to send me an e-mail at pgagliarducci@hwrsd.org.

Sincerely,

Paul C. Gagliarducci

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

PCG/kwb

School Cancellations, Delays, and Early Dismissals:

The School Committee previously approved the use of either a 90-minute or two-hour delay as necessary. For school cancellation, delay and early dismissal announcements, we will be using our new Connect-Ed Notification. Therefore, on days when school is cancelled or delayed, expect a call between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m. In addition, you can also listen to the following radio and television stations:

WHYN AM & FM WAQY WMAS
WGGB WWLP WSHM CBS 3
Wilbraham Public Access -- Cable Channel 5

*****

School hours will be as follows when school is delayed:

School Normal School Hours 90 Minute Delay
School Hours 		2 Hour Delay
School Hours*
Minnechaug Regional 7:40 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. 9:10 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. 9:40 a.m. to 2:10 p.m.
Wilbraham Middle 7:40 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 9:10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 9:40 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Thornton Burgess 7:40 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 9:10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. 9:40 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Memorial 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. 10:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. 10:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Soule Road 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. 10:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. 10:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Stony Hill 8:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. 10:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. 10:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
Green Meadows 8:30 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. 10:00 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. 10:30 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.
Mile Tree 8:30 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. 10:00 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. 10:30 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.

* NO A.M. PRESCHOOL PROGRAM