December 2016

Coats for Kids:
Concord Middle School’s Coats for Kids Club needs our help in collecting coats for Anton’s Cleaners annual Coats for Kids drive.   They are accepting all winter coats – kids, adults and babies – that are in good wearable condition.  They cannot accept vests, hats, gloves or snow pants.   Please donate coats that you would give a friend to wear in our donation box in the lobby.  Coats are being collected through January 6th, 2017.  Thank you for your generosity. Your donations are greatly appreciated!

Concord Integrated Preschool Open House:
Wednesday December 14, 2016
4-6:30 PM
Children Are Welcome!
Come see our facility, talk with our staff, and ask questions about the program.  We are located at the Ripley Building, 120 Meriam Road in Concord.  Please check us out on our website at preschool.concordps.orgApplication Forms are Available on our website.
Forms can be turned in to the Special Education Office up until January 6, 2017.  The preschool lottery will be held on Friday January 13th and families will be notified byJanuary 17th.

  • The program is available to residents of Concord and children of CPS/CCHS staff.
  • Children must be three by September 1, 2017 and have not turned five by August 31, 2017.
  • Priority is given to returning students, siblings of current students and staff members’ children.
  • The remaining community slots will be filled by lottery on 1/13/16

Please contact Janet O’Shea at joshea@concordps.org or
(978) 202-1147 with any questions.

Teacher Gifts and the Conflict of Interest Law:
As public school educators, the staff at Thoreau is subject to the conflict of interest law, G.L. c. 268A.  This means that we may not accept any gift worth $50 or more that is given because of the positions we hold at Thoreau.  The Ethics Commission recently created an exemption to permit class gifts to teachers. A teacher may accept a gift, or several gifts during the school year, from public school students and/or their parents and guardians, with an aggregated value of up to $150, if the gift is identified only as being from the class, and the identity of the givers and the individual amounts given are not identified to the recipient.  Please call the main office if you have questions about the Conflict of Interest Law as it pertains to teacher gifts.

Bundle Up:
We go outside each and every day, unless we have a frigid wind chill or it is raining.  On those cold winter days, the warmest part of the day is mid-day. Please send your child dressed to play outside.  If we have snow on the ground, your child will need to wear snow pants and boots to play in the snow.

Upcoming Events:
December 14th                               Teen Buddies
December 26th-January 1st        Winter Recess

Forgotten Lunches, Instruments, Homework, Books, Sneakers, Etc.:
In an effort to keep interruptions to learning to a minimum, we seek your support in reducing the number of students who need to leave class to call home to request that items be brought to school.  Please help students learn to be responsible (especially in our upper grades) by reminding them to check to be sure they leave home with any necessary items.  If it is absolutely necessary to drop something off, please leave it in the main office.

Changes to Dismissal Plans:
Please send in a note to your child’s teacher if you need to change his/her dismissal plans for that day. If possible, all play dates should be arranged prior to your child’s arrival at school. If you need to change your child’s dismissal plan unexpectedly, please notify the office by 2:30 PM.  Thank you for your assistance with this matter.

Dismissal/Arrival Parking:
During arrival, please reserve the van accessible spaces for vehicles with handicapped placards. During dismissal, please be sure not to block the crosswalk or fire lanes.  Because the back parking lot is reserved for faculty, parents are encouraged to park along both sides of West Street and on the right side of Pleasant Street or Chase Road.  If it’s not raining or snowing, parents picking up their students should meet them behind the building near the basketball court.  In the case of inclement weather, pick up is in the cafeteria.

Thank you!
Mrs. Charles