January 2020

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a wonderful and relaxing winter break and that you are easing back into the school routine.

Elementary Progress Reports: On February 11th classroom progress reports will be published through the Aspen Portal in the Published Reports section on the front page of the portal. If you have multiple children attending Concord Public Schools or Concord-Carlisle High School, each child’s name will appear next to any available reports. Reports can be downloaded and saved as pdf files if you wish.

To access the portal, login from the Parent menu of your child’s school website. (A link to request a password reset can also be found at this website or email parentportal@concordps.org.) If you have not already done so, please set a security question upon logging into the portal, so that you can self-recover if you forget your password in the future; password resets are addressed during business hours only.

Upcoming Community Event:
National Leader of the Sunrise Movement: Varshini Prakash
January 21, 2020, 7:30-9 PM
Willard School Auditorium
185 Powder Mill RD., Concord, MA
On January 21, 2020, the Climate Solution Speaker Series is thrilled to present Varshini Prakash, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Sunrise Movement. The Sunrise Movement is a youth-led grassroots organization mobilizing millions to stop climate change and transform the economy. Last September, the Sunrise Movement was a key organizer in the Global Climate Strike that attracted millions of protesters in 163 countries.
Varshini was raised in Acton, MA and graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where she led a successful campaign to force trustees to divest holdings in fossil-fuel companies. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, the New Yorker, WBUR and more.

A Message from the Integrated Preschool:
The Concord Integrated Preschool is accepting applications for the 2020-2021 school year.  They offer both half day and full day options that run Monday through Thursday according to the CPS calendar. A lottery will be held on January 24th and families will be notified by January 27th.  More information about the program and Application Forms are available at: https://preschool.concordps.org/
Please contact Janet O’Shea, Early Childhood Coordinator at joshea@concordps.org or (978) 202-1147 with any questions.

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:
1/16  PTG Meeting, 7:00 PM
1/20  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, No School
1/27  Hobby Fair Family Night, 6:30 PM

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 and dismissal, please reserve the van accessible spaces for vehicles with handicapped placards and be sure to keep residential driveways clear.  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!