Notes From Dee
February 26, 2019
Dear Laurel Families,
We are hopeful to have a full 5 days of school this week! The weather and schedule last week was a bit trying on our spirit. Certainly, the students were happy to have a shortened week and an “impromptu” (a recent Morning Meeting vocabulary word) snow day, but we discovered some glitches in our Honeywell Emergency Notification System. We think we discovered a firewall issue that was part of the challenge and one or two incorrect phone numbers in our system.
To avoid any confusion going forward, in the event of a school closing due to inclement weather, in addition to using the Honeywell System, we will be following Princeton Public Schools decisions about closures and delayed openings. If Princeton schools are closed or have a delay, Laurel will be too. We will also post an announcement on our Facebook page by 5:45am. If you have questions about emergency closures, but have not received the Honeywell Alert in a timely manner, please follow up by checking these sources as well. We know that weather can vary across the state, so always use your judgement if you think the roads aren’t safe. Your safety is our highest priority.
Last week was National Kindness Week. We discussed this with our students during our Morning Meetings and encouraged everyone to engage in spontaneous acts of kindness. We also invited Becky Higgins, the School Social Worker at our Newgrange School, to speak with our Middle School students this past Friday. Ms. Becky led a discussion about the impact our words, both kind and unkind, can have on others - and that we can’t take our words back, so we have to think carefully about them. Ask your middle schoolers about trying to put toothpaste back in the tube!
Becky also spoke with our Eighth Grade students about different ways to show leadership, as they prepare to go on to high school. Our Eighth Grade students will be taking on more roles as leaders for the remainder of the year. Ms. Maureen chaperoned their first Buddy to Buddy Luncheon with Ms. Kathleen’s class this past Friday. The students did a “getting to know you activity,” called Three Stars and a Wish. Our Eighth Graders will also be leading some Morning Meetings and participating in other leadership activities under the mentorship of Ms. Kelly.
REMINDER: On March 12, Mr. Tim will be presenting the strategic vision for the future of The Newgrange and Laurel Schools. Families from both schools are invited to hear Mr. Tim’s remarks at 6pm at the Laurel School. For more information and to RSVP, please
click here
.
PLEASE support our African Library Project by sending in gently used books. Ask your neighbors and family members to help us as well. Spring cleaning time is just about here, and this effort will not only help children learn to read in Africa, but it will support our global community efforts and clean out your bookcases all at the same time! Our deadline is the second week in March, so don’t waste any time. We hope to fulfill our commitment to our friends in Africa. Thanks to Alene Frankel and all the parents and students who have been working so hard to get this project completed.
Have a great week!
Dee