PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER

                            PINE HILL SCHOOL

 

February 7, 2008

 

Dear Parents/Guardians,

 

Excellence in Learning was our featured core value last month. At each of the January Friday School Meetings, Ms. Kenney and I highlighted that core value during our “focus of the week.”   On January 25, Interim Superintendent Dr. Bob Couture was our special guest at School Meeting.  The children shared with him various examples of Excellence in Learning which they had observed during the previous week at Pine Hill School. I told the children that Dr. Couture and I would be walking through the school on a search for Excellence in Learning at the conclusion of school meeting.    I am pleased to say that he and I were not disappointed in our search.   I was extremely proud to have Dr. Couture see first hand the many things that have been accomplished in our school during the 10 years since he retired as our superintendent.  

 

Many of those accomplishments would not have been possible without the support of the Dover Sherborn Education Fund.  Over the years, the DSEF has helped to support countless initiatives including Guided Reading, the John Collins Writing program, the purchase of grade five social studies materials, and most recently, a seismograph.  DSEF has also sponsored several professional development and teacher training opportunities associated with our curriculum.  The DSEF will be conducting their annual phonathon this Monday and Tuesday evening, February 11 and 12.   Please be as generous as possible when they call.   Thanks to the Dover Sherborn Education Fund for all they do to promote Excellence in Learning in the Dover Sherborn Schools.

 

Excellence in Learning received a great boost from the Barn Sale in January.  This organization, under the leadership of Tracy Giacchetti, presented the school with a check for $10,493 at last month’s school committee meeting.  These most recent Barn Sale funds will allow us to complete Smartboard technology implementations for the 5th grade and expand the deployment of this technology into the 4th grade.  In addition, the funds will expand Smartboard access to common use spaces, such as the library and computer lab.  The Barn Sale group has another special fundraiser coming up in March to further enhance our technology program.   On March 2, the Sherborn Day Spa will donate all of their proceeds earned on that day to The Pine Hill School Barn Sale.   I am sure there are many Dads in our community who, like me, have never been to a spa.   I’m going to give it a try, so I hope to see all our Moms and Dads at the Sherborn Day Spa on March 2.  A flyer with all the details came home last week, and a copy can be found on our website.

 

A huge thanks to the Sawin fund for their on-going support of Excellence in Learning.  As you know from a notice we sent out on January 17, the Sawin Fund is sponsoring a variety of before school enrichment opportunities to our Pine Hill students.  Currently we are offering “clubs” for book discussion, mathematics, technology, and solving puzzles.   The Sawin Fund is also the co-sponsor, along with CSA, of the Broadmoor environmental education program at Pine Hill.

 

Our Community School Association is, of course, a constant source of support for Excellence in Learning at Pine Hill School.   This year’s second round of the CSA Grant process has just been completed.  I am thrilled to say that almost all of the teacher requests were funded for a total of $4,800!    These grants will directly and immediately benefit all Pine Hill students.  Thank you to CSA from all the faculty and staff.     

 

If you would like to support Excellence in Learning for our Dover Sherborn Middle School students and have an enjoyable evening as well, please come to Comedy on the Hill.  Comedy on the Hill, which will feature four professional comedians, will take place right here at Pine Hill School tomorrow night, February 8.   This rare opportunity to see live comedy in Sherborn is sponsored by POSITIVE, the DS Middle School parent group.   See our website for more information.

 

I am often asked by parents/guardians what they can do to help promote and support Excellence in Learning with their children.    Most of you have heard me say this before:  The most important thing you can do is get your children to school on time and keep them here when school is in session!  We can’t teach the students when they aren’t here.   Also, children receive the wrong message when school time is viewed as negotiable or expendable.  This continues to be a significant issue for the school and has a detrimental effect on every child.  The number of students who arrive late results in numerous disruptions to the teaching and learning process in the classrooms.    Absences for extended or early vacations and early dismissals for long weekends mean that teachers need to take away from their precious teaching time to review and bring students who were tardy or absent up to speed on material they missed.  I urge the entire Pine Hill School Community to work together to promote Excellence in Learning by showing children that time in school is a valuable commodity. 

 

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.  You may leave me a message at extension 155, email me at nihilld@doversherborn.org, or call during my call-in hours which are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:00-2:30 PM.

 

Sincerely,

 

David R. Nihill

Principal