New year, same great experience!

For everyone: Popsicles On the Playground!Or as I've decided to call it, POP is scheduled for this Friday (8/25) from 4:00-6:00. Enjoy some community and popsicles while your kids reacquaint themselves with our playground and each other. I am monitoring the weather closely and will make a decision on Friday if the event needs to be moved inside. Following the event, the Princeton Police Department will be hosting an event on-site, showing a movie and selling refreshments.

For everyone (Middle School take notice): The district has opened up PowerSchool so you should be able to see your child's teacher/schedule. I know this is an exciting time for kids! It is for us, too! I'm asking that you don't look too deeply into the special classes as these typically take us a few weeks to iron out. Don't worry, your students will be in specials but how they are input into PowerSchool over the summer and how they look in the building don't always align perfectly. Also, for parents of Middle Schoolers, your student(s)' homeroom may come up as a specialist. You are reading this correctly. We are transitioning to an Advisory model where our middle schoolers meet in small groups with a teacher each day. This is taking the place of the traditional "homeroom" block.

Families in grades 5 through 8: Music in grades 5 through 8 will look a little different this year as we try to balance band, strings, and chorus. I am asking families of students in those grades to please complete this form and let us know your students' preferences if you haven't done so already. If kids haven't made their selection by the first day of their music section, they may not have a special to attend.

For families in grades 5 through 8: Cross Country signups are still open and we seem to be short some athletes. We are looking forward to another great season! TPS is traditionally a Cross Country powerhouse. Sign-ups can be found here and there is a hard deadline of August 29th. We will not accept registrations after this date as we require the time to make sure physicals are all up to date. I know students have been disappointed to miss the deadline in the past, so I'd encourage everyone to sign up sooner rather than later and risk missing out.

For Everyone: The Library Needs You! The TPS Library is seeking volunteers for the 2023-24 school year! We will have volunteer times throughout the school day, so if you think you might have interest and availability, please email Jessie at jessie.trowbridge@gmail.com for more information.

For Everyone: We have a few new faces joining us in the building this year.

Susan Robichaud is a town member and a highly regarded math teacher. She will be taking over 7th and 8th-grade math instruction this year. She joins us from Grafton schools and is a welcome new addition!

Destiny Keough, our new 1st-grade teacher, is a Wachusett High graduate and comes to us fresh off a half-year stint at Boylston Elementary School. She is extremely student-focused and is a welcome addition to the team.

Carrie Califano will be joining our team as a part-time ELE teacher this year. She is a resident of Holden/Jefferson. Carrie comes to us with a master's in applied linguistics and has taught ELE at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston as well as an elementary school in South Korea.

For Everyone but Elementary take notice: One of the interesting things about being a K-8 building is trying to share our wonderful specialists between 9 levels while making sure everyone gets equal time in each special and while still accounting for band/chorus/PLTW in the middle school. The logistics are an interesting math problem to solve. With that said, we are going to try something different this year and have the whole school on a 4-day rotation (yes, even you, elementary). That will likely mean a student who has PE on Monday gets it again on Friday that week but will double dip in a different special the next week. Your child's teacher will let you know which day of the rotation your child has which special and I will include the rotation in my weekly blog for the following week. Also, we are experimenting with adding Library into the elementary specials rotation with the support of our Specials teachers and our wonderful parent volunteers!

Everyone: Arrival and Dismissal- Drop off and pick up are always tricky at every school the first week back from the summer. We will be continuing the process from years past. The school day starts at 8:25 and ends at 2:55. Buses will continue to drop off and pick up at the front of the building. Parent drop-off (starting at 8:05) will occur along the side (near the main office entrance). Before the doors open, we ask that cars stop by the fence before turning to pull up against the building. Once we open the doors, cars will loop around the "island" and can start dropping off at the crosswalk. If you are stopped at any point along the sidewalk, please ask your child to exit the vehicle so we can keep the line moving. After a group of cars pull away, the next car with children should pull up all the way to the crosswalk. Children should be able to open the door, grab their things, and exit the car quickly. I know many parents have their kids start to prepare their belongings ahead of time and strategically place backpacks where they are easily accessible. If they cannot do this independently or they have things in the trunk, parents should pull up to an empty spot along the "island" after the crosswalk and park to help their little ones. This is a great area to pull into also if they (or you) need that last squeeze after a hectic morning. We leave those spots open just for you and there is no rush there. Using these also shows respect for other people who are trying to get places and may be running late. I also appreciate everyone's patience, especially during these first few days, while everyone is getting back in the flow.

The end of the day will follow a similar procedure with the only difference being, cars will form two lines side by side. A staff member will signal the drivers when each group is loaded and can go.

Everyone: School Dismissal Manager - After our inaugural year with School Dismissal Manager we are moving forward with it as veteran users. You will receive an email from the program inviting you to set your student(s)' default dismissal. Please remember that despite the name of the program, this is one-stop shopping. In addition to dismissal changes, you should enter all attendance-related notifications here. This includes tardies, absences, and early dismissals.

Everyone: Buses- Routes have been published on PowerSchool under "Forms".

Go here if you want to do any of the following you can do that here:

Add to your list of people approved to get your student off the bus.
Give permission for the driver to let your student off the bus without an adult if you want them to and they are under 4th grade.
Request a different bus route than the one that corresponds with your home address.

Everyone: 1st Day Goals- On the first day of school we will jump right into the day. We will help all students off the bus or out of cars to get right down to their classroom. This is a great time to start building routines from day 1. I generally have 4 goals for the first day of school. 1: Get all the kids in the building. 2: Make sure they all eat. 3: Get them all home safely. 4: Have as much fun as possible.

Kindergarten: Come meet the teachers! While the rest of the building starts on the 30th, Kindergarten
will start on the 31st. However, we invite all kindergarteners to come in on the 30th for Orientation and to meet their teacher.

On August 30th from 9:30-10:15, we invite you to come and see the classroom! Caregivers and kindergarten students may come (we will gather in the cafeteria), and walk together to the kindergarten classroom. Once there, we will have a quick scavenger hunt to complete together, and then access table toys while the teachers go over a few last-minute things for the school year! Afterward, students are invited to go outside and enjoy the playground with their new friends. We ask that all families head to their cars by 10:15 so the playground can be used for recess.

Everyone: Lunch- I think many of you have already heard that lunches are once again free to all those who would like them. What people might not realize is that filling out the free and reduced lunch paperwork supports the district in recouping the costs of meals. You can find the necessary paperwork here. Everything you need to know about the meal program should be found in this letter from the kitchen. Milk costs $0.75 and additional breakfasts ($2.50), additional lunch $4.50. We are still looking for help in the kitchen for anyone interested!

And speaking of job openings...We have found ourselves looking to fill a paraprofessional role here late into the summer. If you're interested or would like to learn more about the position, please reach out.

Everyone - Substitutes wanted: We need you...to substitute teach! That is right. We are anticipating a continued shortage of substitute teachers. These people help keep the school running smoothly and it could be you. The work isn't glamorous nor well paid, but you get to work with amazing children and some of the best teaching staff in the state. Never taught before? That is ok, we'll work with you. Must love kids! Added bonus: tell Central Office you only want to sub at TPS and I'll buy you lunch on your first day :) Get your application here.

Everyone: The Thomas Prince PTA Fun/Color Run fundraiser is kicking off soon! Look out for more information in the coming weeks. For now, mark your calendars with these key dates!