Dear South School Families,
We trust that your summer provided plenty of rest, rejuvenation, and memorable moments, creating lasting, happy memories with loved ones. While you were enjoying your break, our custodial crew, main office team, and administrative staff spent the break preparing every corner of our building. This week, our teachers are returning to organize, set-up and put final touches on their classrooms to create an inspiring home for learning for the upcoming school year.
Starting a new grade often brings a colorful mix of emotions—from anticipation about new classmates to butterflies about meeting a new teacher. Please know that our entire team is ready to make this an extraordinary year for every student. Below, you will find key information to help your family navigate a smooth start to the new school year.
PLACEMENT
We know all of you are eager to receive placement information. Placement will be sent via email this coming Tuesday, August 20th. To ensure the work that our faculty and administration engaged in to create balanced classes, CHANGES IN PLACEMENT CANNOT BE MADE. We appreciate your trust in the teachers and administration for their diligent considerations and hard work in creating this year’s classes.
ENROLLMENT UPDATE:
This year we welcome one Preschool 3-year old class and one Preschool 4/5 year old class. With these two additions and an increase of one section of grade one over the summer, we have 28 classroom sections of PK through Grade 4, with 25 sections in Grades K-4, which is a decrease of one section from last year. For the first time in more than 25 years at South, we will have a grade level with only 4 sections (Kindergarten). At this time, our enrollment breaks down as follows:
Pre-K: 2 sections - 18 students
Kindergarten: 4 sections, 79 students
Grade 1: 6 sections, 104 students
Grade 2: 5 sections, 92 students
Grade 3: 5 sections, 103 students
Grade 4: 5 sections, 109 students
Along with our 18 Pre-K students and 79 new kindergarten students, we are welcoming 23 new students across grades 1 through 4 to South this year. Our total enrollment currently stands at 505 students in PreK through Grade 4.
Staff Updates
As is the case each year, we have had some staff changes for a variety of reasons.
As a reminder, we welcomed Mrs. Lara Doggett as the new principal’s administrative assistant last winter and Ms. Hailey McGinnis as our new School administrative assistant in the spring. Mrs. Capone has transferred to East and Ms. Pascarella resigned and moved to her home state of Ohio over the summer.
We welcome the following new staff to South School this year:
Ashley Teixeira will be the PK-4/5 teacher. She is transferring from West.
Alyson Schroeder will split her time between South and West Preschools as the Speech and Language Pathologist.
Mary Lane Haugh joins us as our new general music teacher.
Katelyn Pallis joins our Grade 1 team as a classroom teacher as enrollment dictated adding a sixth section of Grade 1 over the summer.
Jessica Burton and Francesca Fry join us in our Special Education Department as Special Education Resource Teachers.
Fiona Brady, who is NOT NEW to us, as she served as Mrs. Woodard's maternity leave substitute for the entire year last year, officially joins our fourth grade team this year.
Adriana Del Torto is our new building substitute.
Dr. Rochelle Mitlak, who was a long-term substitute for the majority of last year in our Language Arts Department, is now a permanent Literacy Specialist at South.
Paola DiMiceli is our new graduate intern.
Michael Avitabile and Naeomi Miller join us as new special education teaching assistants.
Karla Molina will join our kitchen staff and food services is currently in the process of hiring a new kitchen manager.
Staff Position Changes and Leaves of Absence
Ms. Mary Kate Nicholas who has been a part-time psychologist at South for the past several years, has transferred to West School and Ms. Aileen Doohan will fill the part-time psychologist position here at South.
Laura Young, kindergarten teacher will be going on maternity leave for the remainder of the school year, on or about September 30th. As a result of this short period of time before she leaves, we have hired Courtney Caudill, our building substitute during the past two years, to take over Laura Young’s kindergarten class beginning on the first day of school.
Ellie Leslie, our Technology Integrator will be going on maternity leave on or about September 4th, and returning on November 30th. Laura Young will take over Computer Lab classes for Mrs. Leslie until Mrs. Young’s maternity leave begins. At that point we hope to have a two month long term substitute in place for the remainder of Mrs. Leslie’s leave through November 30th, or our building substitute will take over the computer classes.
Elementary School Hours
Grades K-4: The instructional day for students in Grades K through 4 is 8:40 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. Students can begin arriving at 8:30 a.m. and report to their classrooms. Buses will start arriving at 8:25. If your family lives within the BOE distance guidelines for receiving bus transportation, you should have received a letter from the transportation department about your child’s bus information, with the bus stop location and times for pick-up and drop-off. Every year, it takes a week or two for bus routes to settle out, and we respectfully ask for a little extra patience during this time.
As a neighborhood school, we also have many walkers and bikers. Please talk to your children about using the sidewalks and crosswalks for safety. We also encourage all eligible students who are not walkers or bikers to ride the bus to help reduce the amount of traffic around and on campus at drop-off and pick-up times.
Preschool Hours
The two Pre-K classes have different school day hours, and they do not receive bus service, although some will receive van service if their IEP requires it. The hours for the Pre-K classes are as follows:
Mondays: 9:00 a.m. to 12 noon
Tuesday through Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The schedule for the first two weeks of school for the Pre-K was sent to all Pre-K families by our Preschool Director Alexandra Rowgowski two weeks ago. A copy of the letter is accessible here.
Pre-K Student Drop-Off and Pick-Up
Drop-off for all Pre-K students will be at 9:00 a.m. at the FRONT OF THE SCHOOL in the Farm Road parking lot. Preschool staff will come out to get students at 9:00 a.m. Parents should REMAIN in cars and our staff will unbuckle and assist students in exiting the car. Conversely, at dismissal, preschool staff will bring students to their cars, and PARENTS MUST EXIT THE CAR AND BUCKLE THEIR CHILD INTO THEIR CAR SEATS.
K-4 Student Drop-Off and Pick-Up
All drop-offs and pick-ups MUST be made in the drop-off/pick-up line in the Farm Road parking lot. All drop-offs must be made between 8:30 and 8:38. The second bell rings at 8:40 and any students arriving IN THEIR CLASSROOMS after the second bell are marked tardy.
Staff members are assigned to the pick-up area for the 3;20 p.m. dismissal to help direct children to a numbered cone spot to load multiple cars at a time. PARENTS MUST STAY IN THEIR CARS FOR BOTH DROP-OFF AND PICK-UP to keep the line moving.
Only buses are allowed to use the Gower Road lot for drop-off and pick-up.
Pick-Up Area for Kindergarten and Grade 1 Walkers
To alleviate traffic on the bus platform at dismissal, the pick-up area for Kindergarten and Grade 1 Walkers is located at the double doors to the right of the original South School sign and the Be Your Best Self vinyl banner on the Gower Road side of the building. This is the area where the storage trailers used to be located. Older siblings in Grades 2 through 4 meeting younger kindergarten or Grade 1 siblings to walk home with them will be directed to exit through the bus platform doors and walk around the north wing to sign out their siblings at this new location. No parents will be allowed on the bus platform during dismissal to facilitate a safer and more efficient bus loading process.
Early Bird Program for Grades K-4
South School offers an Early Bird Program for a nominal fee, which allows working parents to drop off their children as early as 7:30 a.m. Information about the Early Bird Program can be found HERE or on the South School website by clicking on Menu, then Parent Resources, and then Early Bird Program, You can also call our school administrative assistant, Ms. Hailey McGinnis, at 203-594-4313 with any questions.
Grades 1-4 Meet & Greet Sessions
We will host our annual Meet and Greet opportunity for all students in GRADES 1 - 4 on Wednesday, August 26th, from 10:30 to 11:00 a.m. in the classrooms. Adults must have a valid photo ID to enter the building for this brief visit. This is not a formal presentation and will last only 30 minutes as teachers have other responsibilities beginning at 11:00 A.M. that day.
Kindergarten Meet & Greet Sessions
A separate letter will be sent to all kindergarten parents explaining our Kindergarten Meet and Greet sessions for kindergarten students, which will be held on Tuesday, August 26th. Specific times and directions for these sessions will be sent in a separate letter.
New to South School Tours
For families new to South School, our PTC will conduct tours of the building on Wednesday, August 26th, from 9:30 to 10:00 a.m., just prior to the Meet and Greet sessions for Grades 1-4. Please enter through the main entrance.
Popsicle Playdates for Students New to South & All Incoming Kindergarteners
All new students are welcome to come to the South playgrounds on Monday, August 24th, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. This is a great opportunity for students and parents to meet other new South families, so they will know a few familiar faces on the first day of school. Kindergarteners will meet on the playground in front of the school (off Farm Road), while new students in grades 1-4 will meet on the Lower Playground behind the school (off Gower Road). Families with children at both levels will have to visit both playgrounds.
First Day of School
The first full day of school for all students in Grades 1 through 4 is Thursday, August 27th. It is a full day of school for these grades from 8:40 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. The first FULL day of school for Kindergarten students is Friday, August 28th from 8:40 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. (Please see the separate Kindergarten Parent Letter for the Kindergarten Meet and Greet Schedule for Thursday, August 27th.)
PTC - Pawsome Partners in Our Work
Our pawsome South School PTC will send its Welcome Back Letter tomorrow. Their mailing will have more information for all families about their work and many exciting upcoming events as we launch this new school year.
South School Student/Parent Handbook
We will be sending home a hard copy of The South School Parent/Student Handbook - one per family with your only or oldest child during the first week of school. It can also be accessed online on the South School website by clicking on Menu, Student Resources, and then Student Handbook.
We are all so very excited to welcome our new students and families to South School, and of course, we are excited to see all of our returning scholars and their families back at school for the 2026-2027 school year! See you very soon!
Respectfully,
Matt Kascak, Principal
Siobhan McCormack, Assistant Principal
Alexandra Rogowski, Preschool Director