January 22, 2008

Dear Parents,

Happy New Year!

I hope the holiday season was enjoyable and memorable for you and your family.  Here at Polson we are off to a good start in 2008.  Although teaching and learning continues to be our primary focus, this fall and early winter our students were involved in a number of important initiatives outside of the classroom including:  Operation Kids Care, Read to Grow, Toys for Tots, and Camp Rising Sun.  Additionally, our fall and winter interscholastic sports teams have represented our school with pride, dedication, and determination and our athletic and academic intramurals have a number of students involved in fun and interesting activities.

As we come to the midpoint of the school year, I thought I would take the time to update you on school and district news and share with you some important dates for your winter and spring planning.

Central Office:  Mr. David Klein has been appointed Superintendent of the Madison Public Schools and he will begin his tenure in Madison on or about March 1, 2008.  Until then Anita Rutlin will be serving as Acting Superintendent.  

Communication:  If you have not already done so, please sign up for the Polson Listserv.  You can do this via the district or Polson website.  The Listserv allows you to receive e-mails related to general Polson information as well as school closings and delays.

Progress Reports:  Trimester 2 Progress Reports will be distributed to students on Friday, January 25, 2008.  Please remember that these are not final grades and if you have any questions or concerns, please contact the specific teacher.

The Polson website:  Please visit the Polson website for announcements and information.  You can also access individual teacher websites via www.polsonmiddleschool.org.

District Calendar:  The Event Calendar, which can be accessed from the Madison Public Schools website, allows you to see the dates and times of all events going on around the district.

Code of Conduct:  Recently, revisions were made to the Polson Code of Conduct.  The updated document will be available on the district and Polson websites.

Connecticut Mastery Tests:  The CMT testing window for 2008 is the month of March.  We will begin testing the first week of March and will continue testing for approximately three weeks.

Grade 7 to 8 Transition:  The teaming process for grade 7 to 8 will begin the first of April.  We take great pride in carefully placing each student for the following year.  Teaming is not finalized until late July and team letters are sent to families in August.  Math placement letters for eighth grade will be mailed home in May.

Grade 8 to 9 Transition:  The transition process for our eighth graders to high school is a very important one.  I know Don Cramer (grade 8 Counselor) has sent you a letter outlining the process.  Please know that the transition calendar is available through the Guidance Department link from the Polson website.  This is very important for grade 8 parents, but grade 7 parents may want to preview the information for next year.

Important dates:  Details will follow regarding all of the following events:

Monday, February 4 through Friday, February 8
The Social Studies Department, under the leadership of Mr. Art Robbins, with support from the Polson PTO, has organized a Music and Meditation Program that will run at different times for different grades over the course of the week.

*Grade 7 and 8 Band and Orchestra students
Friday, June 6, 2008, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm                   Lake Compounce Trip

*Grade 8 Students:
Thursday, June 12, from 9:00 am – 6:00pm              Holiday Hill
Friday, June 13, from 7:00 – 10:00 pm                                  Grade 8 Dance
Wednesday, June 18, @ 9:00 am –                            Stepping Forth
(Each cancellation moves Stepping Forth forward one day.)

Wednesday, June 18, 2008                                        Last day of School
(Each cancellation moves the last day of school forward one day.)

Finally, I speak for the entire faculty and staff when I say that we are truly enjoying your children here at Polson this year.  Our wonderful school community continues to be made up of dedicated faculty and staff, supportive and involved parents, and hard working, talented, and fantastic students.  Thank you for your part in this and your continued support of Polson.

As always, please do not hesitate to call on me or any member of the Polson team if you need assistance.

Respectfully yours,

Frank J. Henderson
Principal