Dear Friends,

Well, the first week of the year is behind us and we have welcomed many new faces to the school as well as all of our returning friends. Throughout the summer we have been busy hiring many new teachers. While I was able to introduce a number of them to you before, I am going to list them all for you now so you have their names in one place. Please take the time to stop by and give them a genuine DeSales welcome.

Mrs. Webster ~ First Grade
Miss Trombitas ~ Third Grade
Mrs. Rahill ~ Library
Mrs. Deegan ~ AIS Literacy
Mrs. Kowalski ~ AIS Math, Grade 8 Math
Miss Rarick ~ Music
Mrs. Mongeon ~ Spanish
Ms. Pelligra ~ Technology Integration Specialist

As I wrote last month, one of the many fond memories that I have from my elementary years are the many different clubs that I could join to explore different opportunities; those not normally available to me. Now, with some creative scheduling, we have been able juggle the schedule such that on non-Mass day Wednesdays we will use the last period of the day as a time when clubs can meet and students can still go home on their regular bus. The above teachers, as well as our returning veterans, are already busy brainstorming different clubs that they want to offer. Look for more to come on this soon.

Finally, as I am sure you have heard, NYS recently released the long awaited test result from last year and, while we at DeSales did very well as compared to our local districts, as well as the state, we are already working to improve and help our students to expand their capabilities. Parents of students in grades 4 – 8 look in the mail over the next couple of weeks for student reports and a detailed explanation of what exactly those numbers 1 ~ 2 ~ 3 ~ 4 mean and just how seriously to take them. (You can get a brief preview of my thoughts if you look back at my blog from January 22nd of this year.)

As always, if you have any questions or just want to stop by and share your thoughts, please feel free to do so.

God Bless You All,
Scott