Dear Harbor Families,

Can you believe tomorrow is only the sixth day of school? I don’t know about you, but to me it feels like the students have been back for weeks! Throughout this transition into the new school year, I hope your child is coming home feeling comfortable and happy in their learning environment - which, by the way, is a prerequisite for academic learning.  

In classrooms, learning routines are in place, new friendships are developing,  and academic, social/emotional, and physical learning is underway.  It’s been such a pleasure to witness our full specials schedule in place (after a modified specials experience last year) and to see students enjoying PE, art, music, and Spanish several times a week, along with yoga and mindfulness. And, enrichment classes and hot lunch seem to be receiving rave reviews from kids and families so far. Not a bad start to the school year!

As the year progresses, we intend to be able to offer more opportunities to invite you into the classrooms in-person so you can see the magic happen first-hand, but in the meantime, we look forward to ongoing communication - and to providing you with glimpses into the students’ day to day experiences - through a number of mechanisms:

• Every Friday, teachers will share Grade Level Newsletters with updates on the week’s learning, along with classroom and school reminders, and an “Ask Your Child…” section, to provide you with prompts to get those reluctant sharers to talk a little more about their week!

• Starting next week, teachers will share login information for our Seesaw app and begin to post photos of your child’s school experience! If you don’t already have the app, instructions for getting set up will be provided at Back to School Night.

• Following our back to school conversations prior to the start of school, we look forward to our next formal parent teacher conference in early November. Comprehensive, formal report cards are shared twice a year, in January and June.

• Your child’s teacher will keep communication open and ongoing, and parents or teachers may initiate additional conferences throughout the year if the need arises. We ask that you use email (our preferred method) or the teacher’s phone extension; please refrain from texting or calling the teacher on their personal cell phone. The car line is a great place for quick check-ins - but please, don’t chat longer than the time it takes for your child to climb in or out of the car! 

• Last but not least, teachers are busy preparing presentations for Back to School Night, which is one week from today! On Thursday afternoon, your child will bring a folder of materials home with information to supplement the evening’s presentation. Classroom presentations will provide information on the curriculum, classroom routines, home/school communication, and more - and will include opportunities for questions at the end. Here is the Zoom link for Back to School Night (password: Harbor); we'll email it again that evening for your convenience.

It goes without saying that the parent teacher partnership is an essential component in support of each student’s learning journey. We look forward to cultivating this important relationship in the coming weeks and months!

Warmly,

Leah Musico

Head of School