This week’s Paw Prints from Principal Katie Grassa:

• Principal Breakfast: Our first Principal Breakfast will take place this year on Friday, October 2nd from 8:45am-9:45am in the Upper School Library. All families are welcome to attend.
• Terra Nova Testing: Between September 28 – October 6, 2015, the TerraNova (3rd edition) in Reading and Mathematics will be given in grades 3, 4, and 5 to determine eligibility for AWC. You will receive your child’s results later this fall.
• Open House: Open House will take place at the Curley K-8 School on Thursday, October 1st from 5:00pm-7:00pm. All families are invited to the school to meet their child’s teacher and see their classroom. This is not a time for an individual student conference but rather a time to learn about the overall learning experience your child will have this year.
• Community Music Center of Boston (CMCB): We are excited to share a new Community Music Center of Boston opportunity taking place in our neighborhood at the Mission Hill School in Jamaica Plain this year. The choral satellite program called Sing It! will have weekly rehearsals on Thursday afternoons from 3:30-4:45 in the Mission Hill School auditorium. This is a community chorus that is open to all members of the local community, including Curley students in grades 4-6. The chorus is also open to motivated and mature 3rd graders who love to sing. The first rehearsal will take place on October 8th and we hope to see you there! Please contact Jennifer or Matt at 617-482-7494 or email Matt at bailin@cmcb.org for information on how to register. Walk-in registrations with payments will also be accepted on our first day. Be sure to ask us about financial aid and payment plan options–our goal is to make this opportunity accessible for all who want to participate. Feel free to forward to your friends and neighbors–the more the merrier!
• School Site Council (SSC): The first School Site Council meeting will take place in the Upper School Library on Tuesday, September 29th from 5:30pm-7:00pm. The SSC is the governing body of the school. All are welcome to attend but only elected school staff and parents are able to vote on items.
• School Parent Council (SPC): The first School Parent Council (SPC) meeting will take place on Wednesday October 7th from 6pm-8pm in the Lower School Cafeteria. All families are members of the SPC and are encouraged to attend these meetings. Principal Grassa will welcome all families and speak at the start of the first meeting this year.
• Picture Day: School pictures will be taken on October 27th (K-5) & 28th (6-8). More information will be sent home to families. Click here to print your order forms in advance (K-5 here, 6-8 here) and contact Mr. Diaz with any questions ddiaz@bostonpublicschools.org.
• Arrival and Dismissal: Please keep in mind that the doors open at 8:15am and the official school day begins promptly at 8:30am. Please make sure to have your child arrive on time for the start of the day. Dismissal begins at 2:25pm. We are asking all families to remain outside at dismissal. We are also asking families to not release students after 1:45pm. It makes for a hectic dismissal and is disruptive to classroom learning.
• Fall Fling: The School Parent Council (SPC) will host the 9th Annual Fall Fling on Friday, October 16th. We are looking for volunteers to help sell raffle tickets both within their network as well as at local JP establishments. If you are interested in volunteering please email Jessica London-Rand at jlondonrand@gmail.com.
• Social Media: For up to date information about the Curley K-8 School please sign up for email alerts by joining the Mailing List. You can also follow Principal Grassa on Twitter @principalgrassa and be sure to always use the hashtag #curleycares when sharing/posting/tweeting information about our school.

Hello Curley Mamas! Mamas, Friendship and Beverages for Survival, MFABS for short, is BACK!

We have 2 weeks under our belts and it’s high time for libation and socialization. For the newer mamas, the Curley has a tradition of MFABS meet ups on the last Thursday of the month since 2011.

It’s a great way to meet other Moms from the Curley K8 community and beyond. There is no agenda other than to relax, share, vent and otherwise take a load off our busy minds and souls. This essential tradition has been on sabbatical and I’d like to encourage it’s return.

So how about TOMORROW, Thursday, September 24th at Bella Luna from 7:30 pm on? Arrive when you can and leave when it suits you.

PLEASE SHARE THIS INVITE with any moms who might enjoy a night out! For more information, contact Kristin Jurkoic.

This week’s Paw Prints from Principal Katie Grassa:

• Summer Reading: Thank you to all those families who encouraged their child to read this summer. We have many students who submitted their summer reading calendar and they will be recognized. You will see our Reader Leader bulletin boards in each building recognizing these students. Each student will receive a free book as well as a bracelet that says Reader Leader.
• Transportation: We want to apologize to families who have had difficulty with their child’s transportation. We are working hard to communicate this to the central office in order to help all families. We appreciate your patience as we work through each individual issue.
• Terra Nova Testing: Between September 28 – October 6, 2015, the TerraNova (3rd edition) in Reading and Mathematics will be given in grades 3, 4, and 5 to determine eligibility for AWC. You will receive your child’s results later this fall.
• Arrival and Dismissal: Please keep in mind that the doors open at 8:15am and the official school day begins promptly at 8:30am. Please make sure to have your child arrive on time for the start of the day. Dismissal begins at 2:25pm. We are asking all families to remain outside at dismissal. We are also asking families to not release students after 1:45pm. It makes for a hectic dismissal and is disruptive to classroom learning.
• School Site Council (SSC): The first School Site Council meeting will take place in the Upper School Library on Tuesday, September 29th from 5:30pm-7:00pm. The School Site Council (SSC) is the governing body of the school. All are welcome to attend.
• Open House: Open House will take place at the Curley K-8 School on Thursday, October 1st from 5:00pm-7:00pm. All families are invited to the school to meet their child’s teacher and see their classroom. This is not a time for an individual student conference but rather a time to learn about the overall learning experience your child will have this year.
• Fall Fling: The School Parent Council (SPC) will host the 9th Annual Fall Fling on Friday, October 16th. We are looking for volunteers to help sell raffle tickets both within their network as well as at local JP establishments on the weekends. More details will follow but if you are interested in volunteering please Jessica London-Rand at jlondonrand@gmail.com.
• Social Media: For up to date information about the Curley K-8 School please sign up for email alerts by joining the Mailing List. You can also follow Principal Grassa on Twitter @principalgrassa and be sure to always use the hashtag #curleycares when sharing/posting/tweeting information about our school.

Thank you everyone for making the first day of our Fall Fling raffle sales a big success!

This weekend is also Open Studios, so we will again sell raffle tickets outside JP Licks on Centre Street tomorrow, Sunday, September 20th.

But we do new help!

SIGN UP HERE to sell raffle tickets.

It’s lots of fun, and even better when you do it with friends.

The 9th Annual Curley Fall Fling this year is on Friday, October 16th from 5:30 – 8:00.

This is a fabulous family event with food, fun activities and a DJ! Our students love it, and call it their annual party.

It’s also our biggest fundraiser, so we always need volunteers.

Want to help in other ways? Use this link to sign up for a task that you are interested in helping with.

Even if you have an hour to make a few phone calls or pick up some pizza, every bit helps.

Thank You!!

Jessica London-Rand (K-2 mother)

Tonight, Wednesday September 16 at 7:30 at Canary Square in Jamaica Plain is our first planning meeting for the 9th Annual Curley Fall Fling.

We would love to have new parents as well as parents who have attended and helped out before. It’s a great way to meet other Curley parents and get involved in the school!

The 9th Annual Curley Fall Fling this year is on Friday, October 16th from 5:30 – 8:00.

This is a fabulous family event with food, fun activities and a DJ! Our students love it, and call it their annual party.

It’s also our biggest fundraiser, so we always need volunteers.

• Sell raffle tickets outside JP Licks on the weekends before the event, please click here.
• Can’t attend the meeting (or the event) but still want to help out in some way? Please contact Jessica London-Rand (jlondonrand@gmail.com)
• Use this link to sign up for a task that you are interested in helping with. Even if you have an hour to make a few phone calls or pick up some pizza, every bit helps.

Thank You!!

Jessica London-Rand (K-2 mother)

This week’s Paw Prints from Principal Katie Grassa:

• First Full Week of School: This week marks the start of the first full week of school. At this point students should have homework each evening. Last week many documents were sent home, please be sure to sign and return the documents to the school. We encourage families to reach out to their child’s teacher if they have any questions and we look forward to further deepening our partnership between home and school.
• Summer Reading: Please have your child submit their summer reading calendar to their homeroom teacher no later than Tuesday, September 15th. We are coordinating an event to celebrate students and need to have a total number of participants.
• ISEE Test for 6th and 8th Graders: On Thursday Sept 10th and Friday Sept 11th last week, 6th and 8th grade students received the applications to take the ISEE test. Please review the booklet and return the application to the Curley by Friday Sept 25th. The test this year is on Saturday November 7th and the Curley is no longer a test site. Please put your 1st and 2nd test location choices on the application form. If you have any questions contact Susan Trotz or Maria Vieira.
• Early Dismissal: We only had four days of school last week but there were several students dismissed early each day. We want to remind families to make appointments after 3pm to assure that students are able to be in school for a full day. We are also asking families to not release students after 1:45pm. It makes for a hectic dismissal and is disruptive to classroom learning.
• Arrival and Dismissal: Please keep in mind that the doors open at 8:15am and the official school day begins promptly at 8:30am. Please make sure to have your child arrive on time for the start of the day. Dismissal begins at 2:25pm. We are asking all families to remain outside at dismissal.
• School Site Council (SSC): The first School Site Council meeting will take place in the Upper School Library on Tuesday, September 29th from 5:30pm-7:00pm. The School Site Council (SSC) is the governing body of the school. All are welcome to attend.
• Open House: Open House will take place at the Curley K-8 School on Thursday, October 1st from 5:00pm-7:00pm. All families are invited to the school to meet their child’s teacher and see their classroom.
• Fall Fling: The School Parent Council (SPC) will host the 9th Annual Fall Fling on Friday, October 16th. If you are interested in volunteering, there will be a planning meeting on Wednesday, September 16th. Please contact Jessica London-Rand at jlondonrand@gmail.com.
• Social Media: For up to date information about the Curley K-8 School please sign up for email alerts by joining the Mailing List. You can also follow Principal Grassa on Twitter @principalgrassa and be sure to always use the hashtag #curleycares when sharing/posting/tweeting information about our school.

*NEWS ALERT* It’s official… The Curley publicly thanks it’s supporters! Check out our full page ad in the JP Gazette THIS Friday, 9/11.

We are thanking the professional network of supporters of the Curley K-8 school for the 2014/15 school year. We ask that you take note of who they are, and support them too. Without their kind generosity, we would not be able to bridge the ever-growing gap in the BPS budget that funds a variety of critical enrichment programs for our nearly 900 students!.

There are simply too many Curley families and individuals to list on the ad, who do so much for our school. So, a special Thank You to the legion of unique, dedicated and active parents of our school. It turns out, it does in fact, ‘Take a Village’ and ‘Many Hands, really do Make Light Work.’ THANK YOU ALL.

Lastly, the ad also lists several ways for anyone to support our school. If you would like to be more involved or would like to support the Curley K-8 school in any way, please contact: AnnCDeGeorge@Curleyk8.com or attend a School Parent Council “SPC” Meeting (on the Curley calendar.)

Thank you, and please spread the news!

Ann Chinchilla DeGeorge, K2 parent
Chair of the SPC Fundraising Committee

In order to make dismissal of the 1st and 2nd graders organized and safe, the teachers are having the kids line up against the fence when they come out.

They are asking all parents and older kids to wait on the grass on the other side of the sidewalk (to the right if you have your back to Centre St.). Once all the kids have come out, they will each hand a card to their designated teacher, as they join the person picking them up.

Please understand that this is to make dismissal safe and ensure that all kids go with the right adult or older sibling. Thanks so much for your help and cooperation!

Please call the school if you have any questions regarding this new procedure.

This week’s Paw Prints from Principal Katie Grassa:

• Welcome Back: We would like to welcome back all students, families and staff for SY 2015-2016. We look forward to a great start to school and just want to remind you that 1st-8th grade students will start on Tuesday, September 8th and Kindergarten students on Thursday, September 10th.
• Arrival and Dismissal: Please keep in mind that the doors open at 8:15am and the official school day begins promptly at 8:30am. Please make sure to have your child arrive on time for the start of the day. Dismissal begins at 2:25pm. We are asking all families to remain outside at dismissal and not to release their child from school after 1:45pm. All arrival and dismissal information is found here.
• Paw Prints: Each Sunday I will send out the Paw Prints to the website. It is an opportunity to share information with our entire community.
• Heat: It is going to be in the 90’s this week and we ask families to send their child to school with a water bottle to keep them hydrated. Water bottles are also welcomed throughout the school year.
• Curley Before and After School Program Welcome: Torri Canada, the Director of the Curley Before and After School Program (CASP), will host a welcome for parents at 7:30am on Thursday, September 10th by the Lower School entrance (40 Pershing Road). Coffee and donuts will be provided. For more information, please visit CASP’s webpage here: http://www.curleyk8.com/school-information/after-school-program/.
• School Site Council (SSC): The first School Site Council meeting will take place in the Upper School Library on Tuesday, September 29th from 5:30pm-7:00pm. The School Site Council (SSC) is the governing body of the school. All are welcome to attend.
• Open House: Open House will take place at the Curley K-8 School on Thursday, October 1st from 5:00pm-7:00pm. All families are invited to the school to meet their child’s teacher and see their classroom.
• Fall Fling: The School Parent Council (SPC) will host the 9th Annual Fall Fling on Friday, October 16th. If you are interested in volunteering, there will be a planning meeting on Wednesday, September 16th. Please contact Jessica London-Rand at jlondonrand@gmail.com.
• Social Media: For up to date information about the Curley K-8 School please sign up for email alerts by joining the Mailing List. You can also follow Principal Grassa on Twitter @principalgrassa and be sure to always use the hashtag #curleycares when sharing/posting/tweeting information about our school.

Whether you’re brand new to the Curley (great to meet many of you today at the Kindergarten welcome), or in your 10th year here, you may or may not know the Curley calendar (the list to the right of this screen) can be put on your phone.

This way, you’ll know when the school’s Open House, teacher conferences, vacations, concerts, snow days, Fall Fling, Silent Auction, Plant Sale, sports events, and School Parent Council and School Site Council meetings will be. Here’s how:

First, this is the link to the Curley’s public calendar. On your phone, COPY the link below:
https://www.google.com/calendar/ical/
u8pnjoiooqimf2f91kmlr074ms%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics

Did that? OK, here’s where the fun happens.

For iPhone/iPad users (source):

1. Launch the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
3. Tap on Add Account… under the Mail section.
4. Tap on Other.
5. Tap on Add Subscribed Calendar under the Other section.
6. Paste the link to the Curley calendar you copied above. Hit Next.
7. Then when you are finished, tap on the Save button in the upper right hand corner.
8. That’s it, the subscribed Calendar will now show up in the Calendar app.

For Android users (source):

Subscribe to Curley’s ical calendar on Google Calendar web (you may need to do this on a laptop depending on your Android version):

1. Go to Google Calendar on the web
2. Choose Other calendars
3. In the dropdown menu, choose Add by URL
4. Paste the Curley calendar’s ical address you copied above, click Add Calendar, and you should be all set.

The calendar should then appear on refresh on your Android device’s calendar and the Curley events will start to populate. If not, follow the instructions here if you have to clear the cache on your device.

Android users are welcome to drop a comment if I’m misleading you all and there’s a better way…

I can always check back on your devices to our online calendar on this site anytime too.

If you are a teacher, staff member, or a parent who wants to add something to the Curley calendar that’s specifically a Curley event, email me.

Calling all incoming Kindergarten families at the Curley!

We invite you to a family fun Kindergarten Preview event at the Curley today!

Thursday, September 3rd from 3pm – 6pm.
Curley Lower School, 40 Pershing Road, Jamaica Plain

You will be able to meet the Principal, Ms. Katie Grassa, your assigned teacher, visit your classroom, meet active members of the Curley School Parent Council and freely play on the playground with new friends… all before the first day of school!

3-4 pm – The Kindergarten teachers invite you into their classrooms and answer any of your questions

4-6 pm – Teachers, parents, students and siblings may play, socialize and snack on the Playground

A Spanish interpreter will be available as well as existing Spanish speaking Curley families

Bring the entire family. Light snacks will be provided

Families will also have the opportunity to meet existing Curley families and get paired up to assist you in this transition through the Curley Ambassador Program (CAP). CAP provides all incoming families an opportunity to meet seasoned families who can assist in navigating the school, staying abreast of events, answer questions and be a support throughout the year.

– Sincerely, The Curley K-8 School Parent Council (usually referred to as: the “SPC”)

Below is Principal Katie Grassa’s 2015/16 welcome letter. Parents should all be receiving this letter in the mail during course of this week, and that mailed version will also contain your student’s grade, homeroom, and teacher’s name for the upcoming year.

Dear Families,

We hope that you are enjoying time with family and friends this summer. We would like to welcome both new and returning families to the Curley K-8 School and are pleased to continue our collaborations between home, school and the community. We look forward to hearing from students about summer adventures as well as books they read and tracked on their calendar.

We are continuing our school-wide community theme of “Building a Culture of Caring” and reinforcing with students our Common Expectations:

• We Care About Ourselves
• We Care About Each Other
• We Care About Our School

We will build on this caring foundation by focusing on greeting one another (Smile and Say Hello) as well as student bathrooms use (Go. Flush. Wash. Leave.) We will communicate more throughout the year to families.

We serve universal free breakfast and lunch for students and our doors open at 8:15am. To support growing minds and bodies, the Health and Wellness Committee wishes to highlight a few healthy habits for providing snacks or packing lunch. We encourage parents to include fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains and water. We also encourage families to avoid including candy and drinks with added sugars.  Healthy choices lead to a focused and energetic student ready to learn and stay engaged in school activities.  For more information check out our page on the Curley website: http://www.curleyk8.com/school-information/health-and-wellness-committee.

The first day of class for students in grades 1-8 is on Tuesday, September 8, 2015.

Kindergarten students will start on Thursday, September 10th. On Thursday, September 3rd we will host an event welcoming our new Kindergarteners. From 3pm-4pm teachers will be in their classrooms to greet families and show the child their new space. From 4pm-6pm we will host a Potluck Picnic in the schoolyard by the play structures on Pershing Road. All are welcomed to join us.

Below is a list of some school procedures to help with the start of the school year:

Arrival & Breakfast

• Breakfast starts at 8:15am in the cafeteria except for Kindergarten, they will eat in their homeroom.
• The school hours are from 8:15am-2:30pm. Please make sure your child arrives on time.
• Families are welcome to walk their child to their classroom if they arrive between 8:15am-8:30am. After that time students will be tardy.
• Once you have dropped off your child, we are asking families to please exit the building promptly so instruction may begin at 8:30.
• All K0/1, K2, Grades 1 & 2 students will be met by their teacher in front of the Pershing Road performance area on the first day of school. They will file into school on the remaining days.
• We are asking Kindergarten parents not to enter the classroom for the first week of school to help acclimate the child to their new environment; this has worked very well for our students in the past. Starting September 21^st, families are welcome to escort their child to the classroom.
• Students in grades 3-8 will enter through the Centre Street Entrance and proceed to homeroom.

Dismissal

• K0-K1 walkers will be dismissed from Pershing Road in front of the Kindergarten performance area.
• K2 walkers will be dismissed from the Pershing Road side playground.
• Bus students in grades K0 through K2 will be escorted from their classroom to their assigned bus. Bus students in grades 1-5 will report to their bus room and will be escorted by a teacher of staff member to their assigned bus.
• All walkers in grades 1-8 are escorted out to the Center Street front yard exit.
• Families of walkers should wait outside the Centre Street exit gates and not in the driveway of the condominiums next door.
• Students are dismissed at 2:30pm. Please keep in mind that arrival and dismissal are busy times of the day. We are asking all families to remain outside during dismissal.
• Be sure to adhere to traffic and parking laws and do not use staff parking lot at any point during the school day.

The Curley offers a Before- and After-school program. If you would like more information please contact its director, Torri Canada at 617-777-9330.

Uniform

The Curley K-8 has a voluntary uniform policy for 2015-16, which consists of:

• Navy, black, or khaki bottoms
• Black or White Curley logo shirts, or White or Light Blue collared shirts

Social Media

For up to date information about the Curley K-8 School please visit www.curleyk8.com. Please sign up for email alerts by clicking on the Parents tab and then, Mailing List. You can also follow Principal Grassa on Twitter @PrincipalGrassa and be sure to always use the hashtag #curleycares when sharing/posting/tweeting information about our school. [The Curley SPC may be found on Twitter @curleyk8 – ed.]

We are looking forward to a productive school year and celebrating the success of your child.

Sincerely,

Katie Grassa
Principal

David Diaz
Assistant Principal

Adrian Ward-Jackson
Director of Professional Development & Inquiry

How can they score without a goal?

Coach Olivia Peters has a DonorsChoose page that is dedicated to raise money for a large soccer goal and six soccer balls. There are two promotions running for the next 5 days . If you enter the promo code SPARK at checkout, your donation will be doubled. If you enter JUMPSTART, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation will match your contribution. Only one promotion code can be used per transaction.

Please visit Coach Peters’ page here to help fund the equipment for the team.

The soccer goal is eligible for a half-off offer from Dick’s Sporting Goods (not yet applied) So, we may be able get this goal funded for 25% of the actual cost!

Thank you!!