Letter: Super Welcomes Students and Parents Back to School

Dear Parents and Community Members,

Welcome back!

Although the calendar indicates that this summer break was longer than most, it certainly seemed to go by very quickly. I hope that the months of July and August allowed you to spend time with family and friends engaging in all of the activities that make this time of year so special for our children.

Hurricane Irene certainly made the end of the summer stressful, we hope that you and your loved ones made it through without injury or loss of property. Although many of us are dealing with a loss of power, it certainly could have been far worse.

While our students were not in attendance, our administration, faculty and staff were hard at work to insure the smooth opening of our schools for the 2011-2012 year. We are anxious to meet the students joining us for the first time, and welcome back all of our returning scholars. Our instructional staff has been hard at work preparing lesson plans, revising curriculum, and examining new programs and technology integration.

District administration is working in concert with the Board of Education to develop goals for the school year. The top priority will remain constant – maximizing student achievement. Our role as educators is to assist our students in reaching his/her own full potential. As parents and members of our community, you play a key role in this development.

As our theme of the year indicates: It takes a village to raise a child. Port Jefferson is an extraordinary village, and I am very proud to begin the school year serving as your superintendent. As we enter into this partnership, I look forward to effective collaboration and communication with all of you. Your input into identifying the priorities of the District will be welcomed. Please anticipate the opportunity to attend a community forum (date TBD) this fall.

Please refer to our website and continue to check the virtual backpack for updated information. You should also have received the 2011-12 District Calendar and Directory. Please note that on August 23 (after the printing of our calendar) the New York State Education Department released the calendar for all New York State Assessments, 3-8. It is posted on the District website. This calendar identifies Tuesday, April 17 as the first day of the New York State English/Language Arts testing, 3-8. This will require the rescheduling of our Superintendent’s Conference Day, as students will be required to attend school on Monday, April 16 in order to insure a smooth testing cycle. Testing students on the second day back from Spring Break is, needless to say, less than ideal. I will be meeting with administration to identify an alternate date for Superintendent’s Conference Day in the spring. We will notify you as soon as a date has been confirmed so that arrangements can be made.

We are looking forward to working with you to make the 2011-12 school year a successful one for all of our students.

Warm Regards,

Kenneth R. Bossert, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
Port Jefferson Union Free School District