Horace Mann School Principal Update

School Photos Reminder - We will have School Photos tomorrow - Tuesday, September 19th.

Back to School/Curriculum Night - Wednesday, September 20th from 4:00-6:00 PM

Please review the NEW TIMING and the NEW FORMAT of our event.

FORMAT

4:00-4:45 - OPEN HOUSE

• Walk the School, Visit Classrooms and Meet OUR STAFF!
• PARENT/CAREGIVERS and CHILDREN WELCOME

4:45-5:30 - PRINCIPAL/PTO PRESENTATION

• In the Gym
• 30 minute presentation
• Parents/Caregivers ONLY
• HM and DAD Staff will provide CHILDCARE out on the playground.

5:30-6:00 - K - 5 CLASSROOM PRESENTATIONS

• Parent/Caregivers can attend ONE classroom/grade level presentation of their choice.
• Individual classrooms or grade levels will share a 30 minute presentation, Q and A session.
• HM and DAD Staff will provide CHILDCARE out on the playground.

6:00 - END of EVENT

• Staff on the playground will be assigned a grade level/classroom and will transition students back to their MORNING ARRIVAL LINE SPOT.
• Parents will meet children at their normal MORNING ARRIVAL LINE SPOT before heading home.

Whimsical. Creative. Dedicated. Fun

These are just a few of the attributes that Heather Dias brought to her fourth and fifth-grade classrooms at the Horace Mann Elementary School for twelve years. Students who had the opportunity to work and learn under her tutelage benefited from her belief that every child is entitled to a public education which ignites their curiosity and propels them into a lifelong pursuit of learning. Effective teaching is a craft built on talent, devotion and love. Through her relentless advocacy and student-centered instruction, Heather Dias repeatedly modeled what good teaching looks and feels like.

We are grateful to share the new area that was created in honor of Heather Dias, former Horace Mann teacher and special educator, who worked at Horace Mann beginning in 2010. We aren’t quite done with the garden, but our hope is that students can use this space to read, write, draw, or simply dream…all of which are favorite activities of Ms. Dias. In the coming weeks, we will be adding additional plants and flowers and a gorgeous and whimsical spinner.

A huge thank you to the entire HM community for the generous donations that made this project possible. Thanks also to the HM PTO, to LoriAnn Akdag, and to Rose Mariano, for their efforts to pull this project together.

We are continuing to work on the design of our renovation project. As you can see below, we meet every other week to fine tune and improve upon the design.

Our next big step is to bring the most recent design drawings to the entire Horace Mann staff. This will take place later in September.

Newton's All-City Orchestra (ACO) is back! Auditions will take place throughout the month of October. The ACO is an afterschool group that rehearses once a week and works on challenging and fun repertoire. Any students in grades 4-8 looking for a higher-level orchestra experience should consider auditioning! See attached flyer to sign up for an audition slot, and for more information, please read the ACO's season announcement.