August 12, 2024

Dear Alcott Families,

I hope you and your children are enjoying the summer and have found time to relax with family and friends.  It is hard to believe that the new school year will be starting in a few short weeks.  I am looking forward to a great year and can’t wait to welcome you and your children back to Alcott!

For returning families, you may notice a few new improvements around the school when you return this fall.  I am excited for everyone to see our new rainbow crosswalk, which was made possible by a generous gift from last year’s 5th grade class.

I am also excited for students to see our new gym floor, which was resurfaced and now includes an image of Bronson the Owl, our school mascot!  A big shout out goes to Alcott’s art teacher, Mrs. Brady, for creating the Bronson stencil that was used in the project.

I want to take this time to share some important information that you may need in the coming weeks.

First Day of School: The first day of school for students is Wednesday, August 28th.  This is a half day, meaning dismissal occurs at 12:25.  There is no school on Friday, August 30th and Monday, September 2nd.

Open House: Teachers will be hosting an open house for students on Tuesday, August 27th from 2:15-3:00pm.  This is a wonderful opportunity for you and your child to meet their new teacher and see the classroom.

Class Placement: Class assignments will be released in the Parent Portal by 5pm on Friday, August 16th.   You will need your Aspen login to be able to view your child’s classroom assignment.  If you are having any trouble logging in, please email parentportal@concordps.org for help.  You may want to check to see if you remember your login before August 16th as help is only available during business hours.

Back to School Night: Save the date for Alcott’s Back to School Night, which will take place on the evening of Wednesday, September 18th.  A more detailed schedule for the night will be released later in the month.

Supplies: If you did not order supplies through the PTG earlier in the summer, a link to the supply lists for each grade level can be found here.  If this is a financial hardship for your family, please reach out to Alcott’s school counselor, Rene Kashmiri (rkashmiri@concordps.org), who will coordinate school supplies for your child.

Bus Assignments: Bus assignments will be available later in the month.  You can access bus routes on the transportation website.

School Lunch: We are happy to share that the state of Massachusetts has funded universal free public school breakfast and lunch again this year.  Breakfast and lunch orders can be placed on the Nutrislice website. If you do not already have an account from last year, you will need to create one. You will need your child’s lunch ID. If you do not know it, please email Food Services Director Jess Brown (jebrown@concordps.org). Breakfast orders need to be placed by 7am the day of attendance and can be placed up to five days in advance.  The doors open for breakfast at 8:40am.  Lunch orders need to be placed by 8am the day of attendance and can be placed up to five days in advance.   Please note that per state regulation, the District is no longer able to offer grab and go lunches on half day Wednesdays since school lunch is not offered during the day.  Please plan to have your child bring their own lunch if you had previously utilized this service on the half day.

I hope that everyone is enjoying their final weeks of summer.  I look forward to seeing you all very soon!

Warmly,

Naomi Krakow
Alcott Principal