August 5, 2024

Dear Annunciation Families:

          We hope this email finds you well and you are enjoying your summer! The month of August is upon us and we are eagerly awaiting for your children to arrive in September. Throughout the summer, we have been doing a great deal of planning and preparation to welcome you all back for the 2024-2025 school year. Below are some important details/ informational pieces for your reference.

Welcome to Staff:

• We warmly welcome Mr. Gary Westhoff, to our Annunciation faculty. Mr. Westhoff will be joining our middle school team and will be teaching social studies. Mr. Westhoff comes with a wealth of experience and has been working with Mr. Dorrian throughout the summer to transition into his new position.
• We warmly welcome Mr. Ryan Tarantino to our Annunciation faculty. Mr. Tarantino will be joining our middle school team and will be teaching religion. Mr. Tarantino is a parishioner of Annunciation and eagerly awaits teaching our middle school students about Jesus. 

Good Luck to Our Staff Moving on From AES:
          We wish the best of luck to Mr. Dorrian, Mr. Henshaw, and Ms. Ricciardi who have moved on from Annunciation School to pursue their next endeavors. We thank them for their service to our school over the past few years and wish them all the best in their futures. We are grateful for the role they have played in the lives of our students. God bless! 

2024-2025 Calendar:

• The 2024-2025 calendar will be LIVE on our website soon. Please note, as with all calendars, items are always subject to change. The published calendar should give you an overall lens of what our school year will look like. As usual, If there are any adjustments that need to be made to the calendar, we will inform you promptly. 
• Important to note→ The Superintendent of Schools has allotted 2 full weeks for Christmas vacation this year.
  • With that in mind, we will only be taking the Tuesday and Wednesday of February break this year and will return to school on Thursday, February 20, 2025. We know this is an adjustment to our regular calendar but in planning for the possibility of snow days etc., it is best to build in these days to that week in February. With that said, our last school is now June 18, 2025. As always, snow day give back days will be listed on the calendar for planning purposes. 

Building News & Updates to Share:

• With the support of our AES Crestwood Foundation, we were able to add an additional SmartBoard this summer.
• Our roof above the gym is in the process of being replaced.
• Our parking lot and play area, (thanks to the support of our Annunciation Our-Lady of Fatima Men’s Club) will be undergoing some painting. Stay tuned for updates on this!
• We have added some new furniture within the classrooms (thanks to the support of our HSA) that will foster small group instructional activities.
• As always, we want to thank our maintenance staff, Mr. Spencer Diaz, Mr. John Vielandi, Mr. Robert Buonocore, and Mr. James Maloney for the countless hours that were spent to ensure that our building projects were completed this summer! 

Curriculum News and Updates to Share:
          Each year at Annunciation, we are committed to improving our curriculum and growing in the diverse content areas. Below are just a few of the curriculum enhancements planned for 24-25. 

• We have updated our curriculum for Grades 3-8 and will be utilizing Savvas as our ELA series. Over the last year, our faculty met as a committee to overview various programs and found that this was the best fit for our students. Our teachers have and will continue to participate in asynchronous training to roll out the new program. We will blend old practices with new ones and continue to grow our ELA curriculum and instructional practices. We look forward to having access to new digital materials and to meet the ever-growing needs of the learning community, 
• Our Grades PK-Grade 4 will now be utilizing the Loyola Press religion series. In 23-24 we moved to pilot the program for grades 5-8, with the plan for full school integration for 2024-2025. Our teachers are excited to add new resources and opportunities to delve further into religious studies.
• In our early childhood classrooms, we have added activity walls/ sensory panels that will help students to explore, practice with sensory objects, and combine play with learning. We have also invested in new sensory toys. (Thank you to our HSA).
• We are continuing our work with Ms. Laura Grill, Instructional Math Coach for the 24-25 school year. Together with Ms. Grill, we are growing our center-based learning activities and will continue to offer personalized learning opportunities for our students in grades PK-8.
• We are grateful for our partnership with our student support coordinator Ms. Monica Montanez. Ms. Montanez has been working with us throughout the summer to facilitate IESP meetings, coordinate services, and update students’ most recent IESPs. 
• Adding new flexible seating to some of the classrooms to foster center based learning and collaborative learning among our students. (Thank you to our HSA)
• Stacked lineup of fun for Catholic Schools’ Week sponsored by our HSA. Stay tuned for updates!

For Students with IESPs/ 504 Plans:

• For students that have been enrolled at AES with existing IESPs, please submit the 24-25 updated IESP to the main office. We do not receive these documents from YPS and therefore we need our parents to submit them to us so that we can update records.
• If anyone is NEW to school and has a current IESP in place and/or 504 plan, please submit it to us so that it can be reviewed and updated with our Special Education Department as needed.
• If your child will be bussing out for services at one of our local schools, please be sure to include the homeroom teacher and administration on these scheduling correspondences.
  • Last year, we began suggesting that parents supply students that will be bussed for services with an Apple AirTag. The AirTag will be held in the main office and distributed to the child before he/she goes on the bus. It will be returned to Mrs. Brown upon return back to school. 
• If you are interested in having your child evaluated, please contact Ms. Montanez and schedule an initial meeting. 
• Email: monica.montanez@catapultlearning.com 

New Student Ice Cream Social:
          We warmly welcome 57 NEW students to our Annunciation family this year! We are so excited for our new students to join us. Our HSA will graciously be hosting our New Student Ice Cream Social on September 4, 2024 at 4:30PM. Thanks to our chairs, Erin Downey and Rosa DiLullo, we will be partnering with Ice Cream Emergency this year for our new student welcome! We hope to see our new families there! 

A.Hartz School Supply Pick Up:

• Our A.Hartz school supply pick up is scheduled for grades 1-8 for:
  August 28, 2024 and September 3, 2024 from 5P-7P. 
• If you ordered supplies for your child(ren) in grades PK3-Kindergarten, supplies will be delivered to the classrooms. 
• Thank you to our partners at Value Drugs and Mrs. Kristen Oddo for continuing to spearhead this program for Annunciation. We also thank Mrs. Michele Scanlon for volunteering to organize and chair the supply pick up evenings! 

2024-2025 Arrival Times & Dismissal Times:
          As shared with you in June, below are the arrival times for the 2024-2025 school year.

Grades PK3-Kindergarten Arrival:
          8:10AM at the early childhood doors 

Grades 1-8 Arrival:
          8:05AM line up in the school yard by Mrs. Liberatori’s office doors

          Doors will close at 8:15AM this year. Any child arriving after 8:15AM will need to go to the main office and collect a late pass. Excessive lateness will impact students’ ability to earn honors in grades 5-8. Please be sure to be prompt in the morning. 

PK3 Dismissal:
          11:30AM→ Pick up at the doors on St. Eleanoras Lane (closest to the Mary statue)

PK4 Dismissal:
          2:55PM→ Pick up at the early childhood doors (same as arrival)

Grades K-8 Dismissal:
          3:00PM→ Students will be dismissed through the same doors that they enter through in the morning. 

2024-2025 Arrival/ Dismissal Form:
          Please complete the attached Google Form regarding your child’s intended arrival and dismissal plan. As always, if there is a change to your child’s transportation or someone else will be picking up your child, the school office and homeroom teachers must be notified. Your child(ren) will not be released to anyone unless we have written permission from the parent/ guardian. 

24-25 Arrival/Dismissal Form 

• This Google Form must be completed by ALL FAMILIES no later than September 4, 2024. 

Classroom Assignments:
          We will be sharing class assignments the week of August 19, 2024. A correspondence will come from your child(ren)’s homeroom teacher welcoming them into the class. All class assignments are FINAL.

Uniform Reminders:
          Please be sure that your children are in proper school uniform not only on the first day of school but throughout the year. Summer uniforms will be worn through October 18, 2024. On October 21, 2024, we will begin our Winter Uniforms. We will share information about students’ physical education days for gym uniforms, AES spirit wear days, and special charity dress down days throughout the year in the beginning of the school year. For information specifics regarding uniforms please visit Liebmans’– https://www.liebmansuniforms.com/.

For boys’ summer uniforms→ navy/ brown boat shoes OR school uniform shoes are permitted.
For girls’ summer uniform→ plain white keds/ mary janes/ plain white sneakers OR school uniform shoes and white or blue knee highs or anklets purchased at Liebman’s are permitted.

** Please note that students will be required to wear WINTER uniforms for school pictures scheduled for October 3, 2024. 

Morning Care & Extended Day:
          Attached you will find the morning care and extended day registration documents for the 2024-2025 school year.  You can submit the documents over the summer or at your earliest convenience. 

Nurse’s Documentation:
          Please be sure to send updated physical examinations and immunization records to the nurse’s attention either hard copy or emailed to Maureen Magnani, mmagnani@annunciationcrestwood.com 

Save the September Dates:

• September 4, 2024→ New Student Ice Cream Social, 4:30P
• September 5, 2024→ First Day of School Grades 1-8, NOON dismissal
• September 6, 2024→ First Full Day Grades 1-8, 10AM Mass
• September 9, 2024→ Morning Care/ Extended Day begins, Kindergarten Orientation, 10AM, Happy Kid Lunch Begins
• September 10, 2024→ PreK3, PreK4 Orientation, 10AM, Kindergarten NOON dismissal
• September 11, 2024→ Kindergarten, Full Day, Prek4 NOON dismissal
• September 12, 2024→ Full Day PK3-Grade 8
• September 13, 2024→ Full Day, HSA Color Run, 4PM 

          We are wishing you all a peaceful and restful month of August. We look forward to sharing more news about our 24-25 school year and thank you for your continued partnership. We are looking forward to working with you and your children this year. 

God bless you! 

Best,

Caitlin Geraghty Liberatori                Hugh M. Keenan                                Yaroslawa Perich
Lower School Principal                      Upper School Principal                      Assistant Principal