April 14, Principal’s Update

Dear CMS Families,

Congratulations to all the students who participated in last week’s production of Seussical. Your musical and dramatic talents wowed all of us! Thank you to our Director, Mr. Shancady, Peter Miller, Jen Jarvis, Dave Smyth, Erik Fox and Dan Rivenburgh as well as all of the parents who supported this production: Tracey Marano, Hedi Charde, Karen Burns, Helen Brady, Lynne Owen, Brenda duPont, Lisa Becker, Joanne Jensen, Frank Breen, Katy Bunnage and Rebecca Caruso.

Congratulations to the CMS Green Team and our families for donating to our Spring Fundraiser! We were awarded  $1000 at the Concord Cooler Fair for all our excellent family attendance and commitment to our energy saving actions. Here is the link to the award announcement.

This week 7th-grade students took part in our 13th annual India Day in Social Studies classes. The hands-on presentation and experience gave students a small taste of India’s rich and colorful culture. It was rewarding for students to see and interact with the objects and clothing provided by our volunteers and by generous contributors to the Concord community. Thank you to Seeta Durvasula, Geeta Krishna, Hina Shah, Urvashi Joshi and Vanitha Kumar who helped with setting up this experience.

Finally, thank you to all students who participated in the PTG’s Military Appreciation effort. Students created thank you notes in art classes to share with students of families in the military. This effort to acknowledge children from military families is a legacy to former Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger. CMS student cards will be delivered to students at Hanscom Middle School on April 25th.

The Concord School Committee voted on Tuesday night to reduce the CPS FY2018 Budget Request to meet the Concord Finance Committee Guideline.  We were able to match the guideline by reducing the FY2018 acquisition cost of two school buses by using a lease purchase instead of an outright purchase and also by increasing the reduction in the contingency account.

Another piece of good news is that the Concord School Committee voted to not move the $400,000 FY2017 Supplemental Request Appropriation based on our projection that we will complete the current school year within the existing FY 2017 budget. There is more information regarding the April 24 Town Meeting School Budget articles on the District Website:www.concordps.org

MCAS testing begins on Wednesday, April 26. The finalized schedule is below.

Have a great April vacation.

Regards,

Drew