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THIS WEEK—
Monday, Aug. 23
• 8:30am | Hall Pick up schedules, purchase binder reminders & PE uniforms
(until 11:30am)
Tuesday, Aug. 24 – FIRST
DAY OF SCHOOL
• 8:30am | Hall PTA volunteer signups
Wednesday, Aug. 25
• 3:10pm | Deadline for Hall Weekly Bulletin: submit
article online
• 7:00pm | School Board meeting, Hall Library; see
agenda
Thursday, Aug. 26
• --
Friday, Aug. 27
• --
NEXT WEEK —
Monday, Aug. 30
• --
Tuesday, Aug. 31
• --
Wednesday, Sept. 1
• 8:30pm | Corte Madera Larkspur Schools Foundation meeting, NC Conf. Room
(note time is after NC Back-to-School Night)
Thursday, Sept. 2
• 3:15pm | Hall West Side Story workshop
Friday, Sept. 3
• 3:15pm | Hall West Side Story workshop
AHEAD —
Sept. 6: LABOR DAY HOLIDAY (no school)
Sept. 7: Hall ONLY early dismissal, 1:05pm; Hall Back-to-School
Night, 7:00pm; Hall PTA General Meeting, 8:30pm
Sept. 8: School Board meeting, 7:00pm
Sept. 9: Hall casting for West Side Story, 3:30pm
Sept. 10: Hall casting for West Side
Story, 3:30pm
— Detailed 2004-2005
District Calendar
— Year-at-a-Glance 2004-2005 District Calendar (pdf)
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PRINCIPAL’S
MESSAGE: Aug. 24, 2004 |
New Faces, New Facilities
The first day of school brings with it new students, staff, and facilities.
One hundred and eighteen new sixth graders are starting their middle
school experience today. I had the pleasure of meeting a great many of
those students and their parents last May, and I am excited about working
with them for the next three years.
Along with new sixth graders, nineteen new students are attending
Hall for the first time. These students join us from as far away
as Louisiana, Maui, and England, and as close as Santa Rosa and
Antioch. The unique experiences and perspectives they bring with
them will enrich our learning community. Welcome to Hall Middle
School and the Larkspur School District!
Hall is also enriched by the addition of new staff members. Brenda
Poletti comes to us from Aptos Middle School. She
is teaching sixth-grade Language Arts/ Social Studies core. Jennifer
Cornaggia has taught at Bidwell Junior High and has
joined the sixth-grade team. She is teaching two separate cores
of Language Arts/ Social Studies and Math/ Science. Alexis
Ahle is teaching seventh-grade Pre-Algebra. She spent
the last year teaching high school in San Luis Obispo. Elizabeth
Pasquale is teaching both Special Day Class and Resource
in the new Learning Center. She has been working at the Napa
Valley Language Academy. Ken Brungess has
taken over as the music teacher at both Hall and Neil Cummins.
Ken has been teaching music in the San Carlos School District.
Along with his work at Neil Cummins, Don Mathews is
teaching a period of English Language Development. And finally, Marilyn
Dineen is returning to Hall to teach while Lourdes
Theusen is on leave for several weeks.
These new teachers have quickly assimilated into the Hall culture
and have worked extensively with the veteran teachers to continue
the strong academic programs of each grade level and department.
If you have not visited the campus lately, I invite you to come
and see the amazing changes. The new soccer and softball field
are done, the blacktop has been resurfaced and equipped with
new basketball standards, volleyball courts, tetherball courts,
and handball walls. The transformation has been remarkable. Through
the work of the school board, the school district, and the city
of Larkspur, our students have one of the best play areas in
the county. The students of Hall and I thank all who made it
a reality.
Continuing the progress made by parent Maija Norstad,
considerable landscaping work was completed over the summer.
The work has improved the look and feel of the campus.
Backpack Mail and You
If you are reading this, your child effectively brought the backpack mail
packet home to you. Congratulations to you and your child! This is our
primary means of communicating news, announcing upcoming events, and
celebrating our successes. Make sure to ask for the backpack every Monday
evening (Tuesday if there is no school on Monday) if your child forgets
to give it to you. It is imperative that you look through the materials
and review and sign any forms that require your signature.
Pick-Up and Drop-Off
In order to keep students safe and to keep the flow of traffic moving,
it is essential that all parents picking up and dropping off students
use the circle to do so. Pull in at the signboard and turn left to the
Drop-Off Circle. Do not turn right and do not use the entrance at Piper
Park near the district office. This applies to early morning band students
as well. By doing so we will be better able to keep students safe and
to allow staff to park in the parking lot. Thank you for your consideration
and cooperation.
Come Back to School
Back-to-School Night is Tuesday, September 7th, at 7:00pm. Mark your calendars
now so that you can meet your child’s teachers and see the school.
Congratulations and thanks to students and staff for a successful
start to the school year. It’s going to be a great year.
—Daniel Norbutas, Principal
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Sign Up for "West Side Story"
Our fall musical, West Side Story, is about to get started! It
is a wonderful musical based on Romeo and Juliet. If you have
seen the movie or stage play, be aware that here at Hall we will do it
in an age-appropriate way — some language will be changed, and any
violence will be minimal and stylized.
1. WORKSHOPS will be held after school on Thursday Sept.
2 and Friday Sept. 3 (3:15-4:30pm both days). Potential
performers: Come to a workshop if you want to learn about West
Side Story and to practice reading lines to prepare for
the Casting. This does not commit you to be in the play.
2. CASTING will be held on Thursday, Sept. 9, and Friday,
Sept. 10 (3:30-5:30 p.m. both days, but dancers stay
until 6 p.m.). Everyone needs to sing a song and read lines
from the script so that we can assign roles. Everyone who comes
to Casting is in the show — we have a “no-cut” policy.
3. The rehearsal schedule will be set soon, and it will be posted
at school and printed in a future Hall Bulletin.
4. Performances will be November 19, 20, and 21.
SIGN UP FOR A WORKSHOP OR CASTING DATE IN THE SCHOOL OFFICE.
If you have any questions, contact director Becky
Reed. |
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NOTE: Members of the Hall community
may access the ONLINE
Hall Bulletin (PDF format) for the complete Bulletin. Click
here to subscribe
ADDITIONAL NEWS—
—on the Hall PTA pages
—at the Corte Madera Larkspur
(CML) Schools Foundation website
LIBRARY NEWS
• Summer Reading List
The Hall Library Summer Reading list will be sent home on June 8th. This
list of recommendations, along with previous lists, is also available on
the Hall Middle School Library web site.
Required: All Hall Middle School students (entering
6th, 7th, and 8th graders) are REQUIRED to read at least one book
during the summer from this list of recommendations. If you have
already read the one listed in a series, you may read on. Students
must fill out the “Book Review Sheet” and turn it in
to their language arts teacher when school starts in August.
Encouraged: Students are encouraged to read lots
of books during the summer. Students who read at least three books,
and turn in “review sheets” on all three, will receive
a special treat from the Hall Middle School PTA when school resumes
in the fall.
Have a wonderful summer, reading!
— Carol Halpern, District Librarian
— get summer reading lists
— get Book Review Sheet (pdf) |
