Superintendent's Weekly Message
February 6, 2012
Greetings Once Again:
Let me begin by apologizing for the short delay in publishing this weekly message. There was a transition in staff in the central office of the district that impacted the publication last week. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
As summarized in the previous communication, the 2012-2013 school calendar was approved and is now posted on the district website. Over the duration of the next few months, options for developing and recommending a 2013-2014 school calendar will be reviewed. Additional information about this will be made available to you as the work is completed.
I am pleased to announce that Donna Nestler-Rusack, Ed.D. has officially commenced her tenure as Assistant Superintendent of Schools for Teaching and Learning. Since her arrival, our new Assistant Superintendent is taking time to visit each school, meet various people associated with our work and is reviewing work recently completed in the areas for which she is responsible. Please join me with wishing much success to Donna in her new role.
Recently, we reviewed the district’s electronic communication systems for the purpose of getting information to you and the general public effectively as well as reducing and eliminating identified redundancies. The following summary will provide you details regarding the changes we will implement to assist our commitment to maintaining an effective and efficient communication system.
AlertNow will be used only to communicate emergency or vital information as the district and individual schools deem necessary, such as:
• Unexpected closures, delayed openings, early dismissals
• Emergencies affecting the schools/students
- Code red or yellow emergencies
- Evacuations
- Bus accidents
- Student absences from school without notification from parent
• Important notifications that must be received by all students of a certain school, grade, or group for school events, such as:
- Orientations
- Open House
- Parent/Teacher Conferences
- Field Trips/Class Trips
- State Testing Schedules
All other information will be sent through the Avon Public School website email system, including but not limited to:
• Superintendent’s Weekly Messages
• District announcements
• PTO announcements
• School announcements and reminders
To assist us in our desire to communicate more effectively with you, if you have not already done so, please log on to our APS website (http://www.avon.k12.ct.us/info/maillist/) and register to receive our email notifications. Parents are asked to register by February 19, 2012 as we will be implementing this system by the end of the month.
Thank you for your continued support of our schools.
Very truly yours,
Gary S. Mala
Superintendent of Schools
gmala@avon.k12.ct.us
“Welcome to a New Beginning”
