Embedded Files
Family Newsletter
February 2026
Schoolwide Expectations:
Schoolwide Expectations:
R: Respect Others
O: Own Your Actions
A: Act Safely
R: Rise to Challenges
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Important Links:
Stamford School Important Dates and Events
2025-2026 School Year Calendar
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Dear Stamford Families,
It’s hard to believe that today marks the end of January. This school year is truly flying by! When you love what you do and the community you’re part of, time seems to move even faster. January has been a very full month, and February promises to be just as busy, though in different ways.
As we head into February, we’re looking forward to many exciting opportunities to learn and celebrate together, including Groundhog Day, Academic Excellence Night, Valentine’s Day, Presidents Day (a school day), Black History Month, and the 100th Day of School. We will continue to share how these events are being recognized throughout the month and look forward to making each one meaningful for our students.
Academic Achievement: Winter Data
During January, students completed our winter benchmarking using FastBridge, a research-based assessment system that helps us monitor student progress in reading and math. FastBridge allows teachers to see how students are performing in key skill areas, identify strengths, and determine where additional support or enrichment may be needed. This data is an important tool that helps us make informed instructional decisions and ensure we are meeting the needs of all learners.
We are especially encouraged by what we are seeing in our winter data. In early literacy skills and oral reading fluency, over 85% of our kindergarten through eighth-grade students are currently reading at or above grade level. This reflects the strong work happening in foundational reading areas such as phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, and confirms that our instructional focus is making a real difference for students.
Our early math data is equally exciting. In grades K–2, 100% of students assessed are performing at or above grade level in foundational numeracy skills, including number sense. For students in grades 2–8, FastBridge’s aMath assessment, which measures math problem-solving, reasoning, and overall grade-level math skills, shows that 82% of students are performing at or above grade level. This data helps guide math instruction and intervention in the same way our reading assessments do.
We are incredibly proud of our students and staff and will continue using this data to celebrate successes and thoughtfully support continued growth for all learners.
To celebrate this, Academic Excellence Night will be held on February 10. Doors will open at 6:00 PM, and families are invited to explore student work in classrooms. A ceremony in the auditorium will follow at 6:30 PM.
We hope to see you there!
📊 Budget Season: Your Voice Matters
We are entering what will likely be a challenging budget season. While these conversations can be difficult, they also remind us of what truly matters: our children, our staff, and the future of our community.
I strongly encourage families to attend the Town Meeting on March 2, as this year’s school budget will be decided by a floor vote. Families with children in our school will be directly impacted by the outcome, and every voice truly matters.
I have been working hard to communicate and highlight the great work happening here at our school. Your presence and support that evening would be deeply appreciated.
📘 Homework, Reading & Staying Connected
The gains that we are seeing are also a result of the support students receive at home. Please continue to support your child by:
Encouraging consistent homework completion
Setting aside time each night for reading or being read to
Reading with children, or reading to them, is one of the most powerful ways families can support learning and development. When children read or listen to stories at home, they build vocabulary, strengthen comprehension skills, and develop the background knowledge that helps them understand more complex concepts in school. These shared moments also reinforce the foundational literacy skills they practice in class, helping them become more confident, fluent readers. Beyond academics, reading together fosters curiosity, imagination, empathy, and emotional connection. Children who are read to regularly are more likely to see reading as enjoyable, comforting, and meaningful, which are habits that last a lifetime. Even just a few minutes each night can make a tremendous difference in their growth as learners and thinkers.
❄️ Staying Warm, Healthy, and Ready to Learn
Cold weather and flu season are here, and we appreciate your help keeping students warm, safe, and well.
Outdoor Recess & Winter Gear: As the weather gets colder, please remember that children will go outside for recess each day unless the temperature, including wind chill, drops below 10 degrees. To stay warm and healthy, it’s important that students wear the appropriate outerwear and footwear. T-shirts, shorts, Crocs, or sandals are unsuitable for winter weather.
Outdoor Recess & Winter Gear: As the weather gets colder, please remember that children will go outside for recess each day unless the temperature, including wind chill, drops below 10 degrees. To stay warm and healthy, it’s important that students wear the appropriate outerwear and footwear. T-shirts, shorts, Crocs, or sandals are unsuitable for winter weather.
Make sure your child has a warm jacket, hat, gloves, and sturdy shoes for outdoor play. We have extra coats and mittens for children to use during outdoor play if needed. Students should also bring a pair of indoor shoes to change into if they wear winter boots to school. It might be wise for younger students to have extra pants in their backpacks if they get wet during recess.
If your child needs winter gear, please reach out. We have coats, gloves, hats, and boots available, and we are always happy to help.
❤️🩹 Attendance Matters—And So Does Health
To support our students as learners, consistent attendance is crucial. Missing even two days a month, whether excused or unexcused, can significantly impact a child’s academic achievement.
Research shows:
Students who are chronically absent in kindergarten or first grade are far less likely to read on grade level by third grade.
For older students, chronic absenteeism strongly predicts future academic struggles, more so than low grades or test scores.
Regular attendance also supports social development and strengthens students’ sense of belonging.
Arriving on Time: Our doors open at 8:00 AM, and announcements begin at 8:25 AM. Arriving late means missing:
Arriving on Time: Our doors open at 8:00 AM, and announcements begin at 8:25 AM. Arriving late means missing:
Important messages
Morning routines
Early learning opportunities
Social connection with peers
Thank you for helping your child start each day ready and on time.
Balancing Attendance With Wellness: That being said, we know this is the season of many illnesses. Please keep your child home if they have:
Balancing Attendance With Wellness: That being said, we know this is the season of many illnesses. Please keep your child home if they have:
Fever of 100.4°F or higher (must be fever-free 24 hours without medication)
Vomiting or diarrhea (must be symptom-free 24 hours)
An illness requiring antibiotics (must be on antibiotics 24 hours)
Persistent cough
Flu-like or COVID symptoms
Thank you for helping us keep our school community healthy.
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PTG News: We need your partnership and involvement to ensure our students' success. This year, we are working to rebuild participation with our Parent-Teacher Group (PTG) to support our school community. We warmly invite all parents to be active members of our PTG. Every parent is already a valued member, and we encourage you to participate in whatever suits you and your family best. We'll hold monthly meetings to collaborate and support our students and school community. Our meetings will occur on the first Thursday of every month from 5:30-7:00 PM in the School Library. Please join us for an evening of discussion, connection, and community-building! The next meeting is scheduled for February 5th, and members of the Student Council will be joining us. Hope to see you there!
We look forward to seeing you there and exploring ways to work together!
As always, thank you for being such an engaged, supportive part of the Stamford School community. The partnership between school and home is what allows our students to thrive, and we are grateful for the trust you place in us each day. Please don’t hesitate to reach out with questions, ideas, or concerns as we move through the rest of the winter season together. We look forward to seeing many of you in the coming weeks and continuing this important work together.
Warmly,
Julie
Staying Connected: Teacher email addresses are included with this newsletter (please scroll to the bottom). Please feel free to contact your child’s teacher directly at any time.
Earn Cash for Schools with Box Tops: Together, We Can Make a Big Difference! For over 25 years, Box Tops for Education has provided families with an easy way to earn money for schools with products they already buy. Today, you can find hundreds of participating products throughout the store, and all you need is the Box Tops app.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures:
For the safety and efficiency of our drop-off and pick-up process, please remain in your vehicle at arrival and dismissal times, regardless of your child's grade level. Students riding the school bus are dismissed first, and carline dismissal begins once the bus departs.
Key Reminders:
School doors do not open until 8:00 AM. For safety reasons, please do not drop off your child and drive away unless you see a staff member outside. Staff on morning duty include Ms. Legrand, Ms. Jalinskas, or me.
Stay in your car to keep the carline moving and prevent congestion.
Allow staff members on duty to assist students in safely entering and exiting vehicles.
A few additional reminders about the carline:
Please pull forward when dropping off your child.
Do not park or get out of your vehicle in the carline, as this causes delays.
At times, cars may need to wait on the road. While we understand this can be inconvenient, no vehicles should go around another car unless directed by a staff member.
Our top priority is student safety, and we appreciate your full cooperation to help keep drop-off safe and efficient for everyone. Thank you for your support and understanding.
CORE Values: Windham Southwest Supervisory Union Mission and Vision Statement: Windham Southwest Supervisory Union creates pathways for our students to become powerful communicators, critical thinkers, and collaborators who use empathy and take responsibility for relationships, lifelong learning, and adaptability in our changing world. Stamford School prepares students with the essential competencies identified by our Portrait of Student Success Design Team. Our core values guide us as we ensure our students’ success.
The Stamford School prioritizes the following competencies:
ADAPTABILITY: Demonstrate agility, creativity, and flexibility in thoughts and actions to negotiate a range of different views, roles, and situations
COMMUNICATION: Articulate thoughts and ideas, listen and respond effectively, decipher meaning, and build on others’ ideas for a range of purposes and audiences
COLLABORATION: Build collective commitment and action to achieve group goals by leveraging strengths, defining roles, sharing feedback, seeking diverse perspectives, and debating respectfully
CRITICAL THINKING: Analyze and evaluate meaning, significance, and impacts using evidence and inference while considering multiple perspectives
EMPATHY: Listen to, engage with, and care for the feelings, emotions, and experiences of others by practicing awareness, consideration, validation, respect, and sensitivity
RESPONSIBILITY: Act honestly, demonstrate care, honor commitments, seek help, repair harm, resolve conflicts, and consider consequences for risks while contributing to the community and the greater good.
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