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Welcome Back, Students!

Greetings Families, 

I hope this letter finds your families healthy and well. We are very excited to welcome all our students back from summer break on Tuesday, September 6th! I am happy to welcome back Ms. Janet Farquhar and Mrs. Alicia Ross as part of our admin team for this school year. Kate Fioravanti, Assistant Director of Arts, and Maribel Olivero, Director of Bilingual Education, ESOL, and World Languages, will also be joining our team as they support our magnet programming and ESOL department. We have been busy this summer with filling staff vacancies, our building construction project and state partnership through the Commissioner’s Network. Last year, we showed tremendous growth as a school community. By the end of the year, we had a newly developed Student Council, several brand-new spaces through the construction project, positive feedback from our state leaders and consultants, and a significant decrease in physical altercations and major discipline referrals. We are in a great position to continue our growth and provide our students with the best middle school experience possible. As you prepare for the upcoming school year, here is some helpful information for you: 

  • School Times – Attendance matters and arriving to school on time is important for your child’s education. The school day hours for students on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday will be from 7:50-2:34. Students may start arriving to the building for breakfast at 7:42 AM. We ask that all students being dropped off before 7:50 AM, arrive at the doors on Lincoln Ave, only. This is to prevent any disruptions and safety issues with the buses dropping off at the Main Entrance. Wednesdays will follow an early release schedule with students being dismissed every Wednesday at 1:54.
  • Uniforms – New London Public Schools will not be requiring students to wear a uniform for this upcoming school year. We will, however, continue to require that all students follow the dress code expectations, in accordance with our Student/Family Handbook.
  • Backpacks – We strongly advise students to come to school with a backpack to store their belongings (cell phones, supplies, clothes, etc.). Students will not have access to their lockers for this upcoming school year. All backpacks will be kept with students. Students should keep all valuable items at home since the school is not responsible for any lost, stolen, or damaged items. If any assistance is needed for purchasing a backpack, please let us know.
  • 6th Grade/New Student Orientation – Due to construction constraints, we are unable to host our traditional 6th Grade/New Student Orientation this year. If you are interested in taking a tour of our building, please reach out to myself or our 6th Grade administrator, Janet Farquhar, at farquharj@newlondon.org or at 860-574-4196. Students will receive their schedules on the first day of school. Families will be invited to come visit at our Back to School Night in September. Information for that event will be sent out in the near future.
  • Attendance Motivator – We have added Ms. Shikiyah Brown to our staff. Ms. Brown is a New London High School graduate and member of our community. Ms. Brown is our new Attendance Motivator and has been conducting several home visits throughout the summer along with members of our support staff. The purpose of a home visit is to build relationships and support our students and families. If your family has any needs (food, clothing, detergent, toiletries, etc.) that we can support with, please reach out to Ms. Brown at brownshi@newlondon.org. 

We look forward to a great year at the middle school. We will work closely with families and one another to support our students and school community. If you have any questions, please feel free to call at 860-437-6480 or email at vamvakidesc@newlondon.org. 

Sincerely, 
Chris Vamvakides, Principal 
Bennie Dover Jackson Multi-Magnet Middle School Campus 

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