Letter from the Principal
To the Addison Community,
On Wednesday evening, I had the privilege of meandering through the crowds of people as folks chatted and waited in long lines at Addison to get ice cream. It was fun, as it might be the last time I will be able to appear incognito at an Addison event. I observed genuine joy on the faces of families as you got to see old friends, reunited in person, and talked about your excitement for the upcoming school year. I spoke to several families who had just moved to our neighborhood within the past month from all over, and they were thrilled about the vibe they were feeling on campus. It is not anything that can be put into words nor easily replicated. Addison is a special community, and this will be a special year.
We have many new faces both in the office and around campus. Each one of them has jumped right in and added something unique to the community. Please take a moment to read about all of these new Addison community members and say hello when you see them around:
- Melinda Zschietzchmann (Cheech-man), Secretary
- Valerie Rainey, Clerk
- Athena Foley, Kindergarten/1st-grade Combo
- Nancy Sanchez, 2nd grade
- Addison Lucia, 3rd grade
- Pallavi Ramamarthy, Instructional Aide
- Amy Kageyama (changed role), Librarian Teacher
- Theresa Vanacore (changed role), Mental Health and Wellness Associate
- Jeff Downing, Principal
The next big event will be our Back To School Night (BTSN) this coming Tuesday, August 16th. This is an adult-only event, and there is no onsite childcare, so please plan accordingly. The purpose of BTSN is to give an opportunity to meet your child's teacher, visit their classroom, and hear from their teachers about the academic program that they have developed for this school year. The flow for the evening will be:
- 6:00 – 6:45pm Kindergarten to 2nd grade presentations, in respective classrooms
- 6:50 – 7:10pm Introductions and Brief Messages, in Multi-Purpose (MP) Room
- 7:15 – 8:00pm 3rd through 5th grade presentations, in respective classrooms
Volunteers will be back on campus this year. The PTA and your teachers will be share the opportunities that may be available for you to volunteer on campus, either at PTA events or in the classroom. Many of these opportunities could be for one time or on an ongoing basis throughout the school year. Be on the lookout for many ways to get involved this year.
One such opportunity that is currently available is to volunteer to help supervise students during our lunchtime service from 12–1:15pm. This is a great way to get on campus and work with students while helping to maintain a safe environment during lunch/recess. Some lunch duty volunteers come one day a week, multiple days, or are simply willing to be on call should the need arise. If interested in finding out more, please email me at jdowning@pausd.org.
Two other reminders are that picture day will be Friday, August 19th, and there is NO school on Monday, August 22nd.
I look forward to seeing many of you at BTSN.
Sincerely,
Jeff Downing
Principal, Addison