Dear Cresskill Community,
I wanted to take a few moments to provide some exciting updates as we enter the final stretch of the school year. While this year has been a whirlwind of great things for our students, more is to come as we look towards the future.
Our Communication App: Did you know Cresskill Schools has its own app right now for your phone? News stories, announcements, and even alerts can now go directly to your phone and not get lost in your endless stream of email. Simply download the app on the Google Play or App Store. It joins the varied tools we use to keep in touch. Below is a chart showing the way we are communicating and through which tools.
Updated Mission Statement: The Cresskill Board of Education recently adopted an updated mission statement that will help drive our purpose forward in serving all students. I am proud of their work and will be working collaboratively with the administrative team on ways to implement this statement into our messaging and goals.
Student Chromebooks at CMS/CHS: Through a generous donation from the HSA, we will be providing Chromebooks to every student in the middle school and all those in the high school that do not already have their own computing device. We are working on details, but there will be a technology fee to families to cover the insurance and device covers. More information will be shared in the summer as we move towards September.
EHB Library Update: New furniture has been ordered, and we are looking forward to an updated space for our elementary students opening in September.
Updated WiFi Hubs and Internet: Every building is being rewired with upgraded cabling, paid partially through grants. Additionally, the high school WiFi hubs have finally arrived and will be installed in July. This will upgrade the high school internet speed and fidelity significantly in the upcoming year.
Merritt School Principal Search: We will be completing our second round of interviews by the end of this week, and we are on target for completing the search and interview process by the next board of education meeting on June 26th. It is my hope to recommend a candidate at that time for appointment. After the announcement, I will work on setting up opportunities to meet the new principal prior to September.
Continued Refinement of the Website: In addition to using the Cresskill App for notifications, we have done a tremendous amount of work this year to update our website. As our work continues, we will be adding additional functionality for alumni. This will include an alumni registry, a spot for highlighting alumni for exceptional contributions, and even a way for the school to accept direct donations that are tax deductible towards large projects. Our goal is to make our partnership with alumni even more robust.
District Calendar: We plan to finalize the calendar later this month. While it still needs to be board approved, these are the anticipated important dates:
August 31: First Day for Staff
September 5: First Day for All Students
December 22 (Minimum Day) - January 1: Winter Recess
March 29 - April 7: Spring Recess
June 18: High School Graduation/Last Day of School
As you can see, we are making continuous progress as we come to the end of a great (and more normalized) school year. On behalf of the Board, my administrative team, and myself, we hope that you have a healthy and joyous summer filled with friends, family, love, and much needed rest.
With Grateful Service,
Dr. Peter Hughes, Superintendent of Schools