Weekly Update from Principal Snyder, 9/11/2023

Good evening, Hugh Mercer Students and Families,

 

This is your principal, Mr. Snyder, with your weekly update for the upcoming week. If you haven’t heard, our PTA and members of our school community began work on the Hugh Mercer Pollinator Garden yesterday.  Located near the outdoor cottages along the gym exterior wall you will find our garden. We are excited for not only how it will look on our campus but for how it will be included in our future learning lessons and plans. If you want to be a part of its creation, please look out for updates from the PTA on the next phase of creation. You can also view the amazing work from yesterday on our social media accounts later this week. Then, if you haven’t seen it yet, we want to extend our thanks to the Fredericksburg Sheriff’s department and the incredible work they did to clean up and beautify our Hugh Mercer sign that fronts Cowan Boulevard on the hillside.  We are grateful for the wonderful partnerships and support we have from the Fredericksburg community and the Sheriff’s department.

This week we are sending home interims as we are now over half-way through the first grading quarter. Please review your child’s interim with them and take time to discuss their experiences at school and their learning. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your child’s teacher as our Hugh Mercer teachers will be reaching out to you to support your child’s learning path.

Wednesday, September 13^th is a half-day of school for all FCPS students. Hugh Mercer will dismiss at 12:45pm that day. Remember to make any necessary transportation changes for this day in advance to ensure a smooth transition.

September is Attendance Awareness Month and the Virginia Department of Education recently released school data on SOL performance and attendance. This is a perfect time to return our focus to the importance of regularly attending school. The research and data are clear, the more time you spend in school the better you perform and the more likely you are to be at the appropriate learning level for your grade and age. The more school you miss the greater the likelihood that you will have learning gaps and fall behind in your appropriate learning levels. As the data shows, too many of our Hugh Mercer students are missing school on a regular basis. This is impacting not only a child’s learning but our community’s learning. Please help us to get back to a level of learning excellence that every child deserves and to show the community just how important elementary education is to a learning community of schools. Included in my message is a flier on some ways to help encourage your child to attend and to give you some ways to establish a more consistent routine that supports regular school attendance.

As always, we are looking forward to another productive and positive week ahead. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or concerns. Your partnership is essential, and working together ensures the success of every Hugh Mercer student.

I hope you enjoy your evening and look forward to a wonderful week ahead.

Goodnight,

Mr. Snyder

Attendance Awareness Month Flier_General.pdf