Dear Parents/Guardians,

It is with great enthusiasm that our schools prepare to welcome you and your children back to school for another incredible school year here in Gorham. The 2024-2025 school year is just around the corner and we couldn’t be more excited. We’ve been busy this summer washing/waxing floors and cleaning classrooms, moving furniture, painting, finishing off modular expansions and adding air conditioning to GHS, among other things. We can’t wait for everyone to return to school to check out the results of our work.

As we prepare for schools to re-open I thought I’d share a few things that parents/guardians should be aware of to get the school year started off right. First some basic logistics:

• First day of school for students in grades Pre K, 6, & 9 will be on 8/28/24.
• First day of school for students in grades 1-5, 7-8, and 10-12 will be on 8/29/24.
• There will be no school on 8/30/24 and 9/2/24 due to the long Labor Day weekend.
• First day of school for Kindergarten students will be 9/4/24 after screening has been completed.

Incoming Kindergarten families should have their screening appointments set. If you are a parent of a Kindergarten student and you do not know when your screening appointment is, please reach out to your school’s office and they can provide you with this information. *Note: School office regular hours will begin on Aug. 12. Until then, office hours are limited.

If you are wondering about bus routes, we will have those posted on our website (gorhamschools.org) by the end of the day on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Just go to the main page, click on “About Us” then on “District Departments” and select “Transportation” and you should be able to click from there to find what you need. They are also on page s 6-7 of this issue.

You should start receiving communications from your child’s school and teachers later this month with more details about what to expect for specific classroom needs, open house dates, and other important opening of school events. If you haven’t heard anything from your school by mid-August, feel free to call the numbers above.

Each year parents/guardians ask how you can become involved in your child’s school. First thing to know is that WE WANT YOU TO BE INVOLVED! Here are two quick ways you can be…

• Get involved in your school’s P.I.E. group (Partners in Education). Each school has one and while some meet more frequently than others, all of our schools use these groups to reach out to help run events, plan family fun nights, and generally just help out whenever needed.
• Volunteer in our schools. In order to volunteer in the Gorham schools you need to register. This is a very quick process. You can find all information needed by going to our website. Click on “Human Resources” then click on “Volunteer Program”.

One other important way you can help out our schools across all grades is to help us send the message that SCHOOL ATTENDANCE IS IMPORTANT. I know, I know, there are days we all have when we want to skip out on work or life’s responsibilities in general – but school attendance is the #1 predictor of student success in school. Regular attendance at school matters and it is the #1 way parents/guardians can help children be successful in school. Good habits developed now will last a lifetime! When you help make school attendance a priority, you help your child get better grades, develop healthy life habits, and have a better chance of graduating from high school ready to successfully meet the challenges life may have to offer for them. Please help us help you to make school attendance a priority.

In closing, our school staff works tirelessly to make our schools a place where your children want to come each and every day to challenge themselves, to socialize, and to achieve all they can achieve as learners. We care deeply about the success of our students. We strive to work hand in hand with you to achieve our overall mission of “Preparing and Inspiring” every student to attain their success and to take on the complex challenges of our world. We are lucky to have YOU as our parent/guardians and we look forward to strengthening our partnerships to benefit our children over the next year together. It truly does take a village to raise a child and we love our little Gorham village. GO RAMS!

As the summer quickly begins to come to a close, I look forward to beginning another great school year here in Gorham. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me with any questions, comments, or concerns you may have throughout the year. My email is heather.perry@gorhamschools.org and my office phone is 222-1012. See you all soon!

Heather J. Perry,

Superintendent of Schools