Veterans’ Memorial Elementary School

“Eagles Rock!” 

Matt Fusco, Principal

Kristie Lambert, Assistant Principal 

60 Prospect St.

Gloucester, MA  01930

mfusco@gloucesterschools.com

Mar 6, 2023

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Spring is almost here!  I am even beginning to believe that getting through this school year without a snow day could be possible.  This would mean our last day of school would be June 13, 2023.  I haven’t updated our community in awhile so there are a bunch of things to discuss.  

EARLY RELEASE DAYS IN MARCH:  There are two early release days this month.  The first is Thursday, March 9th for parent conferences.  If your teacher is having concerns about your child’s progress at this point in the year, they will be setting up a meeting.  Any concerns or questions you may have about how your child is doing, please reach out to your child’s teacher to set you up with a Parent/Teacher conference. The second early release is on Tuesday,  March 21st for professional development for our teachers.  

REPORT CARDS: Report cards will be going home on March 24th.  Parents can access them on schoolbrains or we can send them home in paper form as well.  I can’t begin to tell you just how hard our teachers work on these report cards. It requires a lot of time and effort and most importantly, it gives you an excellent sense of how your child is doing academically and emotionally.  Please make sure you look them over and if you have any questions feel free to contact your child’s teacher.  

MCAS EXAMS:  Starting in April, students in grades 3,4 and 5 will be engaged in MCAS exams.  MCAS stands for Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System and is required of all students who are in the public schools of Massachusetts.  Your children are preparing for these tests right now through their normal school work.  Prior to the tests starting, a detailed schedule  will be coming  home with our grades 3, 4 and 5 students.

EAST VETERANS BUILDING PROJECT: The East Veterans School continues to stay on time and on budget!  This is amazing news especially when you consider the supply chain issues plaguing  so many industries.  I have heard a few stories about other school construction projects that are not faring as well as ours.  As of this writing, the third floor classrooms are almost complete, tile work and plumbing continue.  I am hoping to get over to the new school to film a video and take some pictures at some point this week.  We have made a lot of decisions about the school.  In case you missed them:

• The school day will be from 8:30 - 2:30PM

• Our Mascot is the Blue Shark

• Our Colors are light blue, dark blue and white

• Our new logo and emblem are at the top of this page

• We will be referring to the school as EVS not EVES.

The building is absolutely gorgeous!  I can’t say enough good things about the design and the craftsmanship.  It’s a real showpiece.  

PI COMPETITION:  Our annual Pi competition will be happening on 3/14 which is internationally known as PI day.  Students who enter must memorize as many numbers of PI as possible.  The winner will get a “Pizza PI” party for their classmates as well as lead our annual PI parade  (known for its goofiness). Our 3 time winner Ava Harrington has moved on to middle school so a new champion will be crowned.  There seems to be a lot of students going for it, so it should be a lot of fun.  Help your child practice if you can.  

IMPORTANT DATES: 

• MARCH 9TH ~ EARLY RELEASE:  PARENT CONFERENCES

• MARCH 14TH ~ PI DAY

• MARCH 20TH ~ MINGLEWOOD FUNDRAISER (order in or out and a portion of the proceeds goes the East Veterans PTO) 

• MARCH 21ST ~ EARLY RELEASE:  TEACHER TRAINING

• MARCH 24TH ~ REPORT CARDS GO HOME

• APRIL 3RD ~ PTO 6:00PM

• APRIL 17 - 21ST APRIL VACATION

We are almost there! I want to thank all of you for working with your children and being so supportive of our wonderful little school.  Eagles Rock! 

Very Truly Yours, 

Matt Fusco

Principal