Dear Audubon School Family:

I am so excited about the 2012-2013 school year at Audubon! I have been a teacher at Audubon for the past sixteen years and have now been assigned to the position of principal of Audubon School. I am looking forward to developing and building on the relationships I have with you to make Audubon a place where students can learn, teachers can teach and we all have fun here together. I intend to make decisions based on what is best for your child and their classmates at school. Working together will enable us to accomplish feats that would be unattainable if we choose to work in isolation.

Everyone at Audubon is excited and committed to fulfilling our school mission of developing and challenging your child's personal, social, and academic potential so that he or she will become a productive citizen. The staff at Audubon is looking forward to getting to know you and your child. Schools in the Dubuque Community School District will be implementing a new reading program this year. The school district has been investigating different approaches to reading instruction over the past several years. Teachers in various schools piloted some of the top choices last year and the decision was made to select "Lead 21" which is a reading program published by McGraw Hill. This program is research based and will require students to learn through inquiry. This program also also has a technology component. The stories and books they will be reading and learning about are a balance of fiction and non-fiction books. Please ask your child about what they are reading and learning about in school. I am confident they will be as excited about this new program as our staff is about teaching with it.

This calendar and handbook should provide you with important and specific information about the policies and general organization of Audubon as well as an informative calendar of happenings throughout the year. Taking the time to read through the enclosed information will answer many of your questions before the school year begins. New families to the district will be receiving the district handbook. All returning families will get that information through the eRegistration website. We hope that both the Audubon and district handbooks allow you to find answers to a variety of questions. If for some reason, you are unable to find the information you are looking for, our knowledgeable and friendly office staff is a phone call away.

Our start and end times have been moved back by five minutes this year. This means our school day will begin at 8:25 and end at 3:10. We ask for your cooperation by not dropping your child off or having them arrive on school grounds before 8:15 a.m. (unless eating breakfast). There is no supervision to help monitor the playground for safety and security before 8:10 a.m. Students will enter the building each day at 8:20 a.m. and dismissal will be at 3:10 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. We will continue our Wednesday early release time at 1:10 p.m. These early releases provide our staff time for professional development. Not all schools in Dubuque have Wednesday early releases. Please be responsible and respectful of staff time by being prompt in picking up your child each day right at dismissal time.

Keys to a Successful School Year
" We will have a successful school year is everyone follows the following guidelines: Be safe. Be respectful. Work hard.
" We will have a successful school year if students come to school on time, well rested, prepared to learn and contribute to the Audubon School Culture.
" We will have a successful school year if we communicate.

Sincerely,
Ed Glaser
Audubon School Principal

"Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success." ~Henry Ford