Dear Students, Staff and Families,
Welcome Back to School!
We look forward to opening our school doors for you this upcoming school year. Hopefully, you’ve been having some fun and enjoying the many warm and sunny days of summer.
There have been lots of changes in the schools during the summer months. Our central office administrators, building administrators, faculty, and staff have been working very hard to prepare the schools for our students first days of school. We are very appreciative of their hard work.
Garvin Memorial School has moved its temporary location to the CHS Transitional Building. The renovations and addition project at John J. McLaughlin Cumberland Hill Elementary School is now nearly complete. We are in the midst of the final tasks to start our school year.
After being moved out of their building for a year, students and staff will now be enjoying our first newly renovated school in the district.
Ashton, Community and Garvin Schools will be undergoing renovations this school year. Major renovations will be completed at Garvin School this year. Also, a new cafeteria addition will be completed at Community School and a new educational wing will be built this year at Ashton.
We want to welcome everyone back to school and we anticipate that there will be many inspirational and exciting educational experiences throughout the school year for you.
Please take a few moments to read some important information regarding the start of school.
- First Days of School –
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- Wednesday, August 31 & Thursday, September 1, 2022 – Professional Development Days
- Friday, September 2, 2022 – Faculty/Staff Orientation Day
- Tuesday, September 6, 2022 – First Day of School for Students in Elementary (1-5), Middle School (6-8) and Grade 9
- Wednesday, September 7, 2022 – Grades Pre-K – 12 Report to School – First Day for Students in Pre-K, K, Grades 10,11,12
- Wednesdays – Early Release Day – Early release days will begin on Wednesday, September 14th.
- 12:55pm – Cumberland High School
- 1:30pm – Joseph L. McCourt and North Cumberland Middle Schools
- 1:50pm – Ashton School & Community School
- 2:35pm – B.F. Norton School, Garvin Memorial School and JJM Cumberland Hill School
School Start/End Times 2022-23 – All Grades
- Busing
- 2022-2023 Bus Routes are posted on the district’s website – Additional transportation information can be found here.
- Durham Bus Tracker – There is an app available for monitoring your child’s school bus. Durham Bus Tracker® allows you to view your student’s current school bus location. Information about the route, in near real time, including the scheduled and estimated arrival times to your stop.
If you do not know it, you can log in to Aspen and look at the student detail page. If you cannot find it or need further assistance in Aspen, please email aspenhelp@cumberlandschools.org
Please see the attached documents including the Durham Bus Tracker FAQ; Durham Bus Tracker Informational Sheet-English;/ Durham Bus Tracker Informational Sheet-Spanish
- School Bus Monitors Needed (part-time position) – The school bus monitor is responsible for ensuring the safe loading and unloading of school bus riders, as well as assisting the school bus driver in maintaining acceptable behavior on school buses.
- Must be at least 16 years of age
- National Background Check (BCI) required
- Perform safety checks each time students enter or leave the bus
- Must be able to work a split shift – Must be available to work between the hours of 7:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Work hours vary depending on the assigned route (average 15 to 19 hours per week)
If you are interested, please visit SchoolSpring.com to create an account and apply to Job ID 3928896 (Bus Monitor), or contact Tracy Walton at the Cumberland School Department (401) 658-1600 x274 tracy.walton@cumberlandschools.org with any questions. We also have Crossing Guard positions open Job ID 3928899
- School Safety
This past summer a multi-day school safety training took place in town with our Police, Fire and EMS all joining together to train using our Garvin school site. This training was well received by all involved.
With cooperation from our first responders in Cumberland, this fall the District will begin training staff in the ALICE program. ALICE stands for – Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate. This program is a very comprehensive training program used all over our nation in school districts, businesses, healthcare facilities, and government buildings.
- School Lunch Program –
- Food Services – Free/Reduced School Lunch Information
- Free/Reduced Lunch Program – Families are encouraged to complete and submit applications to your child’s school to verify eligibility.
- All schools in Cumberland participate in the Federal Lunch Program. Nutritious breakfasts, lunches and milk are available at all schools. Applications for free and reduced price breakfasts and lunches are sent home at the beginning of the school year and are available at the school anytime during the year. Menus available online at: https://cumberland.sodexomyway.com/. The schools have an electronic lunch ticket ID system. All students will have a pin number. This ID number stays with each student until graduation. We encourage parents to prepay for their child’s meals on an electronic account. This will help eliminate situations that could develop during lunchtime because of negative balances or failure to bring lunch money to school. Prepayments can be made 24 hours a day using a credit or debit card. Cash and check payments will continue to be accepted. However, payments made through the Online Lunch Payment Vendor portal or by check are preferred for better accountability. Please go to Sodexo – “My School Bucks” for more information and to register your child(ren).
- Before/After School Program
AlphaBEST Education Before/After School Program
If you have specific questions about your school, please contact your child’s principal directly. Every school is different and the challenges are unique. School principals will be able to address any specific questions that you may have.
We look forward to welcoming our students, faculty and staff back to school for the 2022-2023 school year.
Sincerely,
Philip D. Thornton, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools