Henry Lord Middle School
Debra DeCarlo, Principal
151 Amity Street * Fall River, MA 02724 * 508-675-8208

November 2008
Welcome Parents & Families!

This month brings the end of Term 1, and two important holidays. The first is Veterans Day, a national holiday originally set to honor the end of World War I on November 11, 1918. In 1954, after the country had lived through World War II and the Korean War, Congress changed the holiday to honor American veterans of all wars. Today, we also honor our troops still fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. Students will have regularly scheduled classes on November 10, but will have no school on November 11 to observe this national holiday.  

The second holiday is Thanksgiving, a day to commemorate the harvest feast held in 1621 by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag Indians at the site of Plymouth Plantation. Students will be served lunch and dismissed early at 12 noon on November 26. There is no school on November 27 and 28.  

With the end of the first term, first quarter report cards will be available in homerooms at the first Parent/Teacher Conference on Monday, November 17 from 6 – 8 pm. This is a terrific opportunity to review your student’s academic performance with teachers and address any concerns. Each family who attends will receive a FREE raffle ticket for Thanksgiving Gift Baskets to be raffled near the end of the evening.  

With the presidential election just days away, our eighth grade students who are studying civics in Social Studies classes participated in a mock election sponsored by the JFK Library and Museum. They discussed the candidates and issues before casting their votes. (Barack Obama = 82%; John McCain = 8%; Other = 12%.)  

Also in late October we took an informal phone survey to get parents’ opinion of a proposed uniform policy at Henry Lord. Of 479 parents reached, 254 responded: 150 or 59% responded in favor of uniforms, 72 or 28% responded against, and 32 or 13% were unsure. Parents can find more information about uniforms at the link in the column at right). We will be studying the issue further with the help of the PTO and will have more info available at the parent teacher conference later this month.  

I am often reminded—especially in these trying economic times—that it is as important as ever for us to come together as a community to support our students in a quest to provide them with an academically rigorous and meaningful education.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

Deb DeCarlo, Principal

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