Welcome Letter

Hello! Ciao! Hola! Përshëndetje! 

Welcome to the 2025-2026 school year! The Preston Faculty and I hope your summer is filled with joyful moments and time for rest, fun, and most importantly, connection. The teachers and I welcome your children—and you—back to our ridiculously awesome school community. Whether your family is returning or joining us for the first time, we want you to know: You belong at Preston School.

My summer was spent enjoying time with loved ones and traveling. I visited Italy for the seventh time, this time exploring the Puglia region. I took the opportunity to practice Italian phrases, as my goal is to be able to communicate socially in Italian: Tutte Bene! 

This school year, we will continue to nurture the traits of the IB Learner Profile: inquirers, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced individuals, knowledgeable, and reflective individuals. These attributes, along with our school mantra—"Care for yourself, Care for Others, and Care for this place. We Belong Together."—help cultivate compassionate, resilient, and empathetic individuals. As students engage in units of inquiry, build relationships, and confront challenges, we will reference these traits and encourage our students to recognize them in themselves and others.

All four elementary schools are in the process of being approved as an International Baccalaureate school. When approved, Harrison will become a K-12 district with all its schools having an IB designation. Students in grades 2-5 will continue to be exposed to a World Language, and all students will deepen their understanding and learning through the Primary Years Programme with the goal of becoming thoughtful, reflective and knowledgeable citizens who contribute to a more peaceful and better world. 

I am honored and proud to lead this ridiculously awesome school in my eleventh year as principal. 

See you on the first day of school on Tuesday, September 2. 

Proudly,

Dennis Kortright
DK/ddr 

 

IMPORTANT Information (Please Read Carefully)

 

Class Placement: Your child’s class placement is now available on the parent portal. Your child’s teacher’s name can be found on the main screen when you log in.  If you see the image below next to the teacher’s name it is a co-teaching class

You must use a desktop browser (ie, Safari, Chrome, etc.) to access placement information.  Please note that if you have recently registered for school, it is possible that your information is still being processed and may not display a classroom teacher at this time.  Please continue to check the parent portal in the coming days for updated information.  

Parent Portal: You will receive an email from the School District with directions to access your parent portal account, to update or confirm contact and emergency information, as well as read and acknowledge important school documents. This information must be updated every year and is important for effective school-to-home communication. Please update your information using the online parental portal as soon as possible, but no later than Friday, September 19, 2025.

Lunch/Recess:  Lunch and recess are integral to social/emotional learning and provide an opportunity for students to form connections and build community. We recognize the importance of these interactions during lunch and recess and have developed protocols to ensure student safety while playing with their classmates. Meal costs and menu calendars can be found on the district website at the food service page.

Supply Lists: Supply lists for each grade level can be found by clicking on the supply list here.

Please be sure to label all of your child’s items/clothing with their first and last name.
 

Arrival and Dismissal Procedures

School Hours:  8:50 AM - 3:05 PM

 

 Morning Arrivals:  Doors on Taylor Avenue and Harrison Street will open at 8:00 AM

Grades	Locations
Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd	Students can enter on either the Harrison Street or Taylor Avenue doors (stairway entrance).
4th and 5th Grade	Entrance to the blacktop on Harrison Street. 4th and 5th graders will have morning recess on the blacktop, playground, and top field.    *On inclement weather days, students will be supervised in the building.

 

Dismissals:  Dismissals will begin at 3:05 PM for all grades. 

Grades	Locations
Kindergarten	Harrison Street KDG doors (covered entrance)
Grade 1	Taylor Avenue (the doors on the right, near the steps to the playground, facing the bus circle)
Grade 2	Harrison Street (handicap entrance)
Grade 3	Taylor Avenue (stairway entrance)
Grade 4	Taylor Avenue (main entrance; middle doors in the bus entrance)
Grade 5	Harrison Street (first door on the right facing the blacktop)