Dear ARPS Families:

I hope the summer has been enjoyable and restorative for all of you since there were more opportunities for travel and gathering with family and friends over the past few weeks. This has been a particularly well-earned break for all of our staff, students and families this year.  As much as I have enjoyed the pace of summer, I am also thrilled to finally be welcoming our students back for in-person learning on Monday, August 30!

It has been 18 months since we first closed our buildings due to the pandemic, and we have weathered some extreme challenges together as a community.  I truly believe that these challenges can serve to make us stronger.  As we enter the 2021-2022 school year, I am confident that we will take what we have learned during these past months and use those lessons to support our students’ social, emotional and mental health. As we return, we are also prepared to protect everyone’s physical health with the Health and Safety Guidelines established for the beginning of the school year.  

One major change this school year is the new start times that were approved by the School Committee.  At the elementary level, students will attend school from 8:10 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. (preschool students will arrive at 8:30 a.m.)  At the secondary level, students will attend from 9:00 a.m. to 3:35 p.m.  Please remember that the first day of school will be a half-day for all students, meaning the elementary schools will dismiss at 12:30 p.m. and the secondary schools will dismiss at 1:20 p.m.  Our preschool and kindergarten students will begin school on Thursday, September 2, following student orientations. Elementary bus routes for the revised schedule are available at this link and secondary routes will be available on the website later this week.  Finally, you can find the full-year school calendar at this link.  

Enjoy these final days of the summer break!

Dr. Michael Morris

Superintendent