PIERCE SCHOOL
“We Succeed Together”
19 Main Street Bennington, NH 03442
(603) 588-2131 Fax (603) 588-3802 www.conval.edu/Schools/bes
Stephanie Syre-Hager; Principal
August 7, 2017
Dear Parents and Students of Pierce School,
As the calendar turned to the month of August, I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself to you. I am very honored and excited to join the Conval Community as your new principal. I have been hard at work for the past month getting to know staff and community members, learning processes and procedures, hiring fantastic new staff, and getting ready to kick off the new school year in a few short weeks. The summer is flying by quickly!
Here’s a little bit of information about my background and qualifications. In addition to higher education teaching experience, I enjoyed fifteen years as an elementary school teacher, five more years as a Focused Instructional Coach, and two years as an Assistant Principal in a very large school in Worcester Massachusetts. I earned my undergraduate degree at Ithaca College, and I earned my Master’s degree from Lesley University. Virtually my entire career has been spent in education, and it is my mission to motivate and inspire everyone to continually strive to achieve growth in life because we are all life-long learners.
When making educational decisions, I always ask myself, what would I want for my own child? I am committed to fostering the development of the whole child through academic and social emotional education. I value growth mindset, and it is important to teach our children that we are not born smart, but that we get smart through hard work, goal setting, and perseverance. The primary mission of the Conval School district is student learning, and it is my goal to help facilitate providing high-quality educational opportunities for all students. As we move forward together for the benefit of our students, please know that my door is always open, and I look forward to continued growth toward achieving excellence together.
The district is implementing Eureka Math this year. The material Eureka Math is based on was originally created through a partnership with the New York State Education Department. Eureka Math connects math to the real world in ways that take the fear out of math and build student confidence—helping students achieve true understanding lesson by lesson and year after year.
We now have a more convenient and efficient way for you to communicate with the school when you need to make changes to your children’s after‐school dismissal plans. We are excited to be using PickUp Patrol, a cloud‐based application that streamlines the after‐school dismissal process. Please make sure you sign up. You will find it easy to use and convenient.
I also encourage everyone to consider being involved in the school’s Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO). It is a great way to help support and enrich the educational and social experience of the school community. Even the smallest time commitment can benefit the students greatly.
The updated handbook will be uploaded to the website shortly, and I would like to mention three important dates for you to put on your calendar.
- The Kindergarten Open House will take place on August 28 from 4-5 pm.
- For Parents: ( Informal ) Coffee/Tea with the Principal Thursday September 7th, 8:30 – 9am.
- Our school-wide Open House will be on September 28th, from 5:30 – 6:30 pm.
I hope you all enjoy the rest of your summer. Don’t forget to read with your children every day.
All the best,
Stephanie
ssyre-hager@conval.edu
At Pierce School, our mission is to provide a personalized education, cultivate independent thinking, promote building of character, and foster the desire to learn.