Family Welcome Back Letter

Dear SHRSD Families,

As we enter into the last few weeks of summer, I wanted to share some important information about the upcoming school year. We look forward to welcoming back all of our students on Tuesday, September 2, 2025. This is an exciting year as our referendum projects and district reconfiguration are now complete, allowing us to fully focus on enhancing student learning, strengthening community partnerships, and creating even more opportunities for all learners to thrive.

Homeroom teachers for SHRES (PreK-4) and student schedules (5-12) are available today in OnCourse as long as you have completed the annual registration process. If you have not completed the annual registration, please complete this as soon as possible and this information will become available to you and your child. If you have any issues accessing your OnCourse account, please email oncoursehelp@shrsd.org.

ParentSquare will continue to be our primary means of communication. Remember, you can customize your ParentSquare settings to choose the time of day you receive messages from your child’s school or the district, decide whether you want to get them by text, email, or both, and select your preferred language. Here is a short tutorial showing you how to set up your preferences. Tutorial Video. It is extremely beneficial for parents to download the ParentSquare App. For more information about ParentSquare, click here.

Over the summer our district administrative team and Board of Education once again analyzed the results of the annual Climate and Culture Survey we sent out to parents at the end of the last school year. I will be sharing in detail more information about the results at our September Board meeting, however I wanted to address two items. One, parents on the survey continued to provide feedback about the district's inconsistency when it comes to homework. This has been a theme over the last few years. At the July 28th Board of Education meeting, the Board approved a new Homework Regulation that was developed by a committee of teachers over the last six months along with input from all of the staff, District Parent Council and Board of Education. We have developed a Parent FAQ for the new Homework Regulation. You will be hearing more about this at our Back to School Nights at the start of the school year. 

One other item that came up from parents on the survey was having more opportunities to be part of our school community. I am excited to announce that our district is launching a Community Classroom Program to connect our students with the many talents and skills found right here in our community. We will be building a database of volunteers (parents, community members, local businesses, etc.) who are interested in sharing their experience, career journeys, and practical knowledge to enhance student learning. I will be sharing more information with the community about this program in September. 

Here are some other important reminders as we approach the new school year:

• Here is our District Calendar for the 2025-2026 school year. It can also be found on our websites.

• Transportation information will be posted in OnCourse on Friday, August 22, 2025. If your child is eligible for transportation, their bus pick up location/time for the morning as well as their drop off location/time for the afternoon will be posted in OnCourse. 

• Here are the school day times for each of our schools.

  • Preschool and SHRES: 8:30 am - 3:20 pm

  • SHRMS: 7:45 am - 2:42 pm

  • SHRHS: 7:53 am - 2:44 pm

• We will once again be providing late buses for students. This year it will include students in grades 5-12 Monday - Thursday. The late bus will leave the South campus at 5:15 pm. 

• To reduce parent expenses for school supplies and unnecessary waste, the district will once again provide our PreK-4 students with classroom materials needed for a successful school year.  We request that families provide students with a backpack, headphones, reusable water bottle, and snack/lunch bag.  These important back-to-school supplies will ensure that students are ready for school. Everything else will be provided by the district. If you need support with any of these items, please contact your child’s School Counselor. Teachers in grades 5-12 will communicate supply needs with parents at the start of the school year.

• We will be offering several orientation programs over the next several weeks. 

  • Thursday, August 14: Orientation for 5th and 6th graders from 11am - 12pm at the middle school.

  • Monday, August 18 - Thursday, August 21: Kindergarten Camp at SHRES 

  • Tuesday, August 19: Orientation for 7th and 8th graders from 11am - 12pm at the middle school. 

  • Thursday, August 21: Orientation for 9th graders and new high school students at 10:30 am at the high school. 

  • Monday, August 25 Preschool Orientation: SHRES at 9am and St. John's at 11am.

  • Wednesday, August 27: SHRES "Break the Ice" at 4pm, Middle School Ice Cream Social at 6pm.

  • Wednesday, September 3: High School Barbecue for students and families 5-7pm.

• There will be several options for aftercare. The YMCA will be housed at the elementary school and be offering aftercare to students in PreK-4 as well as 5-8. Here is a link for their aftercare program. YMCA Registration Link. Please note the YMCA will not be offering Before Care this year due to lack of enrollment.

• The Lambertville Academy will be offering before and aftercare and as in the past they will walk students from the elementary school to and from the academy each day. For more information visit Lambertville Academy or call 609-397-8477.  Please note the Academy will not be offering Before Care for Preschool students this year.

We look forward to seeing parents at our Back to School Nights in September! 

Sincerely,

Anthony J. Suozzo

Superintendent of Schools

South Hunterdon Regional School District