Message from the Principal
Message from the Principal
Dear West Side School Community Members,
I am John Barnes, and I am thrilled to serve as the West Side School principal. I have worked as a school administrator for two decades and am thrilled to serve Cold Spring Harbor Schools for my fourth year at West Side School. My undergraduate degree is from the Hartt School of Music, and I started my career as an elementary music teacher in a PreK-Grade 5 school. I was a social studies enrichment teacher before teaching all core subjects as a fourth-grade classroom teacher. Before making the leap into school administration, I also served as a Standards-Based Model Classroom teacher and staff developer/instructional coach.
I love working with students as they transition from early childhood to young adulthood, and it is the most important time in the lives of our young scholars. The foundation we build, nurture, and foster sets up the pathways for a lifetime of opportunities and all the milestone moments we aspire for our children to achieve. The possibilities are limitless, and I am grateful to be part of a school family with such a strong and active home-to-school partnership. Thank you never feels like enough when acknowledging the work done by our PTG, parent volunteers, and community members.
I know how fortunate I am to be at West Side and how high the expectations are from our school and district constituents. We are a school that is committed to honoring the rich history of our beloved school community while working to remain innovative and ensuring that we create new traditions and opportunities for students to soar higher, grow stronger, and achieve greatness while in Grades 2-6. One of our traditions is the annual “Ringing of the West Side School Bell” on the first day of the school year. In April, we will celebrate our 236th birthday and the start of our 236 years in operation! To launch the 2025 -2026 school year, we were thrilled to have our Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Joseph Monastero, as the honorary “first ringer” alongside this year’s elected Student Council Officers and some West Side team members.
We must prepare our scholars for the rigorous demands of the new and ever-changing world that has evolved considerably over the last few years. With the team of extraordinary people in our school and our district, I am confident we can exceed our expectations to help our students reach their maximum potential academically, socially, and emotionally.
At West Side School, we start each day with our in-person morning assembly, which starts daily at 8:45 a.m. During this time, we pledge allegiance and sing either our West Side School Song or a song from our West Side School Song Book. In addition, we highlight the day in history, community birthdays, and what’s for lunch on our daily lunch menu. We also delve into our schoolwide monthly themes and say our daily motivational morning affirmation. Here are a few specifics for folks to make note of:
MORNING ARRIVAL: The instructional day begins at 8:45 a.m. We ask family members to plan for an 8:35 - 8:40 drop-off to ensure we are ready to start our Daily Morning Assembly once the bell rings at 8:45 a.m. In addition, we often have pre-assembly activities to motivate students to be on time and to assist with getting the minds, bodies, and spirits active and ready for a GREAT DAY of school.
- Buses arrive at approximately 8:35 a.m. Bus Routes are posted on the parent portal through the bus link.
- If your child is driven by car to school, drop-off is at the Stewart Lane entrance (airplane entrance).
- Students proceed to the gymnasium for morning assembly.
LATENESS: Students arriving after 8:45 a.m. are considered late.
- Latecomers will need to report to Security for sign-in. Please avoid any of that and just have our students show up ON TIME and READY for the day ahead.
ABSENCES: Parents must call the school nurse (516.692.7950) before 9:00 a.m. on the day of the absence and email wsattendance@csh.k12.ny.us.
- If a call or email is not received, you will be contacted by school personnel.
- When it is known that a child will be absent due to extended illness or family business, please notify the child’s teacher and the Health Office as soon as possible.
- An absent note must be sent to the classroom teacher when the child returns. The date(s) of absence and reason must be indicated and the note must be signed by the child’s parent or guardian.
AFTERNOON DISMISSAL: Students will be dismissed as pickups, walkers, or bus riders.
★ Students who are being picked up will be dismissed from the Airplane Entrance
★ Students who are bus riders will be dismissed from the Laurel Hollow Entrance
PICKUPS:
- Pickups for all grades will be dismissed together at the Airplane Entrance
- Parents waiting for their children at dismissal must wait in their cars with the ignition turned off.
- Cars are NOT PERMITTED TO IDLE in the West Side School traffic circle. We have students in classrooms waiting for us to begin our dismissals, and we do not want to compromise the health, welfare, and safety of our community members or the general air quality of the building. If you like to arrive early, it is imperative that we have a shared understanding of vehicles REMAINING OFF despite the outdoor temperatures.
BUS RIDERS: All questions and concerns about bus transportation should be directed to Dawn Hasselman at the District Transportation Office at 631.367.5920 or dhasselman@csh.k12.ny.us
- While on the bus, all school rules and expectations REMAIN IN PLACE.
- Electronic devices, phones, and smartwatches (anything that needs to be charged) are NOT PERMITTED on the bus.
- Students who ride the bus are expected to behave safely and respectfully.
- The driver will report any misconduct to the school administration.
- Repeated misconduct may cause the student to lose their bus privilege.
- The 5th and 6th grade bus assistants will be selected after the school year begins. They will be present on every bus.
Dismissal Changes and Last-Minute Planning
The Operoo System is used to make any transportation request changes. All changes must be made in the system by 9:00 a.m. on the day of the requested change. The window of time to make any modifications to the schedule will begin at 3:15 p.m. the day before and end at 9:00 a.m. on the day of the desired change.
Additional requests made after 9:00 a.m. are for emergency situations only, and an email must be sent to wsattendance@csh.k12.ny.us. Please note that the district will be strongly enforcing the rules of the new system. For more information, be sure to read the email blast the district sent out when we first adopted Operoo.
Parent View of the Main Screen of Operoo.
Whenever possible, parents should schedule appointments for their children during non-school hours to avoid interrupting their school day and losing instructional time.
If a child is returned to school before the end of the day, they should report to the Security Desk and sign back in before re-entering class.
Some Helpful Links:
CSH Website Link: https://www.csh.k12.ny.us/
West Side School & CSH Website Links:
LUNCHES
Children should bring lunch or can purchase food in our cafeteria. Information about ordering meals can be accessed through our website: Meal Ordering Information. Questions can be directed to Gerri Tiger: gtiger@csh.k12.ny.us
SCHOOL INFORMATION / AGENDA BOOKS
Students will receive their Agenda Books during the first week. The front pages of this publication serve as a handbook for families. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions about the content.
I am excited for a great school year and can’t wait to see our students on Tuesday morning! I hope you have a wonderful extended weekend. Thank you for your continued support and partnership.
Sincerely,
John Barnes, Ed.D.
Principal - West Side School