Back To School Photo Gallery: Your First Day

Check out these photos of local people and Patch editors on their first days of school and add your own to the gallery.

We've all been there: the first day of school. And if your parents owned any sort of picture-taking device, there is likely evidence of said first day lying around your home somewhere. With Concord students heading back to school today, we thought it would be fun to take a closer look at that special milestone. And so we asked a few fellow Patch editors to share photos of themselves or their kids on the first day of school. Now it's your turn. Simply click the "Upload Photos and Videos" button at the top of the image gallery above and upload photos of you and/or your kids to the gallery. Put the year it was taken in the caption, or make us guess. Then check back later to see your friends' and neighbors' photographs. Having trouble …

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Concord, Concord-Carlisle Bus Routes for 2012-2013

CPS and CCRSD have posted 2012-2013 bus routes on the district website. Find them there, or print the PDFs posted here.

For the students of the Concord Public Schools and Concord-Carlisle High School, the 2012-2013 school year starts Tuesday, Sept. 4. And, though much remains unsettled regarding the future of the districts' transportation department, the kids still have to get to school somehow. For many students, especially the younger ones, that mode of transportation is the big yellow school bus. And for the parents of said students, school bus schedules are as important a part of the back to school checklist as notebooks, backpacks and a new pair of kicks. To that end, 2012-2013 bus schedules have been posted to the district website, the latest update being Aug. 29. (Printable versions of the PDFs also posted to your right.) Along with the caveat that …

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Raising Concord

Raising Concord: Making Homework Fun

With school back in swing homework can’t be far behind and creating good habits can make everyone’s life easier.

  Now that I have school-aged children I feel the homework debate brewing. Some feel it takes away from the little time families seem to have with each other these days, and others feel is reinforces what is taught in school. I fall somewhere in between the two. I understand some of the arguments on both sides. But, for now, I am putting on a positive face for my kids and making it fun and productive. I will take my fight to the streets another time -- and in another article. So, how do you make homework fun and productive? First, get rid of any of the bad homework baggage you’ve collected from your school days and start anew. We all have memories of being exhausted with pages of algebra to do and Shakespeare to read, so let all of that go…

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Five Mass. School Bus Laws You Might Not Have Known

School's almost back in session, but were you aware of these state laws on school buses?

  Most Concord students know the "Rules of the Bus," but here are a few Massachusetts' state laws about school buses you might not have known. #1. Everyone knows to stop when a school bus is loading and unloading passengers, but what you may not know is that if you don’t stop, you could get a ticket of up to $250. That fine can go up to $2,000 and a suspended license of up to a year for subsequent offenses (MGL 90-14) #2. Oh, speaking of stopping behind a stopped bus, even fire trucks, police cars and ambulances with their sirens on have to stop until the passengers have been loaded or unloaded. (MGL 89-7B) #3.  Tell your kids to sit down, because bus drivers can be fined up to $500 if they drive the bus when the kids aren’t sitting down, …

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Frugal Family: Back-to-School Shopping Strategies

School starts next week. The requisite buying spree doesn't have to break the bank.

The children of Concord will soon be donning new outfits, tossing backpacks over their shoulders and stepping onto buses. Parents will be attempting to capture the first-day-of-school smiles with their iPhone cameras. What are they doing now? They’re enjoying their last moments of  freedom. They’re swimming, hanging out with their friends, and eating ice cream. And they’re shopping. Here are suggestions for stretching back-to-school dollars. Take inventory of what you’ve already got. Have the kids try on all their clothing to see what still fits. Wash the backpacks and see how they look. Find all the school supplies and decide what is still usable. Make a list of what’s needed. Kids who are kindergarten-aged and older can understand the …

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Raising Concord

Raising Concord: Top 10 Reasons Back To School Is Cool

After a summer full of camp, late nights and no schedule some kids need a little convincing that back to school is cool.

I always love this time of year although I don’t tend to embrace it until a week before it arrives. Back to school means so many things and it is different for parents and for kids. So here is my kickoff to the school year with 10 reasons for parents and kids to get psyched for the first day of school.

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Tips for Staying Safe on Campus This Fall

College campuses aren't immune from crime. Here are some tips to pass along to co-eds for staying safe on campus.

More than 300 seniors graduated from Concord-Carlisle High School in June. That means that 300 students or more could be leaving Concord soon, if they haven't already, to join thousands of other students on college campuses across the country. Freshman will be eager to prove they are ready for their first opportunity to live away from home and upperclassmen will be returning to something familiar and comfortable. In either case, personal safety should still be at the top of the priority list. The report of an alleged rape on the campus of Harvard University last week was a shocking reminder that terrible crimes are possible anywhere -- even on the campus of one of the most renowned universities in the world. “It’s so shocking, absolutely …

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How to Use Patch this School Year

Five things principals, educators, PTA members, parents and students need to know.

  The school year is approaching, and Concord Patch will be there to cover all the big news for all of Concord's schools. But we can’t do it without your help. To make sure you get the most out of Patch this school year, we invite you to get active in the news-gathering process. There are five things you can do to make sure your school and its students get all the coverage they deserve from Patch: You can also become a blogger and share your school's news directly with Patch readers on a regular basis. To find out more about using Patch this school year, just email concord@patch.com. 

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