Dear North Branford Public Schools Community,

This message is to inform you of a recent cybersecurity incident that occurred on December 22, 2024, involving unauthorized access to certain student information within the PowerSchool Student Information System (SIS).

What Happened:

On Tuesday, January 7th, we were notified by PowerSchool of a data breach which occurred within PowerSchool’s customer support portal on December 22nd.

• An unauthorized party gained access to certain SIS customer data, including North Branford’s data, through a compromised credential in PowerSchool’s customer support portal.
• This data includes data for both inactive and active students and teachers.
• PowerSchool does not anticipate the data being shared or made public, and they believe that it has been deleted without any further replication or dissemination.

Data Impacted:

• The information accessed includes data related to students, families, and educators.

• An initial review of the data from our server indicates that names, physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses were compromised.

We understand this news may cause concern, and we sincerely apologize for this incident. As more information becomes available we will continue to keep you informed. We are committed to protecting the privacy and security of your information and working closely with you to address any concerns you may have. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Thomas Lonsdale, Director of Technology at tlonsdale@northbranfordschools.org.

Sincerely,

Scott Schoonmaker and Thomas Lonsdale

Please refer to the link for information regarding Kindergarten registration. Please note that registration opens on February 3, 2025.

The North Branford Board of Education will be presenting a virtual informational session introducing the North Branford Public Schools Preschool Program and the Family Resource Center Preschool for the 2025-2026 school year.

In an effort to offer flexibility with challenging schedules and maximize attendance, this informational session will be offered via Google Meet*. The session will be hosted by the Jerome Harrison Elementary School Principal, the Director of Special Services and the Supervisor of the Family Resource Center.

The session will be held on Thursday, January 23rd at 5:30 p.m.

If you are interested in participating, please email Lisa Biestek at lbiestek@northbranfordschools.org to register.

The online preschool application will be made available to all in attendance after the session and then will be made available to the public on Friday, January 24th on the North Branford Board of Education Preschool webpage.  Note that you must be a resident of North Branford/Northford to be eligible. 

For more information about the program and to access the application, after publication, visit:  http://bit.ly/jhs-preschool

*Google Meet is a free digital video conferencing platform.

The North Branford Public Schools community is proud to introduce the new North Branford High School building. Please see the linked video from News 8 WTNH.

North Branford High School Offers Glimpse into New Building

Good Evening,

A livestream is available for tonight's football game, North Branford High School vs. Haddam-Killingworth High School, beginning at 6:00 PM. Please use the link below to watch the game via YouTube

Thunderbirds Livestream

Thank you,

North Branford Public Schools

This morning all schools participated in a rally in support of William Dellacamera of Cecarelli's Harrison Hill Farm in Northford. As you know, the recent storm on August 26th left his farm as well as many local farms completely devastated.

Mr. Dellacamera is now petitioning the State and Federal government to assist local farmers. He will be obtaining signatures in support of his efforts and riding his tractor to Hartford and then on to the Capital.

This morning he began his journey in Northford and then on to North Branford, visiting each school. Students rallied outside with a great deal of excitement and enthusiasm in support of the farming community and William Dellacamera!

Students are learning about the importance of local farmers and the role they play in our lives as well as ways to be active members of the community!

We are thrilled to announce that Patricia Mone won third place in the Humor category and Sabrina Lin secured second place in the Short Story category at the annual SHED Writing Awards! Both stories were created in the ECE Creative Writing class. This marks the fifth consecutive year that a student from our school has placed in the Short Story category.

Additionally, Lucian DePino (not pictured) achieved second place in Analysis for his insightful essay from Mr. Ford’s ECE Time & Place in Literature class.

We are also proud to share that Leah Pinette’s artwork was featured on the program cover!

A big congratulations to Ms. Dodds and Mr. Ford for their exceptional guidance and support!

Congratulations to North Branford Public Schools Teachers of the Year for 2024.

Lauren Palaski - District Teacher of the Year and North Branford High School Teacher of the Year.

Todd Baldassaro - North Branford Intermediate School Teacher of the Year.

Samantha Daniele - Totoket Valley Elementary School Teacher of the Year.

Lauren Miller - Jerome Harrison Elementary School Teacher of the Year.