Welcome to Murphy School!
I am thrilled to serve as principal here after more than twenty years of service in Montville as a paraeducator, classroom teacher, and instructional coach. Murphy is a special place to learn and grow, and I am certain you will feel the warmth when you walk through the doors. The teachers at Murphy work tirelessly to provide a strong academic foundation for your child, and we are proud of the growth results we see each year.
Our goal in Montville is always to educate the whole child. We want to make sure that while growing up and spending so much of their time with us, we are meeting their social and emotional needs as well as their academic development. Our school uses a partial PBIS and RULER model to frame our social and emotional teaching. At Murphy School, we R.O.C.K.—which stands for Responsibility, Outstanding Effort, Citizenship, and Kindness. If you are interested in learning more about the RULER framework, you can visit https://www.rulerapproach.org.
Our math curriculum uses Eureka Math² (Eureka Math Squared) as its framework. You can learn more about the program here: https://greatminds.org/eurekamathsquared. Our teachers and students thrive using this program, as it provides consistent models introduced in Kindergarten and built upon throughout the elementary school years. The emphasis is on building number sense and place value understanding.
Our English Language Arts (ELA) curriculum is based on the Amplify Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) program. This comprehensive program integrates reading, writing, speaking, and listening, and is designed to build both foundational literacy skills and rich background knowledge in science, history, literature, and the arts. CKLA supports students in becoming confident readers and writers through a structured approach that emphasizes phonics, vocabulary, comprehension, and critical thinking. In addition to the core curriculum, students receive support tailored to their individual needs during our daily WIN (What I Need) block.
Students enjoy a special area class daily, which may include Physical Education, Art, Music, or Media Studies. Media Studies includes not only library skills but also coding, robotics, and more. We operate on a rotating Day 1, 2, 3, 4 schedule. If we miss a day of school, the next day resumes the next numerical day so that students never miss their specials.
I'm confident that you will find your child's academic work to be thoughtful, appropriate, and challenging. Should you want to know more about the education that we are proud to provide here at Murphy School, please feel free to reach out to me. I can be reached via email at
[email protected] or by phone at 860-848-9241.
Kindest Regards,
Elizabeth Dumond
