Happy November Mason Road Family!!
As the month of November begins, I am always reminded of the things in life that I am truly and sincerely grateful for. I have an amazing husband (also a principal but in Auburn), two wonderful sons (Dominic, 23 and Anthony, 16), and one of the very best jobs one could ask for (being a principal at Mason Road School). Of course, there are many other things I am grateful for but my family and my job are things I am extremely grateful for.
For the sake of this message, I want to focus on my job. Being the principal of Mason Road School is truly a gift. There are many ups and downs in this position but nothing is better than seeing all these little, smiling faces each and every day. As someone who has worked in education for a long time, it is also a gift that I get to work with such an amazing staff. The love and care that everyone gives to each student is remarkable. Teaching is a job that is not often rewarded for the time and work each teacher puts into their classroom and into each and every individual child. Believe me when I tell you, IT'S A LOT! Here at Mason Road School, our teachers are the very best and I know that you are just as grateful as I am. These are the people who are starting your child's educational career and creating the love of learning. Every now and then, reach out to your child's teacher and remind them how much you appreciate what they do. They do not get the accolades as much as the complaints so once and a while, when you have a minute, send them an email and remind them. They deserve it!
Now, there is quite a bit of information included in this newsletter. I want to make sure that I share all the necessary information we have along with the fun things we are doing here at Mason Road School. Please pay particular attention to the section to Mark Your Calendar. There are many important dates that you need to be aware of. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at jdesto@dcrsd.org or check out our website page at MASON ROAD SCHOOL.
Sincerely,
Jen D.
On November 16th, teacher conferences will be held. By now you should have heard from your child's classroom teacher regarding setting up a meeting time. Meetings can be held in-person or virtually. THIS IS A HALF DAY FOR ALL K & 1 students and THERE IS NO PRESCHOOL held on this day.
In addition to conferences, the Scholastic Book Fair will be at Mason Road School! Families can take some time to browse the selections sent to our school or order right on-line: Mason Road School Scholastic Book Fair! All students will have an opportunity to visit the book fair during school hours. I would recommend that, if you wanted to order books, either come in during teacher conferences or order through the link. The Book Fair will be open 1pm - 4 pm and 5pm - 7pm on Thursday, November 16th. It would be best if students did not come to school with money and make any purchases with their family members present or on-line. Opportunities to purchase from the book fair will start November 13th and the last day will be November 17. I sincerely appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
If you have any questions about teacher conferences, please be sure to reach out to your child's classroom teacher. If you have any questions about the book fair, please reach out to Mrs. Allen at tallen2@dcrsd.org. She is our amazing librarian and organizer of the book fair.
**Picture retakes will be held the morning of November 16th, 9:30 - 10:30.** This is a half day of school due to teacher conferences and there will be NO PRESCHOOL. All students who were not available for pictures on the days they were here for K, and 1, can take their pictures re-takes while they are here at school.
For PK students who attend, if families want re-takes, please bring your child to the school during this time. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Harris in the main office at (508) 943-4312.
Message from Rachael Shelburne, Student Adjustment Counselor
Dear Mason Road Families:
It's that time of year when the National Honor Society (NHS) at Shepherd Hill works hard to make sure families in our district do not go without a special meal for the Thanksgiving holiday. If you need help providing a Thanksgiving meal for your household, please send an email to our School Adjustment Counselor, Rachael Shelburne, at rshelburne@dcrsd.org by Monday, November 6th at 12PM.
If you request help this Thanksgiving, you will be contacted by someone at Shepherd Hill to confirm your need for a meal. All coordination and delivery of the meals are completed by the NHS. If you your financial situation changes after Monday, November 6th, please contact Mrs. Shelburne directly.
Message from Rachael Shelburne, Student Adjustment Counselor
Dear Mason Road Families:
The school year is well underway and the holidays are approaching quickly. We understand these times can be very difficult, both emotionally and financially for families. Each year, we work with local schools, companies, and organizations to help ease some of the financial burdens for those most in need by helping to provide holiday gifts for children.
If you need help providing some unwrapped gifts to your child(ren) this holiday season, please complete this form, Holiday Gift Help, by Friday November 10th.
This information is kept confidential; community members who sponsor your child(ren) are given no identifying information. If you have any questions or your financial situation changes after Friday, November 10th, please contact Mrs. Shelburne directly.
We know that not all families celebrate the same holidays so we want to know, what does your family celebrate? We respect all the different holidays, celebrations, and traditions that are around us. Knowing all about them would be extremely beneficial to all of us and a great way for us to learn what other holidays, celebrations, and traditions are being held within our community.
Typically, at Mason Road School, a Christmas Tree is put up (just lights) and we have two special little elves that visit, starting after Thanksgiving leading up to Christmas break. In addition, on December 11th, Kindergarten and Grade One students are invited to attend the SHRHS Holiday Spectacular Show (more information will be coming home). There is a lot of Christmas themed songs that are sung.
I wanted to make everyone aware of this school tradition but would love to incorporate other ones as well. Please let me know what your family holidays, celebrations, and traditions are by emailing me the dates and what they are all about to jdesto@dcrsd.org. Let's teach those around us how amazing our community is to have such a variety of holidays, celebrations, and traditions!
If you need assistance with providing your child with a coat, hat, and mittens, please send me a private email and I will see what we can do to help!
When dropping off your child, please be mindful of the recess that is typically taking place. It is best if you do not hang out near the fence as teachers have roughly 120 students to monitor. It makes things a little uncomfortable when unfamiliar (to the teachers) adults are hanging out and, at times, talking with the students. Your attention to this matter is greatly appreciated.
Hello MRS Families!
It has been a busy end of October here in the nurse’s office! There has been an uptick in common school-age illnesses such as the common cold, stomach flu, conjunctivitis (pink eye), strep, hand foot and mouth and influenza (flu). If you are unsure if your student should attend school, please refer to these guidelines on my website here or send me an email (smoisan@dcrsd.org).
State required health screenings will begin at Mason Road School on November 6, 2023. If you have any questions regarding the health screenings or would like to opt your student out of any of the screenings please fill out the DCRSD screening exemption form prior to November 6, 2023.
Please visit my website regularly for up to date school health related information, important dates, & health forms. MRS Nurse's Corner
Did you know that you can text 911 in case of an emergency? Did you also know that there is a silent call procedure you can follow to keep yourself safe in an emergency? If the answer is no, you are not alone. The MA State Department of Public Safety and Security wants to increase awareness of these safety features in place in Massachusetts. Please see below resources and spread the word!
It is a privilege to get to know all of the wonderful students and families of Mason Road. I am thankful for being part of this Mason Road Family.
❤️Nurse Moisan
Greetings families!
Happy November! We’re excited to announce that this school year our district is looking into the Everyday Speech Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program as a tier 1 intervention! What does this mean? This means that students at Mason Road School will have access to weekly/monthly SEL lessons to help develop the social and emotional skills they need to be their best selves. The Everyday Speech program uses age-appropriate, realistic examples, child actors, and encourages perspective taking. While we (Mrs. Shelburne the Adjustment Counselor and Mrs. Kenyon the School Psychologist) will be popping into lessons from time-to-time, classroom teachers will be taking charge of guiding these lessons which will promote their ability to reflect back to SEL lessons and use common language when struggles arise in the classroom, lunch, and recess.
Each month, we plan to share with you, our important families, topics that your students have or will be learning about in school as well as an age-appropriate coping skill you can work on at home. We encourage you to talk with your student(s) about these topics and practice coping skills at home.
Self-Awareness
Many of your students have already begun Unit 1 which explores self-awareness. Self-awareness encompasses learning how to recognize thoughts and feelings and gain an understanding of how thoughts and feelings influence behavior. Students will be challenged to begin identifying more complex emotions such as embarrassment, nervousness, and frustration. They’ll also learn ways to communicate their feelings to others as well as identify how others may be feeling. Our older students expand on this unit further by learning about growth mindset, building a support system, and using positive self-talk.
At-Home Practice: Five Finger Breathing
For this skill, start by using your pointer finger to point at the base of the thumb on the opposite hand. As you slowly drag your pointer finger to the tip of the thumb, breathe in. Trace your finger down the other side of the thumb while slowly breathing out. Continue this pattern of tracing up and down your fingers while slowly breathing in and out until you get to the base of your pinky finger.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Rachael Shelburne, Adjustment Counselor
Kathy Kenyon, School Psychologist
News from Mrs. Gajewski: Kindergarten Newsletter Representative
Kindergarten Happenings – October 2023
The month of October was filled with lots of fun and lots of learning in kindergarten!
The children began with our Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) Knowledge unit all about the five senses. They had the opportunity to write about each sense. The children also had the chance to use all five of their senses during our Sensory Celebrations. Some classrooms used their senses to explore the inside and outside of a pumpkin, while some classrooms used their senses to explore different types of apples. The children also learned about the lives of two people (Ray Charles and Helen Keller) that did not have all five of their senses.
Fire fighters from the Dudley Fire Department visited all of our Kindergarten
classrooms to teach the children about fire safety. The children learned about the
importance of checking smoking detectors at their homes, what a fire fighter looks
like and sounds like when they are wearing all of their protective gear, and how
each family should have a meeting spot outside of their home should there ever be
a fire.
Members of the Dudley Senior Needleworkers Group also visited each
Kindergarten classroom in October. Along with reading stories to the children, the
members gifted each Kindergartener a lovely pair of handmade mittens. We will
be collecting skeins of yarn to donate to the members of this group to show our
gratitude. If you would like to donate any yarn, please send it to school with your
child and we will pass it along to them.
Children began to learn about individual letter sounds in our CKLA Skills lessons.
As the children begin to blend sounds together, they will be able to begin reading
words. What a very exciting experience!
Our math lessons focused on the numbers six through ten. The children practiced
counting groups of objects and writing the numbers to go with each group. They
also learned how to put two parts together to make a whole group.
On Tuesday, October 24 th , the children were invited to dress up as one of their
favorite storybook characters and come back to school to celebrate reading. Each
classroom focused on different literacy skills and storybook characters. Mrs.
Maglione focused on Little Miss Muffet, Mrs. Lundquist focused on the character
Froggy, Mrs. Hooper focused on the story Owl Moon, Mrs. Piehl focused on the
character Pete the Cat, and Mrs. Gajewski focused on the characters Piggie and
Gerald. The evening ended with ended with a Storybook Character parade! What
a fun way to celebrate all of our learning!
Hello Mason Road Families and Friends,
October was a month packed with exciting activities and learning opportunities! We had our annual Storybook Literacy event on Tuesday, October 24th, and Wednesday, October 25th, with many Characters, such as Little Red Riding Hood, various princesses, villains, and superheroes. OH MY! Just a few of the activities included themes from Where the Wild Things Are, Piggy and Gerald, Owl Moon, Pete the Cat, and Spookley the Square Pumpkin.
I am thrilled with the fantastic turnout. This event ties directly with our beginning units in the Core Knowledge Language Arts program at both the Kindergarten and First-grade levels. There were Nursery Rhyme characters and Storybook characters seen parading throughout the halls of Mason Road School. Clifford, the Big Red Dog, even showed up to lead our Storybook Parade!
In other exciting news, we began another school year with Haggerty Phonemic Awareness Skills, which is an essential precursor to phonics. It is a fast-paced, engaging lesson teaching phonemes or sounds we hear in words. The 8 Phonemic Awareness Skills taught in each lesson include Rhyming, Onset Fluency, Blending, Isolating Final or Medial Sounds, Segmenting, Adding, Deleting, and Substituting sounds. I understand this sounds like a lot, but please know it takes less than 10 minutes daily and provides the perfect combination of focus and fun that has our students begging for more "Haggerty time!" We have been adding Heggerty to our Preschool classes, and these little humans are excellent at "Heggerty!"
I look forward to sharing exciting events, tips, and reading tricks with you and your little readers. If we still need to meet, please stop by the library on November 9th during the Parent Teacher Conference day or night. I look forward to meeting you. If you can't make it, then please know that I am always available for questions or concerns when I am not working with students. My email is mgray@dcrsd.org, or you can reach me at 508-943-4312 extension 660.
Sincerely,
Michelle Gray, Reading Specialist
Title I Part A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides financial assistance to districts and schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards.
The priorities of Title I are to:
Strengthen the core program in schools and provide academic and/or support services to low-achieving students at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels;
Provide evidence-based programs that enable participating students to achieve the learning standards of the state curriculum frameworks;
Elevate the quality of instruction by providing eligible staff with substantial opportunities for professional development; and,
Involve parents/guardians of participating public and private school children as active partners in their children's education at school through open, meaningful communication, training, and, as appropriate, inclusion in decision-making processes.
https://www.doe.mass.edu/federalgrants/titlei-a/
Mason Road School - Schoolwide Title I Program
Kindergarten students are learning numbers 1-10. They are working on identifying the numbers, putting them in order, and counting out the correct number of counters for each one.
Every year, the Dudley Senior Knitting Group calls the school and asks if they can come and read to the students. Every year, they come with hats or mittens to give to each student. These women dedicate their time to make these hats and mittens and then share them with our students. I love seeing those hats and mittens on the students as they wear them with great pride. THANK YOU Dudley Senior Knitting Group!
You can also follow the Dudley PTO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DudleyPTO
