Practice your high frequency words using play-doh or shaving cream.

Read a story and count how many sight words you can find.

Make flashcards of your math facts. You can practice with someone at home.

Please email your child's teacher or Mrs. Stanick, jstanick@auburn.k12.ma.us if any of the numbered items belong to your child.

Welcome back to another exciting school year at PAK. I am excited to start the year and have everyone back at school! For those new families, my name is Julie Benoit and I am the Reading Specialist here at Pakachoag. I am grateful to live in Auburn as well, with my husband and two children; one is a third grader at SWIS, and one is a first grader here at Pakachoag.

This year I am looking forward to working with all of our students in their classrooms and some in small groups. I am excited to share that I will be teaching “Books and Beyond” in every classroom once a week again this year. This is a special which will provide support to all students on key literacy skills across each grade level. In addition to teaching some important reading skills and strategies, I will be sharing rich and diverse literature, including titles that reinforce the Social Emotional Learning being taught as well.

I want to thank the many families that supported your child with his or her summer reading work. Students were proud to share their work and I enjoyed reading over the reports, posters, and watching the videos I received. I can’t stress enough how important it is for everyone to read with your child daily and (as your child develops more reading skills) have your child read on his/her own.

I am excited to share that we will have an author, April Jones Prince, who is from Shrewsbury, MA, come to visit our students at the beginning of November. She will be doing presentations for Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade and will inspire our young readers and writers.

I look forward to working with your child(ren) this year. If you have any questions over the course of the year, I can be reached at jbenoit@auburn.k12.ma.us.

In our weekly classroom SEL (Social Emotional Learning) lessons, we have been focusing on Unit 1 of our Second Step Program: Skills for Learning. The students have learned:

1. LISTEN - use ears, voices quiet, and bodies still

2. FOCUS ATTENTION - look at the speaker, ignore distractions, and concentrate

3. USE SELF-TALK - think or quietly say, “focus”, “pay attention”, “ignore distractions”, or repeat the directions to stay on task

4. BE ASSERTIVE - ask for help in a clear, calm, respectful way

Here are the songs we incorporate into our lessons:

The Learner Song - Kindergarten & Grade 1

Be a Learner - Grade 2

This year, we are also learning new coping skills each month. We have learned that a coping skill is something you can use to manage strong feelings in a healthy way. So far we have learned:

Fun ways to incorporate COUNT TO 10:

• Count colors, shapes, letters

• Count in another language

• Skip count by 2s, 5s, or 10s

• Add mindful steps and walk as you count

Fun ways to incorporate BREATHE:

• Smell the flowers (inhale), blow out the candles (exhale)

• Buddy breathe by laying down and placing a stuffed animal on your belly. Watch the stuffy move up and down with your breaths.

• Shape breathing
  

Hello Families,

We are so lucky to have our Comfort Dog from the College of Holy Cross coming back to our school! Gracie and Michael will be coming to PAK on Thursdays, during this time a select group of students from each classroom will come down and have a chance to read to Gracie. This helps increase fluency and reader confidence. Studies have shown that comfort dogs can increase school attendance, have a positive impact on students confidence, and help to decrease learners anxiety. Groups will run for about two months, this is so we can get as many students in to see/read to Gracie as possible! If you do not wish for your child to participate, please sign the electronic opt out form below.

Reading to Gracie Opt. Out Form

Happy Fall!

It’s hard to believe we are already in November and Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday) is right around the corner! As we approach the cooler months, I wanted to send along a few helpful tips that will make for a healthy winter season for all of us.

1. Please send your child to school with a change of clothes in their bag and extra layers (warm coat, hat, & gloves) for outdoor recess. On this note, we tend to lend spare clothing and supplies to lots of kiddos throughout the week. If you feel so inclined, I have put together a Wish List of such items (and a few extra things that would benefit the clinic here). Any donations (even gently used items) are greatly appreciated!
2. Please keep your children home if they are not feeling well. This, along with frequent hand washing, is the best way to limit the spread of germs and viruses at school. As a reminder, students should be fever/vomiting/diarrhea free for 24 hours prior to their return to school. Additionally, we ask that students be generally feeling well and are up for the demands of the school day before they return.

3. Just a friendly reminder to clean out your child’s reusable water bottles on a regular basis. These can carry lots of germs and grow mold, so frequent cleaning is a must. I certainly need to be more diligent about this, myself!

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with any questions, concerns, or medical updates for your child. Have a wonderful start to your holiday season!

Take care,

Kerri Gustafson, BSN, RN, NCSN

Pakachoag School Nurse

Auburn Youth and Family Services Inc. offers a food pantry for auburn residents. Auburn Youth and Family Services do not require proof of income, they are here to support and help those in our community. The food pantry is Monday through Thursday, currently only operating at curbside pickup or delivery. If you are interested, please call (508)832-5707 ext. 102, Lisa or Sally will give you a call back to give you a list of food items you can pick from. Auburn Youth and Family Services Inc. also have baby items (diapers and food items), when calling to place your order please ask to add these items on.

Find Food - Worcester County Food Bank

If you are in need of any housing assistance here is the direct link for RCAP in Worcester ~ Community Resources | RCAP Solutions

Please also know that you can confidentially reach out to either Ariella Emmanuel, School Social Worker, or Kristie Deyoe, School Counselor, at any time if you have social/emotional concerns about your child or need support in accessing community resources. Supporting the social/emotional needs of students and families is an integral part of our jobs.

Report Cards Issued

12/15: PAK Pride Day: Wear Your PAK Gear or Auburn Colors

12/22: Half Day of School: NO PM Satellite

Co-Chairs:

Jess Spring & Julie Creedon-Linton

Treasurer:

Amy Feen

Secretary:

Jenna Mahoney

Event Coordinator:

Jen Osborn

Social Media Coordinator:

Sherri Gentile

Pakachoag Representative:

Katelyn Lynch