MHS/WES Newsletter

Friendly Reminder - We DO have school next week, Tues-Friday (April 18-21st). There is no school on Monday, April 17 for Patriot's Day. All absences for next week will be considered excused regardless of the reason. If you have not done so already, please fill out the form below. If we have not heard from you and your child is absent next week, we will need to call you to confirm the absence.

For those of you traveling, we wish you a safe and wonderful vacation. For those of you staying behind, we have a fun week planned ahead. Teachers have worked diligently to plan extension activities. We hope to make it a fun productive learning week as we reinforce previously taught skills.

• April 17: Monday ~ No School, Patriot's Day
• April 18-20: Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday ~ FULL DAYS of SCHOOL
• April 21: Friday ~ Noon Dismissal
• April 24: Daughter Dance Decoration Making 4:00-7:00PM on the WES Lobby (drop in when you can)
• April 27: Setting up for the Daughter Dance- 4:00-7:00 in the WES Cafeteria & Gym (drop-in when you can)
• April 28: Friday ~ Daughter's Choice: You Are My Sunshine Dance- 6:30-8:30 in the WES Cafeteria
• May 17: Wednesday ~ PTO Meeting- 6:30 in the WES Cafeteria
• May 19: Friday ~ 3rd Grade Colonial Day

Kindergarten registration for all Westminster students who will be 5 years old by August 31, 2023 has begun. Registration is now done via our online portal!

• Please be sure to select the 23-24 school year and KF as your student's grade.

Kindergarten Orientation

DATE: Tuesday, May 2nd, 2023,

TIME: 9:30 - 10:30 AM

LOCATION: MHS Cafe/Gym

We are inviting parents/guardians along with their incoming Kindergarteners to attend the orientation. There will be no babysitting available on this date.

Happy Spring!

March weather aligned perfectly with this month’s Number Corner theme, In like a lion,

out like a lamb! Thank you for your flexibility in rescheduling conferences during our lion-like

weather. It was nice to meet with so many families to discuss their child’s successes and their

excitement in becoming a reader and writer. The students and teachers have really enjoyed our

monthly visits to the Forbush library. During our final visit in May, students will complete a fun

activity with our wonderful librarians and will not check out a book. We are excited to announce

that our school library will be reopening thanks to some amazing volunteers! Our first visit will be

this month.

Students have been practicing using a number line to support counting forward and

backward sequence; determine the missing numerals in the sequence; and practice using

positional language to describe the relationship among numbers.

In CKLA, students continue to work to automatize the letter-sound correspondences and

blending procedures. Students have begun to recognize, segment and blend consonant

clusters, a set of two or more letters that stand for two or more consonant sounds. We are

excited to begin introducing consonant digraphs or “letter teams” this month. A consonant

digraph is a set of two letters that, jointly, stand for one consonant sound, such as ch, sh, th, qu,

and ng.

We have enjoyed digging deeper into our Wit and Wisdom curriculum to examine the

five senses. Using a variety of text, students have explored how a text’s illustrations and words

work together to reveal key details and deeper meaning. Through the examination of textual

evidence students prepare to answer the focus question, How do people use their senses to

learn about the world? This exploration of key details helps students examine the purpose of

text evidence and see how using text evidence supports an answer to a question.

We appreciate your support with practicing tricky words and math facts at home.

In CKLA and Wit and Wisdom we have been reading informational text about animals. We have also been writing informational texts about animals. Coincidentally in math we have been working with penguins to measure and complete addition/subtraction word problems.

Since our theme has been animals, next week our enrichment week will focus on animals. The theme will be Welcome to the Zoo. We will be reading, writing, creating and working collaboratively on projects that center around animals. There may even be a special surprise or two next week! It is going to be a week full of learning and fun!

The application for preschool community peers is live. Please refer to the preschool program website for more information. We encourage you to share this information with friends and relatives who have young children ages 3 or 4 who may be interested. Applicants must reside in either Westminster or Ashburnham.

If you are interested in being a volunteer in the Meetinghouse School Library, please fill out this Google Form: https://forms.gle/s2VnDJQNEBg8kbfW8. Sign-ups with specific dates and times for volunteering will be emailed out at a later date.

We show strength in our endurance of Winter and want to tap into those strengths in the Spring in order to continue to grow, renew, and finish strong as the end of the school year approaches. This month we encourage you and your family to explore your strengths, both as individuals and as a unit. Research indicates that learning how to use strengths in new ways can improve well-being. People feel happier, have better self-esteem and are more likely to accomplish their goals. Exploring your strengths involves identifying what they are, understanding how they are used and learning new ways to apply them.

Our strengths can be used in a variety of ways and in different areas of our lives. Our strengths help us build connections and grow friendships, help us succeed academically and professionally and also provide us with personal confidence and fulfillment. What are your strengths? How do you currently use them? What are some new ways you can use these strengths?

Use the strength exploration sheet attached as an aide in identifying your strengths and how you apply them to relationships, your profession and for personal fulfillment.

https://www.therapistaid.com/worksheets/strengths-exploration

Below is the link for tickets to the Oakmont musical- Mean Girls.

Shows are Friday April 28 at 7pm, Saturday, April 29 at 7pm and Sunday April 30 at 2pm.

PG13ish due to some language.

Click Here

General Ashburnham-Westminster Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) membership is open to all AWRSD parents/guardians of children with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and Section 504 Plans and other interested parties. We need volunteers to help plan workshops, staff tables at local school and community events, become future leaders, assist other parents, and plan new activities and projects. Learn more about us and our work on our website https://sites.google.com/view/ashburnham-westminster-sepac. You can also follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ashwestsepac.