Although February may have started off with frigid temperatures, we're cozy with learning inside our schools. This is the time of year where students in all grades are really taking off with their learning. We couldn't be more proud of our students. Thank you for your continued help and support at home.

February 15, Wednesday PTO Meeting in the WES Cafe

February 20, Monday through February 24, Friday ~ No School/February Break

If you are sending in Valentine's, please leave all candy and treats at home. Several years ago our policy on food and candy changed due to the increase number of student's with allergies. Any candy or food that is brought into school will be returned home. Thank your for help and understanding as we work to keep all of our students safe.

We are very grateful to the PTO for purchasing our new rock wall. A special thank you goes to Nick Belland for graciously installing the wall panels to the back of the gym and Heather Sue Luibil for finishing it up by installing all the knobs and mats. Mrs. Luibil started her rock wall lessons this week with grades 2-5. Check out the video below that Mrs. Luibil created.

This time of year, in celebration of Valentine’s Day, fourth grade students have been writing “kindness cards'' to each other. The students take time to write a kind note to all of their classmates. It is such a wonderful experience watching the students exchange these cards with each other. A little kindness goes a long way!

Academically, students have been finishing up our study of multiplication and early division, and beginning to work on fractions in math, focusing on equivalent fractions and comparing fractions.

In ELA, we are studying how a setting may affect the character or speaker in the text. We used our reading examples to practice writing with sensory details.

For our plant unit in Science, we are learning about the greenhouse effect. We will then discuss pollinators. We are excited to return to our garden in the spring and continue to take data on our plants!

We hope you have a wonderful February break!

Fifth grade classes are moving from module 1 to module 2 in Language Arts. We spent module 1 learning about the impact that westward expansion had on Native American tribes through the novel Thunder Rolling the Mountains and module 2 will focus on wordplay while reading The Phantom Tollbooth. Students will continue to have fluency reading practice homework at night. Try modeling fluent reading for your child on the passage to help them work on their fluency. Students especially struggle with reading with appropriate expression and pausing.

Our current math unit is working with the place value of the decimal system and using this to convert measurement within the metric system. Ask your child about our 2 Liters or Spill activity this month! We will be working on division of whole numbers and decimals during our next unit.

As we approach the halfway point of fifth grade, we are really working on developing independence and responsibility with regards to completing work and remembering to bring the necessary materials to and from school along with a fully charged chromebook each day. These skills are extremely important for a middle school student. Please encourage your child to come up with a routine that works for them for packing and unpacking their school bag each day.

We have opened cafeteria seating at fifth grade’s lunch to allow students to sit at any table with students from all homerooms. We began this as part of Kindness Week. We reminded everyone to notice if students are sitting alone, or unsure where to sit, and discussed how we can invite others to join us so that we all feel comfortable and included in the cafeteria.

Thank you for supporting the school store at Westminster Elementary! Student Council workers had so much fun working the mobile school store carts and giving each grade level the opportunity to shop! There were lots of smiles and excitement as students selected new school supplies to purchase! It was fun to watch students use mental math as they decided what they could choose! The student council will restock and reopen again in the spring!

The latest center to be opened at Meetinghouse is paint! We have a LOT of excited children and many new colors being "invented" daily. Everyone in Kindergarten and Grade 1 did a skill-builder to learn the rules specific to this art studio. Some of these paintings will be coming home, but I would like to hang some in the hallways first for a few weeks. I will be working on uploading more of their work to the Artsonia website over the next few weeks as well.

Grade 2 and 3 had a skill builder for the paint center as well! Their paint center will be officially open in a few weeks for experimenting. This past week they also explored texture on air-dry clay. Each child made 2 "trading tokens" which they will paint next week.

Grades 4 and 5 did a paint skill builder as well. It was called "paint around the room" where they could experiment with 6 different kinds of paint or paint techniques: tempera cakes, liquid tempera, pan watercolor, pan watercolor with wax resist, liquid watercolor and paint sticks. These will be coming home soon. Grade 4 then worked on a basic watercolor technique called a watercolor wash. They made paintings with watercolor paper and liquid watercolor paint. These turned out so beautiful and they will be uploaded to Artsonia soon! Grade 5 did a second paint skill-builder to learn more about tints and shades. These paintings will be put together into collaborative art pieces for the Art Show. Grades 4 and 5 will be doing a clay project next month. They will also be working with air-dry clay while we sort out some issues with our new kiln.

As always, please email me with any questions or concerns you have about the studio, the materials, the centers or the projects!

AND SAVE THE DATE: Creation Celebration (Art Show) is Tuesday, May 30 from 6:00-8:00 pm. All are invited! I am currently looking for VOLUNTEERS for this event. I will need help preparing artwork for the show and putting up artwork. I will also need help on the night of the show. Please email me abanning@awrsd.org if you can help!

Stay creative!

Ms. Banning

HEALTH SCREENINGS:

With Spring right around the corner, school health screenings are coming up on us. Massachusetts regulations 105 CMR 200.500, (2009) for the Physical Examination of Children, requires that The Ashburnham-Westminster Regional School District perform the following mandatory screenings for all school aged children in attendance:

· Vision: Grades K-5

· Hearing: Grades K-3

· Postural screening: Grade 5

· Height and weight (Body Mass Index) in Grades 1 & 4

Height and Weight measurements will be used to calculate each student's BMI. The results will be documented in the student Health Record and provided to the Department of Public Health in an aggregate from according to State regulations. A Body Mass Index, or BMI, is a measure that is used to show a person’s “weight for height for age.” It is calculated using a formula that includes an individual’s height and weight. Just like a blood pressure reading or an eye screening test, a BMI can be a useful tool in identifying possible health risks.Your student’s privacy will be respected at all times. The results of your child’s screenings are strictly confidential. If you wish to exclude your child from any of these school health screenings, please notify your school nurse in writing or via email .

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your school nurse.

SNACKS/WATER BOTTLES FOR MHS: MHS Nurse’s office is looking for small water bottle donations. Also, if you would like to donate snacks, please contact the nurse’s office directly to discuss the allergen friendly options we try to keep in office.

CLOTHING DONATIONS: MHS is in need of clothing donations, specifically pants for boys. WES is in need of pants for both boys and girls. If you are cleaning out, please consider donating any gently used items to the Nurse’s office!

MASSHEALTH UPDATE: In the coming year, all current MassHealth members will need to renew their health coverage to ensure they still qualify for their current benefit.These renewals will take place over 12 months. In order to help members maintain the best coverage they are eligible for, MassHealth is working with its partners to make sure members know how to renew their coverage and are aware of other affordable health coverage options if needed.

MassHealth Redetermination

As always please feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns

Bridget Hurley RN, BSN

Westminster Elementary School

Bhurley@awrsd.org

P: 978-874-2043 ext 5

F: 978-874-0964

Cassandra Benes RN, BSN

Meetinghouse School

Cbenes@awrsd.org

P: 978-874-0163 ext 304

F: 978-874-0726

The library books have missed the kids! The WES library is re-opening soon and we need volunteers! If you are interested in volunteering in the WES library, please complete the Google Form below. There will be a volunteer training session at a later date, along with sign-ups for specific time slots. All volunteer times for the WES library will be during the school day, and you will need to have an updated CORI form completed prior to volunteering. THANK YOU!

VOLUNTEER GOOGLE FORM: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScWQgq40hTuNnIFWKBwA-eBWp3WH6eVkCxnvZ61EqLVxv4Isg/viewform?usp=sf_link

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.

Registration for the 2023 baseball and softball season opens on January 1st! Save $20 by registering by Sunday, February 5th. Registration will close on Sunday, March 5th. We start the season on Monday, April 24th.

Registration will only be online this year. If for any reason you have trouble with the online form or can not pay online, please email Adam at westminsterbaseball@gmail.com.

Click Here to Register