A Note From Principal Roy
Greetings Fleming Families!
I hope this newsletter finds you all well and ready to embark on a week off from school with your families. I know many of you will be working right through and perhaps on Thanksgiving, but whatever your situation may be I hope next week brings you joy, rest, family time, or whatever else you may want or need.
There has certainly been a lot of illness going through the school and the greater community so hopefully a little bit of time apart will be just what everyone needs to come back healthy and ready for the lightning quick three weeks between Thanksgiving break and winter break.
Please see the information below, as we have a lot of things to share this week, and for all those who celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday - I wish you a happy one, and I wish everyone a happy and restful week of vacation.
Best,
- Matt
Fleming CAN Help Bottle Drive and Non Perishable Collection Event
Thank you to the volunteers who helped in the morning this week, and to all the folks who contributed to the bottle drive and food drive. I do not have the total yet for the bottles, but we covered two large tables at Heavenly Pantry with the food we were able to collect. Thank you so much for helping Fleming take care of our community!
PBIS News
Dear Parents and Guardians,
We have had some great PBIS celebrations lately! Fort day was a success, allowing the students to learn from their cozy, self-designed forts, and Camp Fleming allowed each student to participate in an activity of their choice! Some of the popular picks were Medic in the gym, A Taylor Swift dance party, making bracelets, theater class, and lots of board games! The students earn these celebrations by collecting “feathers” for taking care of themselves, others and the Fleming community. Ask your child to tell you more about the feathers, eggs, and celebrations!
For the month of December, we would like to take a moment to highlight our next focus for PBIS, which is empathy! Showing empathy can be a key part of family life. Here are some ways to show empathy in your family:
Be a role model: Show concern for others and talk about your own feelings.
Think aloud with your children: Modeling how you are making decisions from an empathetic perspective.
Discuss emotions: Naming emotions helps children recognize different feelings and develop self-awareness.
Read together: Reading as a family, and discussing characters, can increase empathy.
Validate feelings: Let children know that you understand and love them by validating their emotions.
Actively listen: Give your child your full attention and listen to their words and tone of voice. Say things like “I hear you”, “I can see that you are frustrated”, and “I am hearing you say…”.
Play board games and card games: Games can help teach social-emotional skills like empathy.
At Fleming School, we focus on three fundamental rules: Take care of yourself, others, and the community.
Self: Be aware of your own feelings, and take a break if you are feeling anxious, sad, angry, or antsy.
Others: Notice how others are feeling, and if someone is upset ask if you can do anything to help.
Community: Take pride in our school building, and clean up after yourself. Clean, organized, and calm rooms allow people to feel more content.
Thank you for your continued partnership in nurturing responsible, respectful, and engaged students. Together, we can help them develop the skills and habits they need to thrive!
Reminder About Cell Phones and Smart Watches
Thank you for helping us communicate and reinforce these expectations.
Communicating Changes to After School Plans
Please ensure that your child arrives to school knowing what their plan is for after school. Any changes to after school plans (walk vs pick-up etc) need to be communicated to the main office prior to 2:00pm.
As a reminder we dismiss at 2:45 M, T, Th, F and on Wednesday we dismiss at 1:45.
School Day Hours, Drop-off And Pick-up Information
- Fleming's school day is 7:45 am - 2:45 pm M, T, Th, F
- Every Wednesday is an early release day which runs 7:45 am - 1:45 pm
- Students can be dropped off between 7:30 am and 7:45 am
- Students cannot be dropped off prior to 7:30 am
- All drop off and pick up traffic at the beginning and end of day will go behind the building and take place on the side walk outside of the main entrance (see image) - Please do not use the front loop between 7:30 - 8:00 am and 2:15 - 3:00 pm.
- During the middle part of the day (8:00 - 2:15) parents are encouraged to use the front loop for drop off and pick up.
Transportation Sign-up and Information
Please note that EWSD has outlined walking zones for our various schools, and bussing is not typically available in those zones. To check the Fleming walking zone please refer to the following link: https://shorturl.at/hNbvH
New To The EWSD Community? Check Out These Community Resources
Please refer to this document for information on many resources available to you in the greater Essex community. The list includes information related to housing, food, child care, pet care and other essentials.
Healthy Meals in EWSD
All children will receive free breakfast and lunch this year regardless of your household income eligibility. Our EWSD Child Nutrition Program provides nutrition information and menu options. For more information, you can visit: https://schools.mealviewer.com/district/EssexWestfordSchoolDistrict,VT