Principal's Newsletter

This was a extra exciting week marked by Earth Day and Bring Your Child to Work Day! Students who were able to spend the day with a parent in the workplace were thrilled to share their experiences. Students who attended school had fun interacting with the children of our staff!

In Pre-K this week students continued their unit of study on Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling.

Monday's lessons centered on celebrating Earth Day through play, crafts, and stories. In ELA, students focused on letter recognition and letter-sounds through various activities, including games involving letter magnet matchups. In math, students practiced numeral identification and pattern recognition with spring-themed pictures. They also incorporated fine motor skills with various crafts, puzzles, and games.

Kindergarten students had a busy week of learning! In Fundations, students continued to develop phonemic awareness by breaking down words, spelling three-sound words with digraphs, and practicing their reading fluency. They also practiced writing sentences and distinguishing between narrative fiction and informational texts. In Reading Workshop, students shared their thoughts on non-fiction books, practiced reading skills during read-alouds, and engaged in discussions aimed at building their listening comprehension. During Writing Workshop, students explored non-fiction writing, brainstormed topics they were familiar with, and created lists with pictures and words. In Math, children learned positional words to describe object placement, while in Social Studies, they learned about global lifestyles and the importance of preserving animal habitats. In Science, students learned what plants require for survival.

Enjoy this week's photo gallery -

Earlier this year, the district launched the Gaggle Safety Management System, which monitors students' Google accounts, including email and drive, for any signs of self-harm, cyberbullying, or other potentially harmful behaviors. Soon thereafter, we launched Speak Up for Safety, a safety feature that provides an easy way for students in grades 6-12 to anonymously share concerns about school safety and the well-being of their peers. Now, we have added an extra measure to identify students in crisis. This new feature monitors student web searches and browser inputs while the student is logged onto district accounts or devices. In all cases, any concerning content is flagged and forwarded to the administration for timely support and intervention, where necessary. As always, student privacy remains a top priority; all monitoring is carried out with the utmost discretion and sensitivity.

Each year, the Westfield Public Schools and Westfield Police Department recognize and honor the efforts of our crossing guards through an annual Crossing Guard Appreciation Breakfast. Pictured below are our PTO Co-Presidents, Ms. Nigro and Mr. Lam, with our crossing guard extraordinaire, Mr. Marc at this morning's event. In the background is a beautiful banner made by our very own Lincoln School students. We appreciate you, Mr. Marc!

The connections forged through family participation enrich our students' educational experiences and foster a spirit of togetherness. All families are encouraged to share their time and talents in these upcoming school wide events -

Flowers are available for purchase on the Membership Toolkit.

On Monday, May 13, 2024, the Pre-K will be holding its annual "Tournament of Champions" field day event (rain date Monday, May 20). The Tournament will be held at Kehler Field behind Lincoln School. This culmination of our adapted physical education program is directed by Mr. Daniel Pereira.

Please complete the permission slip.

May

1: First Day of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

1: Spring Book Fair

3: Spirit Day

6: Staff Appreciation Week

8: Flower Patch | School Nurse Day

10: Rain date Flower Patch

12: Mother's Day

13: Pre-K Tournament of Champions (Field Day)

17: Training Day | First Grade Orientations at Elementary Schools (click HERE for times)

20: Rain date Pre-K Tournament of Champions (Field Day)

21: Kindergarten Field Day

24: Schools closed

27-28: Schools closed

28: Rain date Kindergarten Field Day

June

4: International Dinner for Multilingual Students - WHS - Cafeteria B (6 - 8 PM)

7: Kindergarten Celebration

12: School Wide EOY Carnival

14: Spirit Day

16: Father's Day

19: Juneteenth

19 - 20: Early Dismissal for Students

20: Last Day for Students