Fisher Family Update
November 8, 2024
November
11 - NO SCHOOL - Veterans' Day
12 - Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences - 5:00 - 7:00pm
13 - Picture Retakes
14 - Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences - 5:00 - 7:00pm
15 - Early Release - Fisher dismissal at 12:25pm
15 - Elementary Parent/Teacher Conferences -1:15pm-3:15pm
20 - Fisher PAC 7pm, STEM/Media Classroom
21 - Spirit Day - Dress as your favorite book character
27 - Early Release - Thanksgiving recess, Dismissal at 12:25pm
28 - NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving recess
29 - NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving recess
Fall Conference Reminders
We’re look forward to seeing you at this year’s Parent-Teacher Conferences! These meetings are a valuable time to discuss your child’s progress, celebrate achievements, and set goals for the future. We hope you’ll join us for this important connection.
Sign-Up Details: To make scheduling easy, we’re using Google Appointments. Please click here to access the master sheet and find your child's teacher to schedule a conference. Detailed instructions are located below.
- Multiple Children? Please sign up separately with each teacher.
- Need Assistance? If you run into any issues, feel free to contact the school office.
Thanksgiving Giving
In the spirit of the holiday, we are looking for 20 Thanksgiving meals to be donated to provide Thanksgiving dinner for families in need. The food will be purchased and put together by your family based on the list below to feed 10 people. Feel free to reach out to another family(s) if you would like to do it together as a group. Fisher students are going to be decorating boxes for the food to be put in so there is no need to provide a basket.
Please plan on bringing the below ingredients in the grocery bags as well as a $25 giftcard to Stop & Shop for a turkey or ham in an easily identifiable envelope.
The food must be dropped off in front of the school on Monday, November 25th between 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
Please check the slot to donate if you would like to participate. We are looking for 20 meals in total. If you have any questions please contact Carly Mahoney, Guidance Counselor at cmahoney@walpole.k12.ma.us, Erin MacQuarrie, Adjustment Counselor at emacquarrie@walpole.k12.ma.us, or Lindsey Moyes, School Nurse, at LMoyes@walpole.k12.ma.us
Thank you for your generosity and continued support to the Fisher community. We greatly appreciate it.
Please click here to sign up for a meal.
Fall Math Update - Fact Fluency
With Family/Educator Conferences coming up next week, many teachers may be sharing information around fact fluency. Fact fluency is not memorizing a list of equations to see how fast a student can complete a paper. Fact fluency incorporates children being able to use efficient strategies to work with their basic facts in multiple ways. Multiplication and division rely on fluency with addition and subtraction. Fractions rely on fluency with multiplication and division. Fact fluency extends to all math concepts throughout the grades.
This year, we are fortunate enough to have the Math Fact Lab program at school so students in grades 1-5 have a systematic approach, filled with visual models to master their math facts. Sessions for Math Fact Lab run anywhere from 8-15 minutes and it is suggested that students complete at least 3 sessions a week. Once students complete a certain number of activities they get a chance to pass a level lifter which will move them on to the next level of facts. Our students are doing an amazing job passing their level lifters to become Math Fact Masters.
There are several other fun ways students can work with their facts to become fluent and efficient mathematicians. Check out this book of math games, Acing Math (One Deck at a Time) that only needs a deck of cards for fun math fact practice. Our Family Math Site has a special section devoted to Fact Fluency where you will find even more resources for fun practice for your child.
End of School Year Fact Fluency Expectations:
Kindergarten: Fluently add & subtract within 5
Grade 1: Fluently add & subtract within 10
Grade 2: Fluently add & subtract within 20
Grade 3: Fluently multiply all products up to 10x10 and related division facts
Grade 4: Fluently multiply all products up to 12x12 and related division facts
Grade 5: Keep practicing all facts for fluency!
Afterschool Fall Enrichment II
It's time to plan Enrichment Fall Session 2! Session 2 will run the weeks of: November 12, 19, December 3, 10, 17.
Sessions will run 3:30-4:45pm Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Hard copies of the listings went home with students in grades 1-5 this week. An electronic copy of the offerings can be found here.
Sign-ups will begin on Monday, November 4 at 7:00pm via Sign-Up Genius. The link can be found here. No sign-ups will be accepted in advance of this time, and all students must be enrolled using this link.
For confidential scholarship information, please contact Kate Anderson at kanderson@walpole.k12.ma.us
Fisher’s Finest Rally Against Cancer - November 2024
It is that time of year again….we are kicking off our Rally Against Cancer for the Jimmy Fund this month! For those families who are not familiar with our Fisher’s Finest Rally team, allow me to introduce us and explain a little about what we do.
Each year, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Jimmy Fund, and the Boston Red Sox organize the Rally Against Cancer, a fundraising effort which raises money to support cancer treatment and research as well as patient and family support at Dana-Farber. If you know a family with someone going through cancer treatment, you know how difficult this can be. Seventeen years ago, Kathy Vose and I were invited to form a team here at Fisher School. In those seventeen years, Fisher’s Finest has raised nearly $117,000.00 for Rally. I have been told that if you go into Dana-Farber and mention Fisher’s Finest to a staff member, they are more than likely going to know exactly who you are talking about and what an incredible group we are!!
In recent years, we have been the top fundraising school and have earned prizes such as a player visit for the top fundraising class, school visits from Wally the Green Monster and his sister, Tessie, as well as the chance to be recognized in an on-the-field check presentation. What a thrill it has been to represent Fisher School and its incredible generosity for that presentation! Just hearing our name mentioned and all the fans cheering for us makes my heart swell with pride.
This year, we are starting our fundraising efforts with Meadow Farms. Sales catalogs will be going home on Monday, November 18th, giving you time to browse all of the different products and get your gift ordering done in time for the holidays! All ordering is done online and will be shipped directly to you, so there is no worrying about a pick-up at the school!
I was also asked about having our My Grandma’s Coffee Cake fundraiser again this year, after taking last year off. Stay tuned for more information about this fundraiser!
In January, as soon as we return from winter vacation, we will be starting our Change for a Cure and Green Monster Wall of Honor. You can see the current Green Monster Wall of Honor in the hallway that leads to the auditorium.
The students, families, and staff should be extremely proud of what we have accomplished, and knowing that what we have done will make such a difference for so many people.
Thank you all for your amazing continued support of Fisher's Finest!
Carolyn McDonough - Rally Captain for Fisher’s Finest
News from the Health Office
This letter is to inform you of the upcoming state mandated screenings that will be happening soon at Fisher Elementary School. While most children see their pediatricians annually, this program frequently identifies problems that arise between doctors’ visits.
State regulations require vision and hearing screenings for all students enrolled in public schools. Screenings are done at selected intervals throughout the school years. At Fisher Elementary all grades will have vision screening and grades K-3 will have hearing screening.
In addition, we will continue to collect BMI’s for grades 1 and 4. 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 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.
Massachusetts schools have taken heights and weights of students each year since the 1950’s. According to the state’s new BMI screening regulation which passed in April 2009, schools must now collect the heights and weights of students in grades 1, 4, 7 and 10. Each child’s height and weight will then be used to calculate their BMI. The results will be kept in your child’s school health record. Unlike recent years, these results will not be sent home but will continue to be reported as aggregate data to the state. No personal information will be included.
If you would like to opt out of the screening(s), please let me know and provide a copy of your child's most recent physical with their vision, hearing and/or height and weight recorded within the last calendar year.
Scoliosis (Postural) screening will take place in the Spring for the fifth grade. The Health Office will contact the families of the exact screening days ahead of time. Please contact the Health Office with any concerns or questions. Thank you!
Lindsey Moyes, M. Ed, BSN, RN
Fisher Elementary School
65 Gould Street, Walpole 02081
Health office phone: (508) 660-7234 Option 2
Health office fax: (866) 898-5919
Food Drive!
The 5th Grade Student Council is sponsoring a FOOD DRIVE
to benefit the Walpole Food Pantry….
Monday, Nov.4th through Friday, Nov. 15th
These are some of the suggested items for each grade level.
Kindergarten: pasta, soup, canned meat & fish, cereal
Grade 1: canned fruit & veggies, applesauce, jelly/jam, syrup
Grade 2: oatmeal, cake mix, brownie mix, baking needs
Grade 3: salad dressing, mustard/ketchup, baked beans
Grade 4: peanut butter, tea/coffee, mac & cheese
Grade 5: household items (laundry detergent, napkins, paper towels, toilet paper) & personal care items (toothpaste, toothbrush, soap, shampoo, deodorant)
**PLEASE check the expiration dates on your items!!
These are only suggestions, please know that ANY and ALL donations are greatly appreciated! Please bring donations to Room 122 or keep them in your homeroom where they will be collected by Student Council members!
Thank you!
Grade 5 Student Council
STAR WARS Coin CHALLENGE
The Fisher PAC is hosting a
STAR WARS Coin CHALLENGE
Monday November 4th - Friday November 15th
Points: 1 cent = 1 point
What is it?
Students bring in pennies, nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars, dollars or checks and place them in their class jar. Class jars will be combined at the grade level and counted daily.
What is it for?
This is one of our fundraisers for the school year to help fund field trips, teacher requests, presenters and Battle of the Books.
Prizes:
As grades reach different levels extra recesses will be awarded. The grade with the highest total will receive a special lunch party and bragging rights! Each classroom teacher in that grade will also receive a $50 Amazon gift card!
Donations can also be made via Venmo — please make note of which grade to attribute the money to!
Venmo: @Fisher-PAC
Let’s celebrate the event kick off with a grade level spirit day on Monday Nov. 4th.
Each grade should wear the colors below:
K - Red
1 - Orange
2 - Yellow
3 - Green
4 - Blue 5 - White
5 - White
5th Grade Fundraiser
There will be a 5th Grade fundraiser on Sunday November 24th at Stop & Shop from 10:00am-2:00pm. The students will be collecting donations to fund their 5th Grade activities this school year. Thanks for the support and helping out!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080448A8AE28A4FA7-52841473-fisher#/
Fisher Swag is now on sale
The Fisher Online Store is live at The Run House! Get your Fisher and Walpole spirit gear, just in time for the holidays! Plenty of options for kids and adults — with 10% of all sales going back to the PAC!
Scholastic Book Fair is coming and needs your help!
Hello! Check out the online Book Fair link! Shop titles and Fisher School will get 25% of the sales proceeds! Be sure to also check out the in-person Book Fair during parent teacher conferences next week on November 12th from 5pm-7pm, November 14th from 5pm-7pm and November 15th from 12:15pm-3:15pm.
Fisher PAC Friendship Directory
This is a great way for families to connect with each other over the phone or email. This is completely optional and this info will be shared with other families who decide to be part of the directory. As a reminder, Fisher School is not allowed to share student or parent contact information.
Please click here to be included in the Fisher Friendship directory.
Main Office Information
Absences: If your student is going to be absent or tardy, please call the absence line and let us know in advance. You may call this line at anytime and leave a message. The telephone number is 508-660-7234 and then press 1
Dismissals: Please send a hand written note with your student in the morning or fill out this form with at least 2 hours advance notice.
Afterschool dismissal changes: If your student is changing their typical way of leaving Fisher at 3:25pm, please send a note into school with the plan that morning.
We understand that there are unavoidable last minute changes, however, please be mindful that we must call the classroom and upset time on leaning with each change.
Please feel free to email the front office: fisher-secretaries@walpole.k12.ma.us
