Wentworth School Family News

**Friday, January 10 - Snow Day Packs coming home; please tuck away until needed**

Wednesday, January 15 - Early Release at 1:45 PM

Monday, January 20 - No School: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Friday, January 31 - Spirit Day TBD (RESPECT Token voting)

Wednesday, February 5 - Wentworth PTA/PTO Meeting at 6:30 - Wentworth Learning Commons

Wednesday, February 12 - Early Release at 1:45 PM

February 17 - 21 - No School: Winter Break

2024-2025 Scarborough Public Schools Calendar

We hope this message finds you and your families well. The winter season is upon us, and we want to inform you about our plans for remote learning resulting from inclement weather cancellations - usually in Maine we call that a Snow Day!

The Board of Education approved a plan wherein the first two Snow Days are traditional snow days: drink some cocoa and build a snowman, watch a movie and stay cozy! For any day school is canceled after the second traditional Snow Day, all students in Scarborough Public Schools will have a remote learning day. This is like a “work from home” day, and looks different at each phase level based on the developmental needs of the learners. We are committed to ensuring that your child's education continues on remote learning days, and our dedicated teachers have prepared engaging and meaningful assignments for such occasions.

Here's What You Can Expect:

Communication: School closure information will be communicated through our regular channels including the school website, email, and automated phone calls. Please ensure your PowerSchool parent portal is updated with all of your contact information. This will ensure you receive all of the communications from the district. https://scarborough.powerschool.com/public

Lessons and Assignments: Teachers have collaborated to create accessible, low-tech Snow Day packs for our third, fourth and fifth graders. These envelopes will be sent home **TOMORROW** Friday, January 10. Please tuck this envelope away in a safe spot until they are needed. The work has been carefully selected to include detailed instructions and assignments that your child can complete from the safety and comfort of home.

Access to Resources: The Snow Day pack will be nearly all that your child will need available to students to support their independent learning. The only other materials are basic supplies, like pencils, pens, etc. that most households have access to and/or your child has in their backpack from school. If you need any assistance in acquiring home office supplies, please reach out to your child’s teacher. Teachers may choose to substitute the materials from the Remote Learning Snow Day pack with something more relevant to what they are currently working on if the storm day is a “predictable one” and the lessons are easily transferable to home. Additionally, some students’ packets will be more customized to their specific learning needs and level by case managers and related service providers. Teachers will provide more information about this as applicable.

We are not basing our Snow Day Packs on technology use for the following reasons:

• Wentworth students do not bring their chromebooks home daily, and therefore not all students would have access to a computer

• During inclement weather, internet is not always reliable

• Our students still require varying degrees of adult support to use the computer and internet safely and effectively, and therefore would not be able to be as independent with their school work

• Wentworth aged students will be in varying child care situations on Snow Days, and the paper packets are portable and can be completed anywhere

Flexibility: Recognizing the unique circumstances of a snow day, we understand that families may have different schedules. Snow Day packs provide flexibility in completing assignments over the course of the day using a timeframe that works for your family. The menu also provides options for your child regarding which assignments are selected.

Teacher Availability: Teachers will be available to answer any questions or provide additional support to students (provided we do not have widespread power/internet outages). If there is a question or need for additional support, email your child’s teacher and they will be back in touch. Contact details will be included in the communication from your child's teacher.

Attendance: Will be completed via a Google Form that we will provide for families. Please complete it by 10:30 AM indicating that your child is “present” and will participate in the remote learning day via the Snow Day pack assignments.

We appreciate your support and anticipate that this balance of traditional Snow Days and remote learning days will be a successful plan for SPS. Thank you for your ongoing partnership in your child's education.

Stay warm and safe!

Sincerely,

Kelli Crosby

Principal

Wentworth School

Helpful Links/Resources

2024-2025 Attendance Form

Grade 4 Snow Day Packet

PowerSchool Parent Portal

Dear Families of Students in Fifth Grade:

The purpose of this letter is to inform you about upcoming health topics in fifth grade puberty education for your child. Our Puberty Education Instructors are one of our school nurses, Anne Ornstein, and one of our health and physical education teachers, Keith Kitchin. This letter will provide an overview of the schedule, curriculum, and plans for Puberty Classes this year.

Puberty Education takes place as part of the grade 5 PE/Health curriculum. Classes will begin January 28 and continue through February 26, 2025, students watch the video Always Changing and Growing Up | Co-Ed Puberty Education Video. We have linked it in this letter so you know exactly what your child will see and discuss. If you choose to begin the conversation at home, here are some additional resources you may find helpful.

In the second class, which will take place the week of February 3, Mrs. Ornstein and Mr. Kitchin will play a fun “Truth or Myth” game with the students, reviewing the important points from the video. Students will also have a lesson from the Safer, Smarter Kids curriculum titled Body Boundaries. We previously held an Information Night about this new curriculum, and you can access the presentation slides and a video from SARSSM here. You will also receive a Home-School connection letter, summarizing the lesson during the second week of Puberty Class.

Finally, in week three, the students split up into two groups based on sex assigned at birth. The female students work with Mrs. Ornstein and the male students work with Mr. Kitchin to discuss topics specific to their anatomy. Mrs. Ornstein introduces (or reviews) menstruation products and provides an opportunity for questions while Mr. Kitchin reviews key points of the male anatomy and body changes, answers questions and plays a review game with the males. If your child identifies differently on the gender spectrum, we can create a customized plan - please reach out to us to talk through what will work best for your child.

Thank you for your support as we move into the Puberty Education Unit for our fifth graders. Should you elect to have your child excluded from this three week program, please notify the Health Office at aornstein@scarboroughschools.org in advance so alternative arrangements can be made for your child. Likewise, if you have any questions please reach out to us. We appreciate your partnership in this important work.

Respectfully,

Kelli Crosby

Principal

You are invited to design a cover for the Wentworth School 2024-2025 Yearbook!

Entries for the contest must follow these guidelines:

● Use 81⁄2 x 11 inch white paper.

● Portrait layout (vertical orientation, like the image to the right).

● Include only your original artwork- no stickers, clip art, or

images that are not your own creation.

● Bright and colorful! Use crayon, marker, paint, or pastels. You

can create a digital design if you wish. Stand back from it and be

sure your designs and letters show up boldly!

● Fill in the page. Leave little to no blank space on the page. The bigger the design,

the better!

● Your cover design must include Wentworth School and 2024-2025 in a clear,

easy to see manner. “Growing as Learners” is this year’s theme.

● Make sure all spelling is correct.

● Do NOT write your name or teacher's name on the front or on the back of

the paper. See instructions below.

Turn in your cover design to the main office. Entries are due by Friday, January 17th, 2024

Students will vote on the best covers that meet the criteria above. Good Luck to all who enter!

Here is the link to the flyer or ask for a hard copy at school!

Email: kcrosby@scarboroughschools.org
Website: www.wentworth.scarboroughschools.org
Location: 20 Quentin Drive, Scarborough, ME, USA
Phone: (207)730-4600