Picture Day...Smile!
Lifetouch will be taking individual student and class pictures on Wednesday, October 16th. Order envelopes went home this week and you can order online by clicking here and using the Picture Day ID: EVTZ7Z8M4
1st Student Council Spirit Day
Student Council had their first meeting today and are excited to plan a variety of spirit days and service projects for our school. The first spirit day will be "Walpole/Boyden Day" on Friday, October 25th. Students and staff are encouraged to wear thier Walpole/Boyden gear or blue and orange. It should be a fun day!
Literacy Screener for Grades K-3
Our teachers have many ways to check your child’s reading development and growth, including an early literacy universal screening assessment. Early literacy universal screening assessments are brief tests that provide information about your child’s early reading skills.
Screening makes it possible to see if a student is at risk of developing reading difficulties, including risk of dyslexia. Screening does not diagnose dyslexia or other disabilities, but it does help us understand which students may need additional support to be successful readers. We are required to assess students in grades K-3 at least twice per year consistent with Massachusetts regulation 603 CMR 28.03(1)(f).
Our district uses the screening assessment called iReady. This screening assessment is approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Your child will be assessed two or three times during the school year, depending on grade level. Grades 1-3 will be given the computer adaptive assessment in the Fall. Kindergarten will be given the computer adaptive assessment in the Winter and Spring. Assessments given in the Winter and Spring will also include offline literacy task assessments for grades K-3.
The tentative schedule for this school year is shown below (Subject to Change)
Kindergarten
- January
- May
- September
- January
- May
Following the screening assessment, a team at our school will review all students’ results. If your child scores significantly below benchmarks, we will contact you to discuss how we can support your child.
Screening is another step that helps students at our school become proficient readers, and we are grateful for the continued support and partnership with the Boyden families. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Media/STEM Update
Welcome to Library 101! You may have noticed that your child is coming home with library books from the Boyden Media Center. Our school library is a valuable resource for our students, providing them with a space that encourages a love for reading and curiosity. Here’s a quick guide to how it works.
Borrowing Books
Students checkout books on book checkout days (See the schedule below). K and 1 students checkout 1 book. Students in grades 3-5 check out 2 books or more depending on their needs. Each child is encouraged to borrow books that match their interests.The library is open in the morning from 8:45-9:15 for students in grades 3-5. This is a quiet time for students to browse, checkout or ask Mrs. Moses for a recommendation. All books are due back before the next book checkout.
Supporting Your Students At Home
Ask your child about the books they borrowed. Make reading a fun, family activity. Encourage your child to create a safe space for their library books at home. Remind them to return library books when they are finished. If a book is lost or damaged, please email Mrs. Moses at kmoses@walpole.k12.ma.us
Current Media Center Activities
Grades K-2 explored how the library is organized and how to find books that interest them. Ask your child about self-checkout and shelf markers. Grade 3 learned how to access our online library catalog and their accounts. Students can check their accounts, put books on hold and create a favorite list for later book borrowing. Grade 4 created book care stories on Scratch Jr. Grade 5 has been working on their MA STEM week animal project.
Book checkout dates for 2024:
10/15-10/18, 10/28-10/31, 11/12-11/15, 11/21-11/26, 12/9-12/12, 12/16-12/19
Multilingual Learner Family Meet & Greet Dinner
Walpole Public Schools MLPAC invites families of multilingual learners who are currently or were formerly in an English Language Education (ELE) program to attend the Multilingual Learner Family Meet & Greet Dinner. Come for dinner at the new Walpole Middle School and stay to meet faculty, staff, and other multilingual learner families in our Walpole school community.
ML FAMILY MEET & GREET DINNER INFORMATION
DATE: Wednesday, October 23, 2024
PLACE: Walpole Middle School Cafeteria (625 Washington Street, Door #1)
TIME: 6:00 - 7:00 P.M.
Bring your whole family!
Cheese pizza, salad, and water will be provided!
You are welcome to bring a favorite food item (appetizer, main/side dish, dessert) to share!
Please label all food items with a list of the ingredients due to food allergies.
Please contact the Multilingual Learner Family Engagement Center at mlfec@walpole.k12.ma.us or at (508) 660-7257 ext. 5033 for further information.
School Council
We are in need of one parent to join the School Council. Meetings are typically On Wednesdays from 4:00 - 5:00 PM approximately five times during the year. If you are interested or have questions, please contact me.
The Boyden School Council is an advisory group that plays an important role in many aspects of the school. It is required by law that all schools have a School Council. According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE), the main areas of responsibility for School Councils are as follows:
“The law outlines four major areas of responsibility for councils. School councils are to assist principals in:
Adopting educational goals for the school that are consistent with local educational policies and statewide student performance standards
Identifying the educational needs of students attending the school
Reviewing the annual school building budget
Formulating a school improvement plan”
For more information on School Councils, visit the DESE link below:
http://www.doe.mass.edu/lawsregs/advisory/schoolcouncils/default.html
Cellular Phones/Electronic Devices
Per the Elementary School Handbook - Students may not use cellular phones, smart watches, or other electronic devices during the day. If students need to have one of the above devices for an out of school purpose, the device must be kept turned off and remain in the backpack. If a student is found to have an electronic device in his or her possession, outside of the backpack, it will be kept in the office until a parent is able to pick it up.
MCAS Scores
This coming week, the Walpole Public Schools will be mailing MCAS results home to families. It is important to understand that the MCAS are one of the many ways we measure student progress across the curriculum. We also use many ongoing assessments in classrooms not only to measure student progress but also to assess the success of our district curriculum. Parent-teacher conferences will be taking place in November and this is a great opportunity to hear about specific aspects of the grade-level standards that going well for your child and other areas that may be a challenge.
Math Update
Fall weather is a great time to be outdoors and mother nature provides many great opportunities to try some outdoor math! Why outdoor math you might ask? Well, it can provide several benefits that aren’t fulfilled by a worksheet or digital game. Outdoor math activities are engaging, they spark interest in students because they are different and provide something fun to do during outside play time. They are hands-on and give children the opportunity to connect with nature. Children get to both, use concrete materials to make sense of abstract concepts, and also see the natural patterns, shapes and other phenomena in the world around them. Outdoor math activities are often multi-sensory which strengthens concept development, and since these experiences are fun, they reduce anxiety around math and help children improve their math disposition. (Brian Lee, 14 Best Outdoor Math Activities for Kids to Boost Math Skills)
Here are a few examples of suggested activities/games we found that your children might enjoy!
Place Value - Collect different types of nature items (twigs, leaves, acorns, stones, etc.). Have each represent a different place value. Give your child a number and have them represent the number with the items they have collected. Change the numbers in different ways to have them see how the value of the number changes as they move the objects around.
Geometry with Sticks! Collect different size sticks and have your child create different shapes. Depending on their grade level, you can begin with basic shapes and move on to different types of quadrilaterals, angles and vocabulary like parallel or perpendicular lines.
Soccer Place Value or Fact Practice - Have a friend? Practice passing the soccer ball the number of times necessary to answer a fact, or dribble that many steps, etc. If you have cones, you can also set up place value columns to dribble or pass through based on the number.
Resource: Third Space Blog 12 Awesome Fall Math Activities for Elementary School
Visit our Family Math Website for even more ideas of how to engage your child in some fun outdoor math! If it’s raining and you can’t get outside, don’t forget about the Bridges Math at Home site. These free activities align with the mathematical content of each Bridges curriculum unit happening in school. Click on your child’s grade level, then select a “set” of activities from the dropdown at the top. Set 2 correlates with Unit 2 that classes are working on now. Set 1 provides review of skills from Unit 1 in September. Thank you for promoting and inspiring mathematical exploration at home!
PAC News
Sign Up for PAC Events
Boo Bags
Boyden PAC is excited to announce our NEW Halloween event this year.. BOO BAGS!! Visit the link below to register and learn more about it! Please note there is no Trunk or Treat this year
Important Dates
October 16th - Picture Day
October 25th - SPIRIT DAY (Walpole/Boyden Day)
October 31- Black and Orange Day
November 5 - No School (Professional Learning Day)
November 11- No School (Veteran’s Day)
November 12- Conferences (5:00 - 7:00 PM)
November 14 -Conferences (5:00 - 7:00 PM)
November 15 - Early Release/Conferences (1:00 - 3:00 PM)
November 26 - Picture Retake Day
November 27 - Early Release (Thanksgiving)
November 28/29 - No School (Thanksgiving)
Click Here for the Walpole Public Schools School Year Calendar
About Us
Email: bdearborn@walpole.k12.ma.us
Website: http://walpolebs.ss5.sharpschool.com/
Location: 1852 Washington Street, South Walpole, MA, USA
Phone: 508-660-7216
Instagram: @BoydenBuzz