Fisher Family Update

Good Afternoon Fisher Families,

Today we had our second round of “community meetings” to reinforce our core values of Showing respect, Working cooperatively, Integrity first and Making good decisions. Students in grades K/1, 2/3 and 4/5 met in the auditorium to focus on “expected behavior”. This language (expected and unexpected behavior) comes from the Social Thinking research based curriculum. Fisher School teachers and staff use these terms to teach students appropriate behaviors across a variety of settings. Students met in small groups and were given scenarios that may occur throughout their day (classroom, recess, bus, hallway, bathroom, etc.) and were asked to decide if the scenario was expected or unexpected. When the behavior was deemed unexpected, the groups then needed to explain the outcome of such behavior. We had excellent discussions of the “ripple effect” unexpected behavior may have on their friends, classmates or throughout the school. We also shared that behavior expectations change throughout the day depending on the setting. When students are at home or at recess, the behavior expectations are much different than in the classroom. Behaviors that are expected for the situation tend to result in others feeling calm, neutral, or possibly even pleased. Behaviors that are unexpected for the situation tend to result in people feeling confused, or sometimes annoyed, nervous, or angry. - socialthinking.com

We look forward to giving our students “Shout Outs” during the morning announcement, praising their efforts to meet the communicated expectations. For more information, check out these videos that you could watch with your student (s).

Respecting others’ personal space

Having good self control

Home behavior vs. school behavior

Please read through the rest of this newsletter for school updates, upcoming meetings and community events.

Have a great weekend,

Brian

Click the banner above to view announcements from the community that were traditionally sent home as a hard copy or "notice". In this "backpack" you will find information regarding community events, youth sports sign ups and much more. This link will be updated and included in all Fisher Family Update newsletters. The Virtual Backpack can also be found on the Walpole Public Schools District Website

October

25 - Trunk or Treat

31 - Spirit Day! Wear black and orange

November

5 - NO SCHOOL - Educator Training

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

27 - Early Release - Thanksgiving recess, Dismissal at 12:25pm

28 - NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving recess

29 - NO SCHOOL - Thanksgiving recess

Each Principal or designee will notify a student’s parent/guardian within 3 days of the student’s absence in the event the parent/guardian has not informed the school of the absence.

Each Principal or designee shall make a reasonable effort to meet with any student, and that student’s parent/guardian, who has missed five (5) or more unexcused school days (a school day shall be equal to two (2) or more class periods in the same day) in a school year. The meeting shall be to develop action steps to improve student attendance and shall be developed jointly by the Principal or designee, the student, and the student’s parent/guardian. The parties may seek input from other relevant school staff and/or officials from relevant public safety, health and human services, housing, and nonprofit agencies.

Regular and punctual school attendance is essential for success in school. The committee does recognize that parents of children attending our schools have special rights as well as responsibilities, one of which is to ensure their children attend school regularly, in accordance with state law. Therefore, students may be excused temporarily from school attendance for the following reasons:

● Medical illnesses/appointments with proper medical documentation

● Observance of religious holiday

● Legal proceedings with proper documentation

● Family bereavement

● Suspension day(s)

● Private school visit(s)

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.

Our teachers have many ways to check your child’s reading development and growth, including early literacy universal screening. The goal of early literacy screening is to identify students who may be at risk of reading difficulties, including 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. All Districts in Massachusetts are required by Massachusetts Regulation 603 CMR 28.03(1)(f). to assess students in Kindergarten at least twice per year and students in Grades 1-3 three times a year with an approved early literacy screening tool. To adhere to this regulation,

our district uses a computer based assessment called iReady in conjunction with offline tasks called Dibels.

Our early literacy assessment calendar is listed below:

Kindergarten( subject to change)

1. November

2. March

Grade 1 - Grade 3

1. September

2. January

3. 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 Fisher families. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Thank you so much for all of the generous donations to the health office! We greatly appreciate it.

Please consider donating to the Fisher School Health Office

Please remember our illness policy:

• Children who are ill with a temperature over 100, or who have diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, undiagnosed rashes, uncontrolled coughing, impetigo, or conjunctivitis should remain at home.

• If your child is ill with a fever they must be "Fever Free" for 24 hours WITHOUT the use ofTYLENOL, MOTRIN, or any other fever reducing medication before they can return to school.

• If your child has a viral stomach illness with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, please keep them home for an additional 24 hours after symptoms have subsided.

• If your child has been diagnosed with an infection requiring antibiotic treatment such as Strep Throat, Conjunctivitis, Impetigo, etc. they must be treated with the antibiotic for at least 24 hours before returning to school. In addition, for Conjunctivitis, your child's eyes must be free of drainage. For Impetigo, lesions may not be oozing.

As always, please feel free to email if you have any questions or concerns that come up throughout the year at LMoyes@walpole.k12.ma.us.

Thursday, October 31st, will be Black and Orange Day at Fisher School. Students and staff are encouraged to wear black and orange to school on Thursday. We ask that students do not wear or bring Halloween costumes to school. Thank you!

Mrs. Farrell's class at Ward's Berry Farm

Learning about expected vs not expected behavior at our S.W.I.M. assembly this morning.

Fisher School Trunk or Treat will be Friday Oct 25th from 6:00 to 7:00pm. We will need families to sign up for a car display in the link below. If you just want to come and trick or treat all candy donations are welcome.

Click here to signup!

The Book Fair will be held in November this year to coincide with parent/teacher conferences. Book previews will be held on Wednesday November 6th, Thursday November 7th and Friday November 8th. The fair will be open for selling books during conferences on Tuesday November 12th, Thursday November 14th and Friday November 15th. Please use this sign-up to volunteer to help!!!

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/5080448A8AE28A4FA7-50311770-fisher

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.

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

School Day Begins at 8:55am

Dismissal is at 3:25pm

Early Release Days - Dismissal is at 12:25pm

Click HERE to view our arrival and dismissal procedures