Weekly Wednesday

10/11 - Early Release - Preschool/Prekindergarten at 11:15

Kindergarten - Grade 3 at 11:40 AM

10/20 - PTO Fall Festival, 10 AM - 12 PM

10/31 - Bresnahan Costume Parade, 8:50 AM

11/6 & 11/20 - Parent Teacher Conferences (scheduled with classroom teacher)

We are very excited to launch our NEF Book Vending Machine! Students will be introduced to this program over the next week. We will be rewarding students with a token to choose a book when they complete a level in Lexia. Many of you and your children are familiar with Lexia. It is an online platform where students practice literacy skills at their own pace and at their own level. You can learn more about Lexia here. What can you do at home? No need to do Lexia at home! Our students are young children who work hard all day in school. We encourage you to get them outside, play, create and enjoy books together at home.

Thank you to the NEF! We look forward to awarding books to all our students!

As we continue to strive for excellence in teaching and learning, it’s important that we remain open to new ideas and approaches as we establish a culture where teacher experimentation is valued and predicated on a robust process of evaluating its efficacy. To foster a culture of innovation, we encourage teachers to explore, research and implement new strategies, techniques, or tools that foster student achievement. Administration works alongside teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of these pedagogical shifts. Think of it as a loop: try-evaluate-reflect.

Here are some examples of what is happening right now at the Bresnahan!

Members of the 2nd grade team are piloting a “walk to learn” model during a portion of the literacy block for the first trimester. We look forward to evaluating its effectiveness through student surveys and growth data and sharing that information with other teaching teams.

Representatives from each teaching team, PreK-5, are attending a class on playful learning using the book Pedagogy of Play published by Harvard University. We look forward to these educators trying some playful learning techniques in their classrooms and measuring the results through stakeholder surveys.

Our PE teachers are using our Zones of Regulation curriculum to implement Alternative Recess in order for students to identify their feelings and create independent strategies that help them be their best selves. In alternative recess, a student would reflect on their personal “zone” prior to recess and choose a recess activity that matches their feelings and their goals. For example a student may identify as “blue zone” (tired, sad, bored) and choose a red zone activity to bring their energy level up or a blue zone activity to help them feel comfortable and relaxed or green zone activities where they play an activity with a peer. We evaluate the effectiveness of this program through student reflection conversations.

To celebrate the season, we are excited to host an outdoor Costume Parade on Thursday 10/31st at 8:50 am! Parents and guardians are invited to attend! Please stand behind cones set up along the rider area, bus area, and walker areas. Students will exit door 1, parade outside along the sidewalk around the entire building and re-enter the building through Door 4.

When preparing for this exciting event, please be mindful of costume choices. Students need to be able to move/walk on their own (for example, some students struggle to walk on their own in inflatable costumes). We also ask that students refrain from wearing full face masks and costumes with weapons.

We will have a parade alternative in the library for students who do not wish to participate in the parade. Please email your classroom teacher directly if you would like to opt-out of the parade.

Please see this attached flyer from the PE department to explore the Recess Running Club and track your student's miles run in class!

Please review the Official 24-25 Bres Student & Family Handbook to learn more about our policies and procedures.

Scan the QR code

Our Bresnahan school family is looking forward to welcoming visitors and volunteers into the building.

This is a friendly reminder ALL visitors and volunteers must provide a current, driver's license before gaining access into the building. There will be no exceptions to this district expectation as the safety and security of our school family is our #1 priority. Thank you in advance for doing your part to keep us safe.

CORI Process

• All volunteers must have an up-to-date CORI on file with the Newburyport Elementary Schools.
• Bring the completed CORI form along with your driver's license to the Administrative Assistant at our school office.
• Please note CORI's are only valid for three years; after that you must reapply.

Fingerprinting

In keeping with Newburyport's continued focus on safety, volunteers/parents are required to be fingerprinted in two instances:

1. If you are going on a day or overnight field trip and will have direct and unmonitored contact with children;
2. If you are a lunchroom volunteer and will be bringing children out to the playground. Parents who volunteer in the classroom DO NOT need to be fingerprinted, if there will always be another adult present.

Massachusetts has contracted with MorphoTrust for fingerprinting. To book an appointment, visit the Massachusetts IdentoGO Website.

Please be aware there is a $35 fee for fingerprinting. Fingerprinting does not expire.

Forms and Information

• CORI Form
• Fingerprinting Info

We are looking for donations for our first NPS Greenwave Costume Swap! This is an effort to keep old costumes out of the landfill, help families get rid of unwanted costumes responsibly, and also shop for new gently used ones that will be FREE! The swap will be held in the Nock Gym on the early release day 10/11. If you have any old costumes lying around that you would like to donate, there will be a bin outside of the office for donations (accessories welcome too!)

Parent/Caregiver Playgroups with Miss Cindy.

Our free playgroups are open to children ages 0-6 and their caregivers. Programs include play, songs, stories, hands-on activities, and opportunities to connect with other families from your community. We offer age appropriate books and interactive experiences, with a focus on early literacy, healthy child development and positive social-emotional development.

For questions regarding programs please contact Sarah Houghton, Program Coordinator at 978-518-4255 or sarah.houghton@tritonschools.org

Family Connections programs are funded by the Massachusetts Coordinated Family & Community Engagement (CFCE) grant awarded to Triton Regional School District by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) serving Newbury, Rowley, Salisbury and Newburyport.

Important Dates:

Wednesday, Oct. 2: TODAY is the last day to order Fall Spiritwear!

Thursday, Oct. 10: PTO Meeting at 6:30PM at the Poynt!

Friday, Oct. 11: Costume Swap from 1:30-4PM @ Nock/Molin Cafeteria

Sunday, Oct. 20: Bres Fall Festival, 10AM-12PM.

Spiritwear Flash Sale ENDS TODAY:

The PTO Back to School Spiritwear Flash Sale is over TODAY.
To place your order, visit our spirit wear order website! 100% of profits go to the PTO to help pay for field trip transportation, enrichment programs and other PTO programs.

Order pickup will be at the Nock Molin Auditorium on October 16 - October 18th.

Also, while we have your attention…We have received emails from several people interested in joining our Spirit Wear Sales committee, but we would like a few more! If you are interested in creating trendy designs, marketing, and/or have mad organizational skills, please email us at newburyportpto@gmail.com. If you have experience with Adobe Illustrator or generally vector designs, you would be one of our MVPs!

Costume Swap by NPS Greenwave:

Drop your gently used costumes/ accessories now through Oct 9th at Bres, Molin and Nock main offices. The swap is 1:30-4PM @ Nock/Molin Cafeteria. The swap is free to NPS families. All are welcome- donation is not required to pick up a costume.

Bresnahan Fall Festival:

The PTO’s family Fall Festival is on Sunday, October 20 from 10am-12pm. There will be games, food, a singalong with Mr. RM, face painting, and Ms. Harding’s Bresnahan Community Garden stand! We will also offer a sensory-sensitive early opening from 9:30-10. Admission is free and is open to all Bresnahan families.

As always, making this happen is a huge group effort. There are many ways to help before, during, and after the event. If you would like to help out (set-up, clean-up, cider and/or compostable cup donations), please sign up here!

Ongoing Fundraiser: PTO EcoBins

Did you know that the EcoBins (large yellow donation bins) at the Bresnahan and Nock generate funds for the PTO? There are two bins at the Bres, three at Molin/Nock. The bins take all textiles including stained/torn items, pillows, stuffed animals, shoes, so please drop off your unwanted items.

Do You Want to Get Involved?

We are currently seeking to fill PTO Board positions:

• Vice President

• Assistant Treasurer

• Molin Teacher Representative

Email us at newburyportpto@gmail.com to join the PTO Board or ask questions.

For volunteer roles at any of our school or community events, please complete the 2024-2025 Volunteer Interest Form on our website.

Sign up to receive our newsletter here!

If you're still looking for fun activities for your children to participate in this Fall, there are still spots available in the programs listed below;

• Kids Acting Disney Scenes (2nd-3rd Grade)
• Buildwave STEM Program (K-3)
• Morning Run Club (K-3)
• Lego Robotics and Engineering (1st-3rd Grade)
• Port Rec Drop Offs (1st-5th Grade)

Special Programs/Events

• Parkour Oct. 14th (6-9 yr olds)
• Hightail Acres Horsemanship Oct. 14th, Nov. 11th (6-12 yr olds)
• Touch A Truck Oct. 19th from 10am-1pm (All Ages Family Event at Cashman Park)

For more details and to register for any of these programs please go to https://newburyportma.myrec.com