Dear Davis Hill Community,

I hope that all in our Community are well! As the month of August is on the horizon, I wanted to send out one more DHCommunity Update with a few additional pieces of information as the District 'PowerSchool/ School Messenger' system will be updating and I will be unable to use the email system. My next communication will be during the week of 8/3.

Please check out the information below, most specifically the DH Events Calendar (I've added info on New Student Orientation and Open House Day/ Time). I am going to try this year to keep all upcoming events on this Google Document for easy reference.

August will be a busier month as the beginning of school gets closer, so please keep an eye out for emails.

Kindly,

Jay Norton, Principal

QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky is by no means a waste of time."

-John Lubbock

We have had some grade level and special education assignment changes of note that have been announced to our Davis Hill Staff. I wanted to share these changes out with the Davis Hill Community as well for informational purposes. Changes are in BOLD.

Kindergarten Teachers:

Mrs. Alcock, Mrs. Benoit and Ms. Whitman

First Grade Teachers:

Mrs. Colton, Ms. Cortis, Mrs. Lanza (formally K Teacher) and Mrs. Nunnemacher

Second Grade Teachers:

Mrs. Madden, Ms. Grensavitch, Mrs. Riedle and Mrs. Sachse

Third Grade Teachers:

Mrs. Duffy, Mrs. Manjarrez, Mr. Rakowski and Mrs. Sherblom

Fourth Grade Teachers:

Ms. OBey, Mrs. Pisano (formally 5th Grade), Ms. Poh and Mr. Vincent

Fifth Grade Teachers:

Mrs. Austin, Mrs. Sullivan and Mrs. Walsh

Additional Change:

Mrs. Shoro (Formally Grade 1 Teacher) is moving to our Special Education Team and will be joining Mrs. Hancock, Mrs. Smith and Mrs. Wheeler.

*A more detailed Full Staff list will be made available later in August.

Lunch at school is very different from lunch at home and can be a big adjustment for our incoming kindergarteners. As we have a couple weeks of summer left, this is a great time to prepare your child for lunch at school by practicing eating “school lunch”.

• Although there are adults available to offer support when needed, it is helpful if your child can open everything you send with them. Items like fruit cups, yogurt, milk cartons, Lunchables, banana peels, and cheese sticks can be difficult for little hands.

• Talk to your child about not eating off the table in the lunchroom!

• Set a timer for 20 minutes. Talk to your child about how they may not finish all the food in their lunchbox and what to do with the food that is left over.

• Practice packing everything back up and talk about what is trash and what should come back home in their lunch box.

Encouraging Independence With Food Wrappers, Packages, and Containers

Opening food packages take some serious fine motor skills, motor planning, and strength to do. Here are some quick things to practice with your child so they can become more independent with opening packages and containers in their lunches.

1. Tearing paper - The movement of pinching, moving one hand forward as the other moves back, and working against the resistance of paper are all excellent precursors to tearing open those packages and cartons!

2. Breaking sticks - Go for a little walk in the backyard and find some sticks! Have your child hold a stick upright and break off the tip, stabilizing with one hand and applying force with the other. A great precursor to peeling a banana!

3. Stretching balloons - Give kids a non inflated balloon and let them stretch it. Not only is this a fantastic fidget toy (great for keeping little hands busy), but it also requires the same motion as pulling open those bags of chips or pretzels!

4. Peeling tape - Stick several small pieces of tape to the table and have kids try to pinch, grasp, and pull them off!

5. Plastic container match-up game - Place several different plastic lunch containers on the table. Remove the lids of the containers and mix them up, placing them on the table near the containers. See if the child can find the matching lids and twist or snap them back on the correct containers.

6. Lego or Duplo blocks - Both awesome for developing grasp strength needed for pulling, twisting, and pinching those lunch and snack containers!

7. Velcro - Pulling against heavy duty Velcro is another great hand strengthener. Try adapting books using Velcro, making file folder games, or making other fun velcro fine motor tasks!

8. Rubber Bands - As with balloons, kids can stretch and pull against the resistance of the bands to promote strength in their hands. Or try creating masterpieces on a geoboard!

9. Squigz - These cool little gadgets are fun and colorful and they make a great popping noise when you pull them off of a surface or off of each other. More great hand strengthening and bilateral coordination fun!

After you’ve practiced these, see if your child can transfer the skill to actual food items. Make sure to refer back to the activities above as reminders of how to perform each motion. For example, if your child is opening a bag of chips, say “Pinch each side and pull apart just like stretching out the balloons!”

We are looking to have our DH Students take advantage of the GALE FREE LIBRARY SUMMER READING PROGRAM! Please click the link, sign up and consider taking advantage of the AWESOME GALE FREE LIBRARY all summer!

*There is NO QUESTION... that summer reading and playing math games/ reviewing math facts over the summer is important to reduce natural summer regression of academic skills. Work to try to get your child(ren) to read! Keep a journal! Practice math facts! Play a board game! Anything... to help keep learning going over the summer months will be helpful. Reducing electronic use, getting outside for exercise and play and reading more are also great ways to MODEL for our kids and get involved with them! I know it's my personal challenge to myself as well!

Hello families!

It is hard to believe that we have reached the end of the school year already! As we transition into summer vacation, I wanted to reach out and provide you with some SEL resources.

I have compiled a variety of resources for different age groups and needs. There are activities, games, an SEL book list, conversation starters, electronic resources, coloring pages, etc. Summer can be a great time to practice and reinforce student strategies related to emotional regulation, problem solving, conflict resolution, and social skills.

If you feel that your child may need further support over the summer and outside of school, you can contact the William James Interface. They are a mental health and wellness helpline that may be able to help connect you with an outside clinician for your child. Their number is: (888) 244-6843

I hope your summer is full of fun, relaxation, and self-care! I look forward to seeing your children again in the fall.

Warmly,

Meghan Coonan-Helmer

While I am working quite a bit over the summer, it is highly recommended that if you plan on visiting the office that you email me and Mrs. Slavin at jay_norton@wrsd.net/ tara_slavin@wrsd.net to make sure that one of us will be in the office. Tara does not work the full summer and I do have some vacation time coming up so it is best to email ahead of time to make sure one of us will be in.

Thank you!

LINK HERE: https://runsignup.com/dhdragondash

Please see the button below for the PTA Membership/ Contact Form if you are interested in becoming a member!

Also included below is a button to go directly to the PTA Website. Check it out!

Dear Davis Hill Community,

From AA Transportation: Parents - Here is some important information from AA Transportation. If you need your child to be dropped off at an alternative stop other than your home you need to fill out an alternate bus stop form and submit it to Tara Slavin before ASAP for the upcoming school year.

• If submitted at the beginning of the school year in August, it could take up to 7 business days for the form to take effect (This is the case for any form not submitted by June 14, 2024).
• All alternate stops are completely wiped out of the system at the end of each school year and need to be resubmitted for the following year.
• Children grades K-3 will be brought back to school if no adult is present unless the alternate form is sent in.
• An Updated list of authorized adults is needed.
• Alternate drop-off location needs to be sent in from parents with 2 different addresses.
• Alternate pick-up and drop-off locations for any daycare needs have to be listed (and the daycare must be within Davis Hill's boundaries).
• If your student can get off alone no need to list authorized adults.

• PLEASE RETURN THE COMPLETED FORM TO Tara Slavin ASAP tara_slavin@wrsd.net

LINK HERE FOR FORM

Kindly,

Jay Norton, Principal

Email: jay_norton@wrsd.net
Website: http://www.wrsd.net/davishill/
Location: 80 Jamieson Road, Holden, MA 01520, United States
Phone: 508-829-1754

Instagram: dhprincipal_of_dragons
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DavisHillDragons/
Twitter: @DHPrincipal