Placentino School News & Updates
October 9, 2023
Upcoming Important Dates
Monday, October 9th: No School. Indigenous Peoples' Day
Friday, October 13th: Food Pantry Donation Day
Monday, October 23rd and Tuesday, October 24th: Book Fair 3:30-8:00 Placentino Library
Tuesday, October 24th-:Elementary Unified Arts Back to School Night, 6:30pm-8:00pm
Wednesday, October 25th: K-2 Early Release at 11:55, Afternoon Educator Professional Development. No PM Preschool.
Friday, October 27th: Preschool and Kindergarten Pumpkin Stroll (more information to come about this event). (Rain date- October 30th).
Friday, October 27th: School Wide Spirit Day- Wear your Favorite Fall Colors
Thursday, November 2nd: Picture Retake Day
*Please note: all of these dates can be found on the Placentino School Calendar linked below.
How do I speak to my early elementary student about actions of hate?
The Placentino community is deeply troubled by paper swastikas recently found on the adjacent Damigella Field. As Dr. Kustka shared in her community communication, we are committed to educating students and staff to help eradicate examples of hate, such as this one, in our community and create a safe, supportive, and welcoming school. As you know, at Placentino, we have school-wide lessons designed to develop and support an educational environment that reflects the rich diversity of our community (and the world at large) while fostering critical thinking, empathy development, and positive self-esteem in students. While creating the lessons, our educators examined state standards and lessons from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). Additionally, they reflected on incidents that occurred over the recent years at Placentino where we needed to react with specific teaching to build undeveloped knowledge. This year's monthly lessons are based on the following themes and topics:
Creating a Safe and Comfortable Classroom Environment
Understanding my Strengths Skills and Identity
Understanding and Appreciating Differences
Understanding Bias and Discrimination)
Confronting/ Challenging Bias and Bullying
We will continue to examine these lessons and topics and, through a developmentally appropriate lens, support our students' growth and knowledge in this area.
We have had families reach out to us seeking resources to help navigate conversations with their young children regarding incidents of hate like the swastikas. Thank you to Jenny Mann, our literacy specialist, for partnering with us to gather a list of resources and literature. We believe in partnership with families, we can make a difference.
The American Psychological Association wrote this article, Talking to kids about discrimination that may be a helpful place to start. These conversations are often awkward and challenging because we feel we need to be an expert on the subject. Please know it's better to have a conversation with some mistakes than to avoid the topic altogether. Through this we are modeling for our children that while these are difficult conversations, they are essential.
I found this list of 14 books that help children and teens understand anti-Semitism to be helpful. For my own teenagers, I purchased The Assignment by Liza Wiemer and Broken Strings by Eric Walters and Kathy Kacer. Our DEI team will explore some of the picture books for future whole school read alouds. Mrs. Mann created this **Digital Bookshelf** that addresses Anti Semitism/Hate and promotes inclusivity. In the USC Shoah Foundation: Parents’ & Caregivers Guides to Countering Anti Semitism there are family discussion questions that could be used to a guide if you don’t know where to start.
Additional Resources:
PJ Library: How To Talk to Children about Anti-Semitism
Video at the top of the page: “We Are Not Helpless”
Fighting Anti Semitism Using Children’s Literature
Children’s Books that Tackle Antisemitism and Differences
Books About Jewish Culture & Anti Semitism (ADL)
PJ Library YouTube Channel (featuring many read alouds, informative videos, and highlights of famous Jewish figures)
Structured Literacy
Last week the Boston Globe published an article entitled, Lost in a World of Words. In this article, the authors outline what they articulate as "a literacy crisis" in Massachusetts. Throughout the article, they promote instructional practices supported by research. These practices are most commonly referred to as structured literacy. You may remember hearing this term at our back-to-school evenings, as this is our approach to literacy instruction.
In the article, the author references the curriculum used by each district and if they are low quality or not based upon the criteria used by the MA. Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education. Fountas and Pinnell's classroom, which has been identified as a "low-quality curriculum" was incorrectly identified as our curriculum in Holliston. " While we utilize some of Fountas and Pinnell's materials, emphasizing the use of their read-aloud books, this is NOT our curriculum. At the time Fountas and Pinnell was purchased by the District (2019), it was well recognized and respected for its quality literature and engaging texts for young readers. However, using the most current reading research based on the science of reading, we have carefully reviewed our existing reading resources and curated materials that best support our students' learning and instruction. These new curriculum resources, including the Heggerty Phonological Awareness Program, mirror the elements of high-quality structured literacy instruction. This is an ongoing process, and school-wide data continues to drive these important curriculum decisions. This work has been going on at Placentino Elementary for some time. Please visit our school's website to learn more about the elements of structured literacy and how they are implemented at Placentino School.
We are incredibly proud of our work over the past few years in this area. Structured literacy has been a strategic goal for our school and a focus area for professional development. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact Jaime Slaney (Principal), Jenny Mann (our building literacy specialist) or Joe Hicks (our Prek-12+ Humanities Curriculum Coordinator).
Message from the Health Office
Please contact the Placentino Health office directly to report any health/medical related questions or reports. Our nurses are here to support your students.
Catherine Harkin at harkink@holliston.k12.ma.us
Sara Holmes at holmess@holliston.k12.ma.us
Smart Watches
We have noticed an increase in the number of electronic devices, including smartwatches and cellphones, in the elementary setting. In particular, we have noticed an increased use of smartwatches in unexpected ways during school hours (i.e, texting, playing games, used as recording devices). We ask that you speak with your child about responsible smartwatch use. Smartwatches should only be used as a watch when wearing them in school. Cell phones should be kept inside the students backpack and not used during school hours. There should not be any texting, recording, or game playing during school hours. If a child needs to get in contact with a family member, they can come to the front office to make a phone call home. As per the school handbook, “No electronic devices are allowed at school during school hours or on the bus.” If your child’s smartwatch is interfering with the school day, a staff member will ask the student to remove the watch, turn it off, and place it in their backpack. If a student does not comply with these procedures the smartwatch will not be allowed at school.
Many smartwatches have a “Do Not Disturb” setting which prevents notifications from going off when in school. Additionally, Apple Products have the “Schooltime” feature to limit distractions in the school setting. Please read Schooltime Settings: Apple Watch to adjust your child’s smartwatch accordingly.
Please continue to use the Main Office system for communication about any changes to your child’s day or dismissal plans or communication that you need to share directly with your child. Please do not text or call your student directly during the school day. Please also be aware that Holliston Public Schools are not responsible for lost or damaged devices.
Placentino Families:
Parents & Guardians at Placentino can email the office (until 12:00) at pesattendance@holliston.k12.ma.us or call the office (508) 429-0647 and press 0.
We appreciate your support and assistance with supporting our students in navigating the world of electronic devices.
CARE
At Placentino we CARE
Cooperation Acceptance Responsibility Effort
To view out school-wide CARE matrix, including expectations and voice volumes, please click here.
Please ask your student about CARE at Placentino.
Sincerely,
Dr. Slaney, Mrs. Pastore, and Mrs. Robinson
Holliston, MA 01746
508-429-0647