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Broadmeadow Buzz
May 10, 2024
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Broadmeadow Families,
At Broadmeadow, we work hard to gather important feedback from students, faculty and families to help us understand our support of our students’ learning. Currently, we are seeking feedback from families throughout the district that will help us make district-level decisions about priorities, learning progress and resource allocation. We strongly encourage you to take the time to complete the survey linked below. This information will be available to principals this summer and our faculty in the fall. If you have students in more than one school, you are able to complete the survey more than once.
Our teachers are the greatest! As we close out this year’s Teacher Appreciation Week, we want to take one more opportunity to express our gratitude for our wonderful faculty and staff that support our students. Teaching is a noble, difficult, and often misunderstood profession and it is so important that we take time to express our gratitude for the people who have dedicated time and energy to support our children. We also want to thank the many members of our school community who are also teachers - we appreciate you.
Do good. Be kind.
BUILDING VISITOR POLICY
- Community members who visit Broadmeadow must enter and exit through the front door. Please ring the bell to your left when you arrive. All visitors must check-in at the office and sign our visitor log.
- After ringing the bell, families who arrive to drop off student materials are asked to label all items with their student’s full name and teacher name and place them in the bin on the office counter. The office will facilitate getting materials to the student’s classroom.
- Families who arrive to pick up students early will be asked to wait outside for their child to exit the building.
CORI FORMS FOR VOLUNTEERS
Any adult who volunteers at a school event will be required to complete the CORI review process at least 4 days in advance of their visit. Completed CORI and Confidentiality forms (linked below) can be dropped off at the office or emailed to Roberta Redpath.
- CORI FORM: Please complete both sides of the CORI form being sure to include the last 6 digits of your social security number. A copy of a license or passport is also required order for the CORI to be processed.
- CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT: In addition, please return a copy of a completed confidentiality form with your CORI documents.
School News
Needham Yellow School Bus Registration Deadline Fast Approaching
Dear Families,
The deadline to sign up for the Needham Yellow School Bus (not Boston families) is 5/14/24. We have had a great turn out to this point but we are still missing people. The Link with Registration Information is below. Please remember that any student wishing to ride the bus next year must register, regardless of whether they are fee based, Eligible over 2 miles k-6, or participate in the free and reduced lunch program.
We will again be using MySchoolBucks for bus registration. Please note that there are different service fees depending on what form of payment you choose. Those differences are noted when you begin registration on MySchoolBucks. Please also note that you must put in a payment method in order to complete your registration, regardless of eligibility for free transportation. If you are eligible for free transportation, we will remove the fee when we process the registration on our end.
Click on the link below for more details and instructions regarding how to register your student(s) for the yellow bus if you live in Needham.
Bus Registration - Needham Routes
If you qualify for free and reduced lunch, please remember that you need to apply for free and reduced lunch annually. When you apply, you must check the box on the application that permits Nutrition to share the information with Transportation, so that we may waive your fee when we process your bus registration. Failing to do so will result in delayed processing of your bus registration.
If you intend to have a student ride the bus you must register for the bus, regardless of eligibility for free transportation or participation in the Free and Reduced Lunch program.
Thank you,
Shane Marchand
Transportation Director
Needham Public Schools
781-455-0400 X11234
Please subscribe to our Transportation listserv https://lists.needham.k12.ma.us/mailman/listinfo/transportation
or
Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/NeedhamPSTrans
or
Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/NeedhamPSTrans/
Liven Up Your Summer: Care for a Science Center Animal
Do you have a soft spot for a critter that's furry, feathered, water-based, or scaled? The Science Center is looking to adopt out our live animals from approximately mid-June through mid-September. We'll give you training and an initial food supply. For more information, contact the Science Center: sciencecenter@needham.k12.ma.us or call 781-455-0475. You can find a list of available animals on the Needham Science Center website: https://tinyurl.com/yc2wtrbb
Thank you, NEF!
During the NEF's Winter Grant Cycle, Broadmeadow's grant application "Sensory and SEL Support Tools for 1st Grade Learners" was selected for funding, enabling the school to purchase wobble cushions, noise-reducing headphones, privacy partitions, and much more. Broadmeadow 1st graders are loving the new sensory supportive materials that have been added to their classrooms. One teacher writes, "My students are able to use the tools to support their independent learning. They see multiple opportunities throughout the day to access the tools to support their stamina and focus."
Kids Heart Challenge!
The Kids Heart Challenge (formally "Jump Rope for Heart") is underway! This will be our tenth year! During this wonderful event students will join millions of other students across the country in a meaningful way to learn and help others. Students will learn heart healthy information, they will jump rope to raise their heart rate, and they will have the option to raise money for the American Heart Association!
End date: Friday May 17th
Third year in a row!! Pie the Principal (and PE teachers)! If our school gets 50% of students to register on the Kids Heart App or on the Kids Heart Website, taking the challenge to SHOW GRATITUDE (NO MONEY NEEDED TO BE RAISED), we will have an opportunity to pie Mr. Garlick, Ms. List and the PE teachers!
Please notify Mrs. Kuz (beth_kuzmeski@needham.k12.ma.us), Mr. Darling (luke_darling@needham.k12.ma.us), or Ms. Stickney (fiona_stickney@needham.k12.ma.us) if you have any questions.
Thank you so much for all you do!
Sincerely,
Your Broadmeadow PE team
Are you moving, or do you have a child transferring into or out of Broadmeadow?
If you will be moving to a new address, enrolling a child into grades 1 thru 5, or leaving the district to attend private school, please be sure to notify Roberta Redpath via email at:
roberta_redpath@needham.k12.ma.us or 781-455-0448 x306.
Anyone moving within the Broadmeadow district or within Needham must also communicate directly with the town registrar, Penny Belezos (penny_belezos@needham.k12.ma.us) in order to officially change your address in powerschool. School secretaries are not able to make these changes, and can mail documents only to the address listed in powerschool.
Contact Information for Family Support
Andy Garlick, Principal
Chanit List, Assistant Principal
Laurie Blakely, K-2 Guidance
Katie Lizotte, 3-5 Guidance
Jacqui Murphy, Connections Guidance
Health News
Grade 5 Postural Screening
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts General Law Title XII Chapter 71 Section 57 requires yearly postural screening starting in Grade 5
The purpose of postural screening is threefold: 1.) to detect early signs of spinal problems that may require further medical evaluation, 2.) to provide regular monitoring, and 3.) to allow for early intervention to reduce the need for surgical remedies. Screening must be done annually in grades 5 through 9 (approximately ages 10-14). People in this age group are experiencing a time of rapid growth.
Dates to be determined after Spring Break-please discuss this requirement and determine what is best for your child. I will send a reminder email when the date for your student’s class is set.
If you prefer to opt your child out of postural screening please send me an email or a signed note to that effect. Most students have their backs checked for scoliosis at their annual physical.
If your child prefers, remember to remind your student to wear a sports bra or the like on the day of screening. It is important that the screener is able to see the entire back. Privacy is provided in the health office.
I will notify parents/guardians via letter and/or phone of any abnormal findings; keep in mind this screening is intended to supplement your child’s primary health care and is not to provide a medical diagnosis.
GRADE 4- UPDATED PHYSICAL EXAMS
Please send your student’s most recent physical to me
Community News
The Great Bear Run!
The Great Bear Run road race will be held at Pollard School on Sunday, May 19, 2024, and features events for the whole family;- 5K, 1 Mile run and walk/fun, Kids races, 400m, 200m, 100m and 26.2 meters. All the runners get Finisher Medals. The Needham Youth Track Club hosts the Great Bear Run. A portion of the proceeds will benefit cancer research. Register at www.greatbearrun.org Email greatbearrun@gmail.com Phone 857-205-2932
Book Sale!
The spring sale of the Friends of the Needham Public Library will be held in the Community Room on Friday, May 31 from noon to 4:00, Saturday, June 1 from 9:00-4:00, and Sunday, June 2 from 1:00-4:00. Sunday is bargain day with all books half price and a brown bag of books $8.00.
2024 Needham AAPI Kids' Craft Festival
To celebrate Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, Chinese Friends of Needham (CFN) will sponsor a FREE Do-it-yourself Art & Craft event featuring the most popular and artistic crafting in Asian culture, in partnership with the Town of Needham, and Needham Council for Arts & Culture (NCAC). We will have volunteers on site teaching children aged 5-14 how to do these amazing crafts (A projector lantern, a rainbow dragon, a koinobori Japanese carp kite, and an Indian friendship bracelet). We also have various interactive tables where children can learn to write traditional Chinese calligraphy, play Chinese Yoyo, and win prizes for answering AAPI related trivia questions.
Time: 5/11/2024, 10am-2pm Admission: Free Admission Contact Email: mycfn.org@gmail.com Registration link: https://forms.gle/Ct1f85edf4CzYwHf9
Location: Town Common in Needham
Sponsors: CFN, NCAC
Plugged in Band Summer Opportunities
Fill your summer with music, song writing, recording, music video production and more at Plugged In Band Program, Needham Center. Sign-ups for Plugged In Band Program’s Music That Matters: Summer Day Camp and Evening Band Classes, are now open. All programming begins July 08, 2024. Plugged In is a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating positive change through music.
Register online at www.pluggedinband.org.
Parent/Guardian Education Event
Edibles, Vapes & Spiked Seltzers: Tips for talking with your teen about drugs & alcohol in today’s world will be presented on Tuesday, May 14, from 7:00 – 8:30 pm at Pollard Middle School auditorium
The program will include:
- A presentation by Dr. Safdar Medina, Pediatric Director at Tri River Health Center and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at UMass Chan Medical School.
- A panel discussion with Tamatha Bibbo, Principal at Pollard Middle School and Sara Shine, Director of Needham Youth & Family Services. A Needham High School student from the SALSA program (Students Advocating for Life Without Substance Abuse) will speak about the prevention work SALSA does in the 8th grade Wellness classes.
Registration accessible here: https://tinyurl.com/3vybhwp4.