News From The Nest: Issue #7

Friday, October 11th, 2024

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends!

What a busy week at the Nest! Our Kindergarteners were the first Eagles this year to head out on a field trip as they visited Ward's Berry Farm. It was the perfect autumn day to learn all about the corn fields, flower fields, bee boxes, pumpkin patch, and pig pens and how things work together on the farm. We also had our first Battle of the Books team meetings and students participating were highly engaged figuring out who would read which texts and how to organize their own notes about each book. Fifth graders are preparing their posters and speeches for upcoming Student Council elections and Fifth Grade jobs have been assigned and are beginning. And after school our enrichment classes have begun and students are fully engaged in classes connected to art, creativity, movement, robotics, and so much more!

All of our Eagles are settling into the routines and rhythm of the school year and solidifying the strong foundation that will allow them to soar all year long!

In this edition of our weekly newsletter you will find information about:

upcoming dates and celebrations for October
September/October Counseling Newsletter
Essentialists' Update: Physical Education
November Coffee and Conversation SAVE THE DATE
Absence and Attendance Reminders
Battle of the Books Update
Elm Street School Book Fair- Volunteers Needed!
Literacy Screener for K-3
Multilingual Learner Family Meet and Greet Dinner
Multicultural Potluck

I hope that everyone has a safe and enjoyable long weekend and we will see all of our Eagles back at the Nest on Tuesday, October 15th!

Jen

Upcoming Dates and Celebrations: October

At the beginning of each month I will share a calendar of some upcoming Elm events as well as upcoming cultural celebrations and heritage months with hyperlinks to more information if you are interested in learning more. Below is information for the month of October.

If there are cultural celebrations that are important to you and your family that you would like to share with the adult Elm community, please email me so I can be sure to include them in upcoming newsletters. If you have any questions about anything you see on our calendar, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.

10/1 Learning Disabilities Awareness Month begins
10/2 National Custodian Day
10/2-4 Rosh Hashanah
10/3-12 Navaratri
10/4 Coffee and Conversation: K-5 Math Learning at Elm
10/10 6:45p School Committee Meeting
10/11 Early Release Day, National Coming Out Day
10/11-12 Yom Kippur
10/14 No School: Indigenous People’s Day, Columbus Day
10/16-23 Sukkot
10/17 6:30p Elm PAC Meeting
10/21-27 Scholastic Book Fair
10/22 3:15p Elm School Council Meeting
10/23 6:00p Multilingual Learner Family Meeting and Greet Dinner
10/24 6:00 - 8:00p Elm Book Fair Night, 6:45p School Committee Meeting
10/27 12:00 - 3:00p Elm Fall Festival
10/31 Halloween

September/October Counseling Newsletter

Essentialist Newsletter: PHYSICAL EDUCATION

November Coffee and Conversation SAVE THE DATE

Our next Coffee and Conversation will take place on November 8th where our topic of conversation will be executive functioning and homework at Elm. Be sure to stop by to hear more about our work this year on aligning grade level homework and how we will be gathering data and feedback to create an informed and developmentally supportive approach to homework Kindergarten - Grade 5. We also spend some time talking about executive functioning skills and highlight work being done at Elm to teach and practice these skills as well as ways you can strengthen them at home.

Attendance and Absence Reminders

Every day counts! As a reminder regular school attendance is a key to long term student growth and success. Please make your best efforts to minimize the amount of time your child(ren) are missing school for vacations and appointments (when possible).

If your child(ren) will be absent, tardy, or dismissed early for any reason please notify their classroom teacher AND the main office by emailing Amanda Torigian at atorigian@walpole.k12.ma.us

Thank you!

Battle of the Books Update

We had our first Battle of the Books team meetings this past Thursday. It was so wonderful to see our Grade 5 students on each team stepping into leadership roles and taking on the responsibility of organizing their teams. Students on each team were excited to start diving into the texts and enjoyed being in a mixed grade level space engaging collaboratively with all of our educator coaches.

You can learn more about Battle of the Books on our Elm Street School Battle website.

Elm Street School Book Fair Volunteers Needed!

The Elm Street School Book Fair is fast approaching and volunteers are needed to help make the book fair a success!

Please review the available slots at this link to sign up. There are 3 slots for K and 1st grade volunteers and 2 slots for 2nd grade. You must have an active CORI in place to come and volunteer, you can do this quickly at the front desk. Reach out with any questions/concerns! Thank you!

Literacy Screener for K-3

Our educators at Elm have many ways to check your child’s reading development and growth, including an early literacy universal screening assessment. Early literacy universal screening assessments are brief tests that provide information about your child’s early reading skills.

Screening makes it possible to see if a student is at risk of developing reading difficulties, including risk of 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. We are required to assess students in grades K-3 at least twice per year consistent with Massachusetts regulation 603 CMR 28.03(1)(f).

Our district uses the screening assessment called iReady. This screening assessment is approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Your child will be assessed two or three times during the school year, depending on grade level. Grades 1-3 will be given the computer adaptive assessment in the Fall. Kindergarten will be given the computer adaptive assessment in the Winter and Spring. Assessments given in the Winter and Spring will also include offline literacy task assessments for grades K-3.

The tentative schedule for this school year is shown below:

Screening Assessment Months (Subject to Change)

Kindergarten

1. January

2. May

Grade 1, 2, 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 Elm families. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

Multilingual Learner Family Meet and Greet Dinner

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!