Roland Hayes School

Our North Star

“When children and teachers feel engaged, safe, and supported we have room to grow and learn through collaboration and risk-taking with our peers.”

Previous "Community Notes" can be found here: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/domain/718

The "Community Notes" is sent every other week. Thanks for reading!

Rosh Hashanah be begins this Wednesday evening, October 2 ~ l'shana tova to all in our communities who celebrate! A peaceful and joyful new year to all!

As we approach October 7th, we recognize that the ongoing conflict and continuing humanitarian crisis in the Middle East makes this a challenging, emotionally fraught milestone for many in our community.

In this moment and always, we center a culture of care and concern here at Roland Hayes School. We also ensure that when children and families need help that we activate to provide what is needed.

Should this moment bring on additional worry, sadness, or confusion for your child, please let us know. Your child’s classroom teacher, our Guidance team, and Mr. Patel and I are here to learn from you about what you may need.

Your student may need a quiet place to reflect or talk. Our standard practice is to meet kids exactly where they are at with the resources and staff they need exactly when they need it. We rely on our home-school connection to ensure that we have the full picture of your child's feelings about the events in the wider world around them. Please don't hesitate to contact us with any ongoing and emerging concerns. Some of these needs can be supported by our amazing school-based team; others may need referrals to outside clinicians or community resources. Regardless, we are here.

I also take this moment to reiterate that there is no place for anti-Semitism or Islamophobia in our community. We will vigorously confront language or acts that make others feel psychically or physically unsafe and/or directly impact the security of our learning community.

Please be especially mindful of your social media and news intake. Important anniversaries such as this tend to dominate your personal news and social media feeds – AND your child’s social media feed – leading to deeper feelings of worry and helplessness.

Above all, take this moment to commit or recommit to the good and valuable works we can do right here in our own community. When so much help is needed in a part of the world so far away, having a personal drive towards usefulness and compassion can be a buoy in a complicated time.

The Roland Hayes School prides itself in making sure everyone is included. Beyond feeling included, we strive to ensure our classrooms, spaces, and content are inclusive so that every single child can benefit deeply and authentically from their experiences while in our care.

As a part of our professional work this school year, we are partnering with the team from Aspire/Mass General Hospital; they are true experts in inclusive practices. We seek to serve all children so that they may meet any goal they set for themselves and working with Aspire is a great step for us this year.

We are especially proud of our Reaching for Independence Through Structured Education (RISE) program, where "students receive academic instruction, social skills training, behavioral intervention and related services. Services are provided in range of settings from substantially separate to full inclusion in a general education classroom. A primary focus for all RISE students is to increase independence with a variety of skills including self-help, social skills, behavior management, academics, communication, and executive functioning."

Our philosophy of inclusion and care is also captured in this memo. In this memo we answer questions like:

• “What exactly is inclusion?”
• "How does my child participate in reverse inclusion?"
• "I’d like to set up a playdate with a friend in the RISE program, or invite them to a birthday party … but I’m not sure how. Help?"
• "How do I talk with my child about any unexpected behavior they saw or experienced at school?"
• "Are there any resources I can check out?"

Thank you for reading:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rBXecQ_Zu8wlbIm18j3SZlIkwFsP7Ko4VJzJntM_nls/edit?usp=sharing

Here are our monthly attendance stats for September:

• Our average daily attendance rate for the entire school is 96.6%
• Our 6th grade class has the strongest attendance with an average of 98%
• We do have students who are already hitting the chronically absent mark, having missed many days of school so far this year. Illnesses do not count towards chronic absenteeism. Most unexcused absences have occurred due to family trips happening during the school year. A reminder that these absences are not excused.
• Our tardies are problematic and in the month of September we logged over 450 tardies. School begins at 8:00am; any entry after that is marked as tardy. Thank you for having your kids to school before 8:00 (7:45 is great!)
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Here are some attendance facts for families (Credit to: Attendance Works)

• Missing 10%, or about 2 days each month over the course of a school year, can make it harder to learn to read
• Children who are chronically absent in kindergarten and 1st grade are far less likely to read proficiently at the end of 3rd grade
• By 6th grade, absenteeism is one of three signs that a student may drop out of high school
• Chronic absenteeism can lead to poor grades, and in high school poor student grades can contribute to ineligibility to attend and participate in sports and other extracurricular activities

You can review your child's attendance patterns in the Parent Portal.

How Do We Define "Attendance"

• 🆘 Chronic Absence (or 10% of school days in a year) = 18 or more days (excused AND unexcused) in a school year 🆘
• ⚠️ Warning = 8-17 days (excused AND unexcused) in a school year ⚠️
• ✅ Satisfactory = 7 or less days (excused AND unexcused) in a school year ✅

On September 18th, our Vice Principal Mr. Patel was able to present our School Improvement Plan (SIP) to School Committee members. Below is our presentation. The entire SIP is available here; the slide deck gives a nice overview for you all. I hope you'll check it out.

Click here to review the presentation

If you'd like to see the School Committee presentation, check out this link (our school begins at 52:00 minutes): Video link

For more PTO news and events, please visit our website:

https://www.hayespto.org/

Did you know we are also on Facebook?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/hayesschoolpto

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Who puts the FUN in Fun Run??? Please mark your calendar for Hayes' very first Fun Run on TUESDAY, OCTOBER 22! It’s a fitness focus fundraiser during school hours. The students seek donations and participate in the school's fundraising efforts to foster a more participatory and personal relationship between the student and their own school's success.

The purpose of our Homework Club is to provide a supportive, focused and quiet setting in which a student can complete homework assignments, discuss homework with an adult, and plan ahead for upcoming assignments and projects.

We would like to offer your child the opportunity to join the after school Homework Club at Roland Hayes. The Homework Club will be available Monday and Wednesday afternoons, from 2:30 – 3:30, beginning September 23, 2024 and is offered to children in grades 4-8.

Please click here for more information and an application.

The Brookline Team center (BTC) is o excited to open their doors to all students in 6th-12th grade, 5 days a week! Enroll here: https://brooklineteencenter.org/about-us/

Nothing to share this week. Look for more community-based opportunities in the fall!

Brookline Thrives

Brookline Thrives is back at Roland Hayes School! Thrives is a FREE weekend food program for any and all school families who may benefit from additional food options for their children over the weekend. No qualification is necessary.

Important information about Thrives bags:

• Each bag contains two breakfast items, two lunch items, milk, fruit and snacks.
• Everything is shelf-stable, single-serve portions. Nothing needs to be refrigerated.
• Thrives can also accommodate most major food allergies and dietary restrictions, including vegetarian and Kosher.
• Families may take bags for ALL children in their household, even if they attend different schools or are too young for school.
• Families can start and stop receiving Thrives bags any time during the school year.

Choose to have Thrives bags delivered to your student at school OR pick up bags in person on Fridays.

• If you want Thrives bags delivered to your student at school, you must register. Registrations from the previous school year do not carry over. Register online or get a paper form from your school office.

• If you prefer to pick up bags in person on Friday afternoons the location is:
• 226 High Street, Community Room (map) from 5-6pm

Click here for more information or email thrives@brooklinefoodpantry.org

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Check out this new community resource!

"Welcome to Brookline Resource: An Informational Booklet for Immigrants, Refugees, and New Residents" – https://www.brooklinema.gov/3797/Welcome-to-Brookline-Resource

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Food Waste Drop Off Program

In late September, 2024, Brookline’s Department of Public Works will pilot four food waste drop-off bins throughout the Town. The rodent-proof bins will be accessible 24/7, at no cost, for all Brookline residents. There will be a drop off site nearby, at Brookline Rec. Learn more about the program here:

https://www.brooklinema.gov/FoodWasteDropOff

Thanks for reading! This Community Notes was a full one!

During the weekend ahead, please take time to do what brings you a measure of peace and a great deal of joy.

~ Asa

This parcel of land that our school sits upon is a special and sacred place.

Before this place was a Town, before our school was here, before this neighborhood was called “The Settlement” or “Chestnut Hill,” and before this land was a farm, this land was held by the Massachusett, the people Indigenous to this place. The Massachusett were the caretakers of this site, living full lives, raising families, and burying their dead right here. We recognize and honor this history, and seek to create thoughtful land stewards and citizens for generations to come.

As a public school, our primary objective is to ensure access, membership, and participation of all community members in our care; with this land acknowledgment we state our willingness to work towards that vision where all feel a true and abiding sense of belonging.

Roland Hayes School

The Public Schools Of Brookline | A METCO Partnership School

Dr. Asa Sevelius, Ed.D. | Principal

Email: asa_sevelius@psbma.org

Pronouns: he/him

Mr. Kirtan Patel | Vice Principal

Email: kirtan_patel@psbma.org

Pronouns: he/him

Website: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/Page/17
Location: 100 Eliot Street, Chestnut Hill, MA, 02467
Phone: 617-879-4570