CH School News & More - 1.14.25

Hello Claypit Caregivers,

This past Wednesday marked the last Super Wednesday for Wayland educators for the 24-25 academic year. Thank you for supporting these critical days. We know that managing work responsibilities and childcare gaps can be a real challenge. The professional development that our district offered on these really early release days was phenomenal and is making a real difference in our classrooms. It is critical to us that students in Wayland receive a high quality education regardless of which elementary school they attend and it is important that as educators we stay up to date with current evidence based practices that propel student learning.

Two of our Super Wednesdays were spent on professional development in both English Language Arts and Mathematics. These sessions allowed for collaboration across our schools at each grade level. The time afforded teachers the opportunity to work toward our first school improvement goal focusing on academic achievement. Our elementary instructional coaches across schools provided workshops that focused on our newly adopted Bridges in Mathematics and English Language Arts strategies aligned with the Science of Reading.

During the other two Super Wednesdays, Wayland’s elementary educators benefited from two keynote speakers who are truly experts in their fields. The first was Dr. Katie Novak who has been a leader in the State of Massachusetts as we rethink the way we provide access and equity in schools ensuring that all students benefit from a rigorous education with high expectations for all. Dr. Novak’s expertise ensured that Wayland educators are better prepared to offer Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, providing every learner with the instruction they most need. This past Wednesday, the presenter was Sarah Ward, a renowned expert in executive functioning. Her presentation was incredible. Our educators came away with strategies they could put into practice with their students the very next day. And they did! Having access to high quality professional development is critical to the success of all students and helps educators fuel their passion for teaching and learning.

Seeing more caregivers moving through the halls at Claypit in a volunteer capacity is wonderful. With the goal of giving our educators more of their preparation time to dedicate to communication, assessment, and collaboration, we’re reaching out this week in partnership with Claypit’s PTO to ask you to consider donating a little of your time. At this time, we’d love some support with lesson preparation in the form of copying help and materials preparation. If you can donate even a little time, please fill out our PTO’s survey below.

Thank you for being true partners. We look forward to our continued collaboration as we move through the rest of the year!

Sincerely,

Marie, Kate and Naomi

Save the date for our annual Science Fair and STEAM Discovery event. which includes:

• Science Fair and STEAM Discovery Night from 5-7pm on Wed 2/5, where kids can share science fair projects (on any topic that inspires them) and enjoy interactive activity stations featuring experts on this year’s theme: Weather!

• In-school STEAM lessons/activities in each classroom to dive deeper into this year’s weather theme

Ways to get involved:

Sign-up: Click here to learn more about the science fair and read project ideas/guidance, and sign-up to participate in the science fair

Share your time or expertise: Please reach out to the STEAM team at ClaypitSTEAM@gmail.com if you:

• Are interested in volunteering at the science fair or helping our team to lead in-class STEAM activities for one grade (1st grade on 1/28, K on 1/31, 5th grade on 2/7 and 4th grade on 2/11. 2nd and 3rd grades will have an outside presenter.)

• Have weather-related expertise that you can share with kids at the science fair, or if you have a connection who does

Watch for volunteer and pizza order sign-ups mid-month.

Thanks!

STEAM team (April, Elaine, Gigi, Heather and Janice)