Weekly Wednesday

9/26 & 9/27 - Picture Day *Teachers will share their scheduled time shortly

10/11 - Early Release - Preschool/Prekindergarten at 11:15

Kindergarten - Grade 3 at 11:40

11/6 & 11/20 - Parent Teacher Conferences

We are excited to offer our Clipper Courses After-School Program for the third year!

We will follow the same procedure as last year, a lottery based registration to ensure equity among our students. We cannot guarantee that every child will be placed in a course each session. We will wait until the registration window has closed before entering student’s names in the lottery. This system is subject to change as we continue to work through this new(er) offering! Your patience and flexibility are greatly appreciated.

These courses will begin the week of October 7th and end the week of November 25th . *No courses will run the week of Thanksgiving break.

The registration window is from today, September 23rd (3pm), to September 27th (3pm). You will receive a confirmation email by Wednesday, October 2nd.

Please pay attention to the course descriptions as some courses are only being offered to certain grade levels and certain times of days.

Please email Allison Hamilton (ahamilton@newburyport.k12.ma.us) with any questions.

Important Information

• Pick-up for afternoon courses: Parents should be ready to pick up at Door 1 at 3:50. Please do not be late.
• Drop off for morning courses: Parents should drop students off at Door 2 at 7:20 (unless otherwise noted in course description).
• We will contact you by email to confirm your child's enrollment.
• There will not be a nurse in the building during Clipper Courses.
• To ensure the safety of all students during Clipper Courses, food will not be allowed.

Registration

Please fill out this Registration Form (one for each child) by September 27th (form will be closed at 3pm).

Before picture day - Sullivan's Studio will be sending out emails before picture day to all families. If you have a different email on file than what was previously used, you can update your information by using this link https://sullivansstudio.gotphoto.com/login and entering the student ID number as the access code, which can be found on the Aspen Family Portal (6 digit #). This will link them to their gallery ahead of time. Your classroom teacher will have specific day and time information.

The Bresnahan Birthday Boulder is starting up again! The BBB (Bresnahan Birthday Boulder) is a place for our K-3 students to sign their artist signature during their birthday week. It is located right outside Door 1. Students began signing the boulder this week! Be on the lookout for the BBB on the mulch area near door 1.

Starting in 3rd grade, as many families encourage their children to become more independent by walking/biking home alone, we do offer the opportunity for your child to be an independent walker. An independent walker is defined as a child that is walking home to their house (or caretaker’s house). Please note independent walkers are not able to meet parents or caretakers on school property or at the senior center. If you wish to pick your child up on school property your child would qualify as a "walker" not an "independent walker" and you would need to bring your placard and wait in our Walker Line by Door 1.

*If you would like a sibling to walk home with your 3rd grader, please reach out to Jamie Sokolowski.

Each year it seems we learn of cases of head lice (Pediculosis). Most often these are parent reports, but occasionally, the presence of head lice or nits is identified in school. Though we have seen very little activity this year, some parent concern has surfaced and we wanted to provide this information to our families, with guidance for monitoring your own child, or managing a case identified in your own home.

A few reminders: Head lice are not a sign of poor hygiene and they do not transmit disease. Lice do not hop, jump, or fly; and the only way they get from person to person is direct contact with infested hair (most common) or by sharing personal items such as combs, brushes, or caps (less common.)

The District aligns its protocols with CDC, the American Academy of Pediatrics and Massachusetts DPH (links below), and each has excellent information addressing prevention, identification and treatment; as well as factual information regarding head lice.

CDC - Providing Care for Individuals with Head Lice

Head Lice: What Parents Need to Know - Adapted from A Parent’s Guide to Head Lice (Copyright © 2022 American Academy of Pediatrics)

Mass.gov - Head Lice (Pediculosis)

• What happens if my child is identified with lice or nits at school?

• The school nurse will contact you to discuss the findings and provide you with resources for treatment and management. It is a parental choice to pick up the child at the time of the call, or for the parent or guardian to address the concern after the child returns home.

• Will the other families in the class be notified if there is a case of head lice/nits identified?

• We do not notify families for isolated cases. If we do see an uptick in activity, we typically send out a classroom, grade or school wide communication, based on the scenario.

• Is the whole class screened if a child is identified with head lice?

• Per the American Academy of Pediatrics, there is little value.

Please utilize your school nurse as a resource, if you have any questions or concerns.

Please review the Official 24-25 Bres Student & Family Handbook to learn more about our policies and procedures.

Scan the QR code

Our Bresnahan school family is looking forward to welcoming visitors and volunteers into the building.

This is a friendly reminder ALL visitors and volunteers must provide a current, driver's license before gaining access into the building. There will be no exceptions to this district expectation as the safety and security of our school family is our #1 priority. Thank you in advance for doing your part to keep us safe.

CORI Process

• All volunteers must have an up-to-date CORI on file with the Newburyport Elementary Schools.
• Bring the completed CORI form along with your driver's license to the Administrative Assistant at our school office.
• Please note CORI's are only valid for three years; after that you must reapply.

Fingerprinting

In keeping with Newburyport's continued focus on safety, volunteers/parents are required to be fingerprinted in two instances:

1. If you are going on a day or overnight field trip and will have direct and unmonitored contact with children;
2. If you are a lunchroom volunteer and will be bringing children out to the playground. Parents who volunteer in the classroom DO NOT need to be fingerprinted, if there will always be another adult present.

Massachusetts has contracted with MorphoTrust for fingerprinting. To book an appointment, visit the Massachusetts IdentoGO Website.

Please be aware there is a $35 fee for fingerprinting. Fingerprinting does not expire.

Forms and Information

• CORI Form
• Fingerprinting Info

Parent/Caregiver Playgroups with Miss Cindy.

Our free playgroups are open to children ages 0-6 and their caregivers. Programs include play, songs, stories, hands-on activities, and opportunities to connect with other families from your community. We offer age appropriate books and interactive experiences, with a focus on early literacy, healthy child development and positive social-emotional development.

For questions regarding programs please contact Sarah Houghton, Program Coordinator at 978-518-4255 or sarah.houghton@tritonschools.org

Family Connections programs are funded by the Massachusetts Coordinated Family & Community Engagement (CFCE) grant awarded to Triton Regional School District by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) serving Newbury, Rowley, Salisbury and Newburyport.

Important Dates:

Wednesday, Oct. 2: Last day to order fall spiritwear!

Thursday, Oct. 10: PTO Meeting at 6:30PM at the Poynt!

Sunday, Oct. 20: Bres Fall Festival, 10AM-12PM.

Spiritwear Flash Sale:

The PTO Back to School Spiritwear Flash Sale is ON! The sale will run until October 2nd so get your orders in soon! Order pickup will be at the Nock Molin Auditorium on October 16 - October 18th. To place your order, visit our spiritwear order website! 100% of profits go to the PTO to help pay for field trip transportation, enrichment programs and other PTO programs.

Also, while we have your attention…We have received emails from several people interested in joining our Spiritwear Sales committee, but we would like a few more! If you are interested in creating trendy designs, marketing, and/or have mad organizational skills, please email us at newburyportpto@gmail.com. If you have experience with Adobe Illustrator or generally vector designs, you would be one of our MVPs!

Bresnahan Fall Festival:

The PTO’s family Fall Festival is on Sunday, October 20 from 10am-12pm. There will be games, food, a singalong with Mr. RM, face painting, and Ms. Harding’s Bresnahan Community Garden stand! We will also offer a sensory-sensitive early opening from 9:30-10. Admission is free and is open to all Bresnahan families.

As always, making this happen is a huge group effort. There are many ways to help before, during, and after the event. If you would like to help out (set-up, clean-up, cider and/or compostable cup donations), please sign up here!

Active Fundraiser: September Coins for a Cause

Gather up your loose change! Bring your change to any branch during this month and the Institute for Savings will donate the coin machine fee (5% of the value of the coins) to the Newburyport PTO.

Ongoing Fundraiser: PTO EcoBins

Did you know that the EcoBins (large yellow donation bins) at the Bresnahan and Nock generate funds for the PTO? There are two bins at the Bres, three at Molin/Nock. The bins take all textiles including stained/torn items, pillows, stuffed animals, shoes, so please drop off your unwanted items.

Do You Want to Get Involved?

We are currently seeking to fill PTO Board positions:

• Vice President

• Assistant Treasurer

• Molin Teacher Representative

If you would like to help at any of the PTO events, please check out the 2024-2025 Volunteer Interest Form on our website. You can review all our activities and fundraisers and select any that you may be interested in helping with when the time comes. If you have any questions about volunteer opportunities, come to our meetings or email us anytime at newburyportpto@gmail.com.

If you have not signed up to receive our newsletter, you can sign up by completing our 2024-2025 Volunteer Interest Form, and check the box “I want to receive the PTO updates, OR you can sign up here!

If you're still looking for fun activities for your children to participate in this Fall, there are still spots available in the programs listed below;

• Kids Acting Disney Scenes (2nd-3rd Grade)
• Buildwave STEM Program (K-3)
• Morning Run Club (K-3)
• Lego Robotics and Engineering (1st-3rd Grade)
• Port Rec Drop Offs (1st-5th Grade)

Special Programs/Events

• Parkour Oct. 14th (6-9 yr olds)
• Hightail Acres Horsemanship Oct. 14th, Nov. 11th (6-12 yr olds)
• Touch A Truck Oct. 19th from 10am-1pm (All Ages Family Event at Cashman Park)

For more details and to register for any of these programs please go to https://newburyportma.myrec.com