September 13, 2024

• MKG School Council has one open parent representative seat. This is a 2 year term. Meetings are held bi-monthly starting in October. Meetings will be held on the Tuesdays from 4:00 - 5:00 in the MKG conference room. The first meeting is October 22nd. Please email me at lwhite@middleboro.k12.ma.us if you are interested. If needed an election will be held during Open House.
• MKG Open House - Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 from 6:00 - 7:30
• For the safety of our staff and students please stay in the drop off line and refrain from pulling around other cars that are dropping off students. All cars that are dropping students off should be in the drop off line. When possible adults should remain in their cars while dropping off.

We had a wonderful first full week of teaching and learning!!! We are working to complete our beginning of the year assessments in the next couple of weeks.

Literacy Screening Information:

K-3 Assessment Information

We work hard here at MKG to ensure we have a positive, safe and nurturing school climate and our first step to accomplishing that goal is through the establishment of positive behavioral expectations, we work with our students to be Respectful, Responsible and Ready!!!

At MKG:

• We are respectful.

• We are ready to learn and try our best.

• We are responsible.

• We are kind.

• We are safe.

In order to help our students meet those expectations we take a number of steps. The first includes our recognition of when students are doing great. When kids are demonstrating being “Respectful, Responsible, and Ready”, we reward them with tickets, which can be turned in for prizes at the School Store. We also formally teach our students how to meet those expectations through the use of 2 programs we use throughout the school building. The first program is called Purposeful People, which is actually an extension of the Start Strong and Character Strong Programs used at the secondary level here in Middleborough. Our efforts to teach this program are rooted in our Character Word of the Month and include the important character traits of kindness, courage, cooperation, empathy, respect, honesty, responsibility, perseverance and gratitude. Through the use of this program we teach kids what these traits mean, we look at stories and historical figures that represent these traits and we talk about what these traits look like in our school environment.

The other program we use here is called Calmer Choice. Through this program we teach kids how to slow down, how to calm their bodies, how to focus and pay attention and how to become more self-aware and aware of those around them.

The skills taught through these 2 programs help our kids meet our positive behavioral expectations and, more importantly, give our kids the skills needed to navigate their social lives and the school environment.

Our goal is to ensure the success of each and every student who walks through our doors and we believe that happens best when we work in partnership with families. We share all this information in the hopes that you will check out the resources we share, take time to ask your kids about the things they are learning and, most importantly, reach out whenever you have a question. If you would like to learn more about Purposeful People or Calmer Choice please click the links below and be sure to reach out if you have any questions or concerns.

https://characterstrong.com/purposefull-people/

https://calmerchoice.org/what-we-do

Round 1 Sept. 23 - Nov. 15

Round 2 Nov. 18 - Jan. 31

Round 3 Feb. 3 - April 11

Round 4 April 14 - June 13

Each class will be assigned a day and time within one of the rounds. The lessons are twice a week for 20 minutes. Please reach out to me if you have any questions.

Healthy Reminders for Illness and School Attendance, from Middleboro Public School Nursing:

As much of the area is experiencing an increase in seasonal illness, Middleborough Public Schools in partnership with our State and Local Public Health Departments would like to share the following healthy reminders: Please:

• Practice frequent hand hygiene with soap and water or hand sanitizer.

• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, or if a tissue is not available, cover sneezes with an elbow

• Open a window, even a few inches to help circulate fresh air when this is an option.

• Clean high touch surfaces in your home frequently .

• Please keep your child home from school if he/she has:

• A temperature of 100.1 F or higher during the previous 24 hours: Students are to be fever free without use of medication for 24 hours before returning to school

• Vomiting or diarrhea. Students are to have no vomiting and no diarrhea for 24 hours before returning to school.

• Signs or symptoms of flu/Influenza include body aches, chills, headache, fatigue

• If your student is ill, please keep your student home from school and please avoid social gatherings. This will help with recovery and reduce the chances of spreading illness to others.

• Please contact your pediatrician or healthcare provider if your child needs medical care.

• Please notify your School Nurse if your child tests positive for Covid-19 or Influenza. This will help us assess and possibly detect illnesses in others sooner

• Please notify your school with any changes in any of your emergency contact phone numbers and/or emails so that we may reach you promptly if your student is ill and needs to be dismissed from school to recover at home. We share your commitment to reducing any chances that children with contagious illness may be exposing others to illness at school.

First graders attended their first Town Meeting this week. Once a month, all first grade students attend Town Meeting which is a morning meeting led by Mr. Dyer, Mrs. McHugh, Mrs. Ruscher and the MKG Specialist Teachers. At Town Meeting, students learn about social and emotional topics, review school rules and expectations, and learn strategies to express their feelings and solve problems. The September Town Meeting focused on understanding MKG school rules and expectations. Students had a great time at their first Town Meeting. In first grade classrooms, students are practicing routines and learning. This week students learned a few math games to practice math skills such as counting, addition, and subtraction.

We have completed our first full week of school! Students have gotten to know each other, the routines and their specialists! We are starting the Grade 2 reading and math assessments, so we will be getting into our reading groups very shortly. Be on the lookout for Reading logs, which teachers will be sending home soon. The expectation is to read each night for 10-15 minutes per night and record it on the reading log. In addition, students should be practicing their math facts (1-20 right now) for 5 to 10 minutes per night. Reading logs should be turned in each Friday. Save the date for Open House, on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. We look forward to meeting all the wonderful Second grade families! Please be mindful of the monthly calendars sent home- these highlight specialists days and any holidays. Enjoy the gorgeous autumn weather!

Happy Friday from the Third Grade Team! We’ve had a great full week of learning with our classes. Students continue to learn classroom routines and expectations. It’s been exciting to watch their friendships and confidence develop over the past several days.

This year, we will study state and local history in Social Studies. This week, our young historians began to understand that history is the story of the past, tools and skills can help them think like historians, and timelines can help them determine cause and effect. Ask your child to tell you about the following key vocabulary terms: artifact, cause, effect, history, local, point of view, primary source, and secondary source.

In remembrance of September 11th, many classes read and discussed the book, “Fireboat-The Heroic Adventures of the John J. Harvey” by Maira Kalman. Ask your third grader to tell you more about this true story!

Keep up the great work, third graders. We are going to have a great year!

We’ve spent this week continuing to learn our new classroom routines and getting to know our classmates; all while enjoying this fabulous weather!. When your children are at school, their classroom is their home and everyone in it acts as their school family. We work hard to make sure students feel safe, respected, happy and comfortable within the classroom community. All students need to feel settled and safe for learning to take place. If your child is ever coming to school having had something upsetting happen at home or just out of sorts, please let us know!!

Just as your children need to feel comfortable at school in order to learn and succeed, they also need to have expected routines at home as well. Establish an area where your child will keep their school items and complete homework. It also greatly helps to check in with your child each day when they come home; ask them about their day and go through their backpack with them.

“The future of the world begins in the classroom.”

The students are starting to settle into their routines. All of the classrooms are continuing their First 10 Days of Reading and Writing and most have begun the math program lessons. Science and Social Studies are being introduced into the schedules. They are all enjoying the new devices they use for ST Math, Lexia and other school activities. If your child prefers to bring in their own headphones or earbuds for computer work,check with your student's teacher for rules with equipment from home. This applies to ereaders, also.

The students have all had a chance to go to their Special Subjects. Please remember to have your child wear or bring sneakers for their physical education classes. All fifth graders have attended their first Town Meeting. During this time, the rules of the school matrix was discussed so that all students are at the same level of awareness of school expectations. The first Library classes began this week. All students are allowed to check out one book for pleasure reading. When the students need to use other books for research, they will be allowed to check out an additional book. Library takes place in the afternoon on the same day that they have Technology.

Welcome back! Ms. Fantasia’s classes have all been getting used to our class expectations, procedures, and routines during the month of September. My class expectations for all students are Respectful (kind to everyone & supplies) Responsible (trying their best, following directions) and Ready (whole body listening and calm/safe body.)

Instrument sign ups have gone out to fourth and fifth grade families. Students who are just beginning to learn an instrument (fourth grade or those in fifth grade who did not play an instrument) will be placed in large group lessons based on the instrument. If your child is in fifth grade and is playing the same instrument this year, they will be enrolled in Symphonic Band (flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, percussion) or Symphonic Orchestra (violin, viola, & cello.)

All Fifth, Fourth and Third graders have had fun singing songs, playing games, and using instruments! Fifth grade will be finishing up Quadraboom and then we will be moving onto some xylophones! Fourth grade also has had fun with Quardraboom as well as reviewing the band and orchestra instruments! Third grade had a blast playing plansie-clapsie and Ging-Gang Goolie. Second graders have learned a song from Africa called Funga Alafia where we have begun to review our rhythms and start to add instruments. First grade has been getting used to our new routines. We are singing songs, playing games, and using some instruments!

Be on the lookout in ClassTag for photos and videos of us singing, dancing, playing instruments, and having lots of fun!

Join the MKG PTA to help make your child's elementary experience the best it can be! We meet the last Monday of the month at 5pm in the MKG library. Everyone is always welcome!!