Weekly Wednesday

9/24: Open House - 6:00 pm: Ps/Pk, K and Grade 1 & 7:00 pm: Grades 2 & 3

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

Last Friday, Bresnahan students completed their first fire drill in conjunction with the Newburyport Fire Department. It was a successful drill with all students learning how to safely leave the building in case of an emergency.

Thank you to the Newburyport Fire Department for supporting us in the drill.

We will communicate general timelines of when future safety drills are scheduled.

We take the safety of our students very seriously and as part of the district's upgraded security plan the schools' Cameras', Card Access, and Visitor Management systems were all upgraded over the summer. The new cameras cover both inside and outside of school as well as the driveways leading to the school.

When you visit the Bresnahan, you may notice a new intercom system to buzz in - this is part of the new Visitor Management system and coincides with the district's initiative to keep all of our Student, Teachers, and Visitors as secure as possible.

Here is a reminder of our sign-in procedures:

1. Always report to Door 1 – Use the Intercom to communicate with office staff, and they will buzz you into the building.

Please always inform the school secretary of the purpose of your visit and where you are heading. Please do not sign-in or leave the office without speaking to the secretary. At times, the office can be very busy and your patience is greatly appreciated.

2. Our new Visitor Management system requires you to scan your license at the self service Kiosk and once cleared will print a visitor badge for access to the building.

3. At the end of your visit, please report back to the office to sign-out at the Visitor Management Kiosk and also let office staff know you are leaving.

DIBELS stands for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. It's a set of short assessments our school uses to check how well students are developing their basic reading skills. Teachers use the results from DIBELS to guide their reading instruction, helping them understand each child's progress and identify any additional support they might need.

It’s important to know that DIBELS is not a test with grades or a tool for diagnosing learning disabilities. In other words, students can’t "fail" DIBELS. Instead, it provides teachers with one indicator of literacy health, much like taking a child's temperature to check their physical health.

Keep in mind that DIBELS is a quick, 3-5 minute screening. Since our students are young, their performance can be affected by factors like a bad day, nerves, or misunderstanding instructions. We always look at DIBELS results alongside other information and what we know about each unique child. Think of DIBELS as just one small snapshot of a child's reading skills at one moment in time.

Your child will take their DIBELS screening following the

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) guidelines.

https://www.doe.mass.edu/massliteracy/

A link to our registration form will be sent home on September 23rd. Courses begin the week of October 7th and run until the week of November 25th. Please note: No courses will run the week of Thanksgiving

Our picture days are scheduled for September 26th & 27th.

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. This will link them to their gallery ahead of time.

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

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 Ms. Sokolowski.

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.

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:

Tuesday, Sept. 24: Bres Open House, PK-1st at 6PM and 2nd & 3rd grades at 7PM.

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 for a limited time: from September 18 - 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!

Also, while we have your attention…We are looking for volunteers to join our Spiritwear Sales committee! If you are interested in creating trendy designs, marketing, and/or have mad organizational skills, please email us at newburyportpto@gmail.com. We are starting to plan for our Holiday Sale next week and would love to have you on board!

Bresnahan Fall Festival:

Save the date! The PTO will be hosting a family Fall Festival 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!

Join the PTO Board!

We are currently seeking to fill PTO Board positions:

• Vice President

• Assistant Treasurer

• Molin Teacher Representative

If you are interested in serving on the PTO Board or have questions, please email us at newburyportpto@gmail.com.

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?

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.

Teacher Liaison- learn more at Open House from your teacher

PTO Communication

As a reminder, we communicate in a variety of ways for your convenience:

• Weekly Principal Emails: Look for timely details on upcoming events & volunteer opportunities in emails like this one.

• Monthly Newsletter: 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.”

• PTO Website: Always go to www.newburyportpto.com for the most up to date calendar of events, as well as comprehensive information on PTO programs, fundraisers, and volunteer opportunities.

• Social Media: Join our private Facebook group and follow us on the PTO Instagram page to get the latest details on upcoming events and volunteer needs, as well as the highlights from the PTO’s past events.

• Email us at newburyportpto@gmail.com if you have any questions!

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