Principal Message

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• Amharic: የትርጉም አማራጮችን ለማግኘት እዚህ ጠቅ ያድርጉ

• Arabic: الرجاء الضغط هنا للترجمة العربية.

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Last year, Runkle piloted an "Attendance Committee" in an effort to improve student tardiness and absenteeism. They worked directly with Dr. Matthew DuBois, Senior Director of Clinical Services and Social and Emotional Learning, and Michael Chan, District Attendance Officer. This committee now meets weekly to dive into our attendance data. The district has created a 3-Tier System to respond to tardiness and unexcused absences when they reach a critical number. As a part of the Tier-2 responses, families will receive letters from me. A large batch of tardy letters went out this week. Please understand that we want to be HELPFUL. Receiving these letters are not meant to be punitive or shaming. The letters include suggestions to support getting students to school on time and other resources. I am happy to help anyway that I can. I have made "early morning home visits" to get students up and out. Trust me, nobody wants to see Ms. Finnegan at their house at 7:45 am🙄, but it can help! Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns.

Runkle's first and second graders took the Green Line on Thursday to see Frog and Toad at the Wheelock Family Theater. There are lots of big smiles in the pictures that teachers shared. Everyone had a great time. Thank you to all the parents/guardians who volunteered to chaperone this trip!

Runkle's 6th graders had a great time attending a BC Women's Hockey game against Providence College on Wednesday. Thank you to our 6th grade teaching team for supporting this great community- building event. Jen Schultz, Runkle PE teacher, and Dale Cramer, Math teacher, worked quickly to make this happen. We appreciate Boston College reaching out to Brookline Schools to include us in local fun!

Ms. Wong (2W) and Ms. Rubenstein (3R) held a Narrative Share on Wednesday morning with all of their students. There was a "quiet buzz" in the classroom as students shared their writing with partners. The students and adults were so impressed with both the writing and the students' ability to share and provide positive feedback with friends.

Join us for our Runkle Mitten Drive!

We invite Runkle students to help local families by donating new and like-new mittens and gloves. Donation boxes will be placed in the front lobby and recess entrance. The donation window is Dec. 9th - Dec 19th.

Student Council is asking each homeroom class to design a mitten. Homeroom teachers can find their mitten in their mailbox.

Runkle Administrators are working closely with ROAR (Runkle Organization Against Racism) members to support all of our students and families of color. During this week's meeting we discussed the pathways that students, parents, and staff can use to report incidents of bullying, discrimination, and harassment. It is clear that parents may not be aware of the incident reports that can be submitted to the district. These forms can be anonymous and are filtered directly to school administrators in order to start an investigation. To access the forms you need to log into brookline.k12.ma.us. There is a "Student & Families" tab on the top line. Click on the "Bullying Prevention" tab OR use this link: https://www.brookline.k12.ma.us/domain/685

The PSB SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Counsel) will be hosting a Summer Camp Fair on January 11, 2025 from 9-11 am at FRR. This event is free to families and vendors. Please see the flyer above. This is a great opportunity for families to learn about positive camp experiences for students with special needs.

Runkle 8th graders will be working on composting as a part of their Civics Project this year. On Thursday, we conducted a Waste Audit with staff from the DPW after all of our lunches to provide baseline information for this project. Students weighed all the trash from 4 lunch periods and separated it into trash, recyclables, and compostable materials. This is the brief presentation that we shared with 7th and 8th graders prior to the audit Waste Audit Presentation.pptx

Runkle plans to train students and staff on composting in the caf during December and January. There will be a large parent volunteer component to this kick-off. Stay tuned for more details. We will be starting composting in the cafeteria after February break!

Brookline Recreation will be hosting 2 Open Skate Nights on December 20th and 27th at Larz Anderson (Jack Kirrane Rink). Please see the flyer above. This is a great opportunity for all students to get some fresh air and see friends this month!

Congratulations to our First Grade for winning the PTO Participation Prize for this year's annual fundraiser. Mr. Pelton and I will be holding a celebration in January for all of our first graders. Details will be provided by the end of December.

Wednesday, December 11th - RISE Parent Coffee at 8:15 am in Runkle Library

Thursday, December 12th - Grade 2 Music Concert in Multi-Purpose Room

Tuesday, December 17th - Trout Eggs arrive in 3rd grade!

Wednesday, Dec 18th- 2W Morning Parent Share- 7:55am-8:20am.

Thursday, December 19th - Grade 3 (all classes) Work Share, 7:55-8:20 am

Thursday, December 19th - Grade 5KZ, KZ Writing Share, 7:45-8:30 am

Friday, December 13th - PTO Sponsored Candy House Decorating in the cafeteria

Friday, December 20th - Last day of 2024 School Year - Regular 1:40 Dismissal

December 23rd - January 1st - Winter Break