North Scituate Elementary School

Welcome back and Happy New Year to all our North Scituate Families. During this holiday break, I hope everyone was able to refresh, rest, and be ready to start the new year strong.

We are well into the second trimester and approaching the mid-year benchmarking period. During this time, students will complete testing in both math and reading to assess their progress from the beginning of the year. AimsWeb Plus will continue to be used to assess students in grades K-5. As we know, this is only one way teachers assess student progress over the course of the year. Also, teachers will use the SAEBRS screener to check in on students' social emotional learning.

Please reach out with any questions or concerns in the new year!

Kaitlin M. Soccio, Principal

Kaitlin.Soccio@ScituateSchoolsRI.net

Contact Mrs. Soccio with questions or concerns.

• If your child is gong to absent or late to school, please call 647-4110 or email the school secretary.
• Please date notes that are sent to school with students. If you are writing a note about dismissal, please write the full name of the person picking up your child.
• Clearly mark water bottles, lunch boxes, etc. with student's name.
• District Policy requires all parents and school volunteers to maintain a current BCI check and to RENEW all BCI checks yearly prior to volunteering in classrooms/school or field trip activities. Please contact the school office if you are in need of a form and this will be available at Open House.

I have some very exciting news to share! As you may remember, in 2018, Rhode Island updated its system of school accountability under the federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The most significant change is that Rhode Island now assigns a Star Rating to every public school. Ranging from 1 to 5 stars, the Star Rating simplifies and summarized overall school performance, providing an easy-to-understand snapshot for parents and communities. The factors used to calculate Star Ratings include student achievement and student growth measured by state testing results, and a more expansive view of school climate, culture, and achievement, including such measures as student and teacher chronic absence, and suspension rates.

I am very proud to share that North Scituate Elementary School earned a 5 Star Rating, which is the highest rating! In 2018, we received a 3 Star Rating and made great gains over the years. Our 5 Star Rating was most affected by academic achievement and high growth. This is a huge testament to the dedication and tireless efforts of our staff, students and families. 5 Stars is a reflection of our entire school community and should be celebrated! Let’s keep the momentum going! Our students deserve it!

On Friday, December 20th, students had the opportunity to join Mrs. Soccio for the monthly PBIS Incentive of cookie decorating for 50 stars. Students can earn stars throughout each school day. Stars are earned for our 3 R's: Respectful, Responsible, Ready to Learn. Students had fun decorating their own cookie while listening to Christmas music. Huge thank you to Mrs. Scucces and Mrs. Beaupre for helping Mrs. Soccio run this activity with over 150 students participating!

Our Read to Succeed event is sponsored by our PTO. Students will receive a new book for Christmas and at the end of the school year. A variety of books are selected by the Reading Specialist and Mrs. Soccio. Students get to select their own book to take home to read with their family! Reading is a gift and we are grateful our PTO makes this possible each year!

Thank you to the HS Band and Chorus for joining us for High Five Friday and putting on a concert for us. All students gathered in the gymnasium to listen to the band play some holiday tunes and sang along with the Chorus.

Our 4th & 5th grade chorus sang for students, staff, and their families on December 18th. Our chorus practiced weekly with Mrs. Ethier. We enjoyed new songs and oldies this year! Thank you for a great performance.

Huge THANK YOU to the Scituate Police Department for organizing a successful Stuff a Cruiser Event. Thank you to the Scituate Community for supporting this event which provides toys/games for our Adopt a Family program at North Scituate. It's wonderful to be part of a giving and supportive community.

As we celebrate the holidays and look forward to a new year, this is a good time to reflect on the past several months. Think about what routines you already have in place. What seems to be working well? What might need some adjusting?

Routines provide children with a sense of safety and predictability each day. Unpredictability can set children up for experiencing worry and anxiety. Keep in mind that we cannot be consistent 100% of the time but here are some general guidelines on ways to maintain consistency and routines throughout the school year.

Try to keep similar sleep and eating schedules

Disrupting daily biological routines can lead to changes in mood, fatigue and irritability. It’s tempting to let kids stay up late and sleep in during holiday break. But it’s important to stick to consistent bedtime and eating routines.

Homework routines

Having a routine for homework during the school year is essential for your child to establish helpful habits and cognitive skills, such as: organization, planning, prioritization and time management.

Some helpful homework routines…

• Have a quiet place in the house designed for homework and studying

• Set a time for homework each day

• Maybe pair homework with a snack or follow it with a preferred activity before dinner

• Help your child with time management by writing down how much time it should take for each task

• Provide your child with consistent positive encouragement for completing their work

Check in with your child

As the first half of the school year winds down, take some time to talk with your child about how they think their school year is going.

• What subjects do they enjoy or struggle with?

• What are some fun things they do with their friends?

• Who are some of their friends and how do they get along?

• What are they most proud of this year?

• What goals do they want to accomplish this year? Go up a reading level? Learn multiplication?

Overall, let your child know that you and the school are there to support them each and everyday.

Students can receive these awards given by a faculty or staff member for EXEMPLARY behavior in the following categories: Growth Mindset, Problem Solving, Managing Emotions, Effort, Kindness, and Goal Setting. These categories align with our Social Emotional Curriculum- Second Step.

Students in Mrs. Slaughter's class completed a unit on measuring length. They went on a classroom hunt to find objects longer than, or shorter than, their red string!

Students in Mrs. Lancellotta's class completed a directed drawing of The Elf of the Shelf to match their new poem in their poem books. Mrs. Lancellotta was impressed with their ability to follow directions with many different steps to this drawing!

Students in Mrs. Bettez' class cozy up by the fire to read their new book from the PTO's Read to Succeed Program discussed earlier in the newsletter. Look how excited they all are to read a new book!

Mrs. McCormick and Mr. B, members of the Scituate Lions Club, visited our third grade classrooms for presentation on dictionaries and provided each student with their very own. Students were eager to use their dictionaries for work in the classroom. They practiced locating specific words and shared with others what word they found. Huge thank you to the Scituate Lions Club for providing each third grade student in Scituate with their very own dictionary!

Students in Mrs. DiLgulio's class spend time learning the craft of peer revision and editing when creating holiday gifts of writing for their families. Practicing reading their writing aloud allowed them to celebrate their accomplishments.

Over the past two weeks students in grade 4 have been studying volcano patterns, as well as volcano characteristics. The first week students worked in groups to map out all of the active volcanoes across the world. This week they completed an experiment to see the different types of lava that come from different volcanoes.

During our Holiday Shop, fifth graders assisted Kindergarten friends with their Christmas shopping. Our fifth graders helped a younger student select items and stick to their budget. Great leadership by our 5th graders!

Students in Mrs. Pontarelli's class started presentations of Animal Adaptations using Google slides. Students have been researching a specific animal for a couple of weeks. In the third picture, students use a Mystery Science game to understand carbon dioxide in a pond ecosystem.

This month in PE, we’ve been focusing on building teamwork, coordination, and having lots of fun with some exciting activities across all grades, K-5!

Parachute Games

Our parachute games are always a favorite! Students participated in activities like:

• Let It Fly: Students worked together to launch the parachute into the sky, letting it fly high before it floated back down.

• Cat and Mouse: A thrilling chase under and over the parachute.

• Catapult: Propelling objects high into the air.

• Mushroom: Creating a giant parachute “bubble.”

• Merry-Go-Round: Spinning teamwork and movement challenges.

These games emphasized teamwork, coordination, and cooperation, with lots of laughs along the way!

Holiday-Themed Games

To celebrate the season, we incorporated some holiday cheer into our activities:

• Holiday Lights: A game of speed and strategy as students “light up” their stations.

• Snowman Attack: Students worked on rolling accuracy, aiming balls at snowman targets with control and precision.

• Elf Switch: A fun, fast-paced activity to keep everyone on their toes!

• Feed the Reindeer: A game of precision as students “fed” the reindeer (hoops or buckets).

These festive games encourageteamwork, creativity, and movement while spreading holiday joy.

Thank you for supporting your students as they stay active and engaged in PE. We’re excited to keep the momentum going into the new year!

Check out our school nurse's page for updates, information, and more. Please call 647-4110 or email Colleen.McCann@ScituateSchoolsRI.net with any questions or concerns.

December was a busy and fun month at North Scituate. THANK YOU to all our parent volunteers for making our Book Fair, Christmas in the Village, decorating ornaments, Holiday Shop, and munchkins possible for all students. I can't thank you all enough for volunteering your time!

Our Scholastic Book Fair was a huge success with sales over $5,000.00. Thank you to our families for purchasing books and supporting literacy!

In the photo below, our Christmas in the Village was held the second Friday in December. Families gather in our cafeteria to make a craft and reindeer food, play games, enjoy a treat from our Bake Sale, and buy raffle tickets! We raised over $1000.00 from this event to support PTO initiatives. Thank you to all the families who joined us, baked, donated items for the baskets, and volunteers their time at the event.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 15th 7:30pm (in person)

Please email NorthScituatePTO@gmail.com with any questions. We hope to see you there!

The Scituate School Committee will hold it's January meeting on Tuesday, January 7th at North Scituate Elementary School. Mrs. Soccio will be giving a brief presentation about our school. All members of the school community are encouraged to attend in person or virtually. The meetings begin at 7 p.m. For more information about meetings, click here.

• 01/01: No School- New Year's Day
• 01/03: Mastery Martial Arts Assembly K-2
• 01/07: School Committee Mtg (Mrs.Soccio will present about NS)
• 01/08: School Improvement Team Mtg 3:20pm
• 01/14: Grade 4 to PPAC for "Look out, science is coming!"
• 01/15: PTO Meeting 7:30pm in the library
• 01/20: No School- Martin Luther King Jr. Day
• 01/30: Building Committee Mtg 7:00pm
• 02/17-21: February Vacation- NO SCHOOL
• 03/13: Trimester 2 ends
• 04/11: Grade 5 Transition Event at RIC (tentative)
• 04/14-18: April Vacation- NO SCHOOL
• 05/02: Hearing Screenings
• 05/09: Spring Picture Day
• 05/19-21: Spring Book Fair
• 05/21: Arts Night 6-7:30pm (tentative)
• 05/26: Memorial Day- NO SCHOOL
• 06/16: Last Day of School- 1/2 day (date subject to change based on snow days)

Email: kaitlin.soccio@scituateschoolri.net
Website: https://nses.scituateschoolsri.net/
Location: 46 Institute Lane, Scituate, RI, USA
Phone: 401-647-4110
Twitter: @NScituateSchool