North Scituate Elementary School

Trimester 2 started yesterday, December 2nd! Teachers have begun to prepare report cards for distribution and parent/teacher conferences. Please note, report cards will be sent via email attachment on Tuesday, December 10th. Progress notes for IEP's will be sent home hard copy with your child.

If you did not sign up for a parent teacher conference at Open House for December 12th, please email Jennifer.Foster@scituateschoolsri.net to set up a time to meet with your child's teacher.

There are three weeks until our holiday recess. Students and staff are ready to continue learning, strengthen relationships, and celebrate the holiday season together.

Reminder, as the holidays approach, food items are discouraged from being sent into not allowed to be sent into school due to multiple severe food allergies. Consider non-food items; pencils, crafts, notepads, erasers, etc if you wish to send something in for your child's class. Please reach out to your child's teacher before doing so. Thank you!

Happy Holidays to you all!

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.

This year we collected 1,371 food items to be donated to the Senior Center. Huge thank you to all of our families for your generous donations and our student council members for organizing this collection.

1st Place: Grade 5 and winner of a Pizza Party

2nd Place: Grade 4 and winner of 25 minutes of extra recess

3rd Place: Grade 2 and the winner of 15 minutes of extra recess

Our PTO has worked hard over the past few years raising funds to purchase a new LED school sign. Town Council was able to match the funds we raised so we could secure this wonderful upgrade for our school and community. The sign was installed prior to Thanksgiving by AA Thrifty Sign & Awning. Next steps are electrical and masonry work to add bricks.

You can still purchase a commemorative brick with your message to be placed as the base of the sign and add a part of your legacy to our town. Use the button below to order!

On Friday, November 8th, students got outside and participated in our annual walk-a-thon which raises funds to support field trip for the school year. Together, we raised $11,500.00!!! AMAZING! Huge thank you to our families for their generosity in supporting our students and our parent volunteers for making this event possible with fun stations/obstacles. Thank you to our PTO Exec Board for organizing this fun and successful event each year!

Thank you to our teacher volunteers for taking a pie to the face for students who raised over $200. Check out some photos below from our event.

Jonathan from Mad Science treated us to the "Don't Try this At Home Show". Don't Try This at Home has some experiments that are not appropriate for children to do or require exotic chemicals. But they make for exciting demonstrations with lots of reactions and a BOOMing finale! Click here to learn more about Mad Science offerings.

Thank you to the Boys Football team for coming to North Scituate on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. This was a nice treat to send us off for a long Thanksgiving Break.

Students in our K-2 session use neon pastels and paint to create patterns and designs to create their own turkey for Thanksgiving. For grades 2-5, students worked on a Pop Art project with Andy Warhol and Mickey Mouse. Huge thank you to Mr. Eager for running this program, and our parent volunteers for making this possible.

Tips for helping your child cope with holiday stress

For most children, the holiday season is filled with excitement, fun and happiness! There is a break from school and a chance to spend time with family and friends. There may also be special food, music and family traditions. However, the holidays can be a stressful time for both adults and children. Family plans may be complicated by divorce or the loss of a parent or close relative. Children may be separated from parents due to ongoing military service.

There are a number of things parents can do to help children cope with holiday stress.

• Discuss holiday plans well in advance, and let kids participate in decisions when possible. Children benefit from some degree of predictability. Children can become stressed when plans change at the last minute.

• If you are traveling, leave extra time and bring kid friendly activities and snacks.

• Don’t over schedule. You may not be able to do everything or see everyone. Kids can easily get overtired and cranky during the holidays.

• Give kids some down time. Let them have some quiet time, read a book, listen to music or go for a walk together.

• Make sure they get plenty of rest. While it may be exciting to stay up late, lack of sleep can lead to increased irritability.

• Don’t make promises you can’t keep. For example, don’t promise that a parent will be home in time for the holidays if the decision is out of your control.

• Uphold and maintain family traditions even if a parent is absent. Kids count on certain traditions, which can have an important grounding effect by letting kids know that even though some things have changed, other things have remained the same.

• Don’t try to compensate for an absent parent with extra gifts. What most kids really want most is your time, attention and reassurance.

• Take care of yourself. Try to avoid getting overloaded with obligations. If you feel stressed, your children will sense your stress and increase their tension. Whenever possible, try to eat healthy meals, get to bed at a regularly scheduled time, engage in regular exercise and time for rest.

• Keeping predictable routines as much as possible will also help your child transition back to the school routine, when the holiday season comes to a close.

Wishing everyone a happy and relaxing holiday season!

Mrs. Schiappa

School Psychologist

Shawna Swift

School Social Worker

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.

Our Kindergarten friends have been busy creating their own "float" for the Kindergarten Thanksgiving Parade. Students planned and created their own balloon for a parade around the entire school. It was a treat for us all and the students were VERY proud of their creations.

Students in Mrs. Lancellotta's class are working on work word to strength their phonics skills.

This month 1st grade enjoyed Kindergarten's Thanksgiving parade and had a Thanksgiving feast!

Students in Mrs. Bettez class use place value disks to continue their learning about place value using Eureka Math.

Second graders visited Roger Williams Park Zoo for their Insect Program- What makes an insect an insect? First grade students will explore the special characteristics that make an insect an insect Elementary students will be encouraged to observe and make inferences as they figure out how the function of structural and behavioral adaptations help animals survive and meet their needs.

In Mrs. DiLuglio's class, students work in cooperative groups to research and write about a weather phenomenon.

In Ms. Cuttle's class, students read "Out of my Mind". This book is about a child with cerebral palsy who finally receives a talker that allows her to communicate everything she has wished to communicate her whole life. Students made inventions that would help the main character, Melody, complete daily activities that she struggles to do independently. This book was recently turned into a movie that is available on Disney Plus.

Students in Miss Sloan's class work diligently on their animal adaptations research questions as part of their American Reading Unit 2. Students will research a specific animal and create a presentation to their class once their research is complete.

Grades 3-5

This month, our students enjoyed a variety of games focused on building teamwork, communication, and problem-solving skills. They played Titanic, where they practiced working together to “stay afloat,” Water Under the Bridge, where students created a human bridge and worked together to roll a ball the length of the gym, and Ants on a Log, where cooperation and support were essential. During these activities, students had to demonstrate respect for one another, communicate effectively, and solve problems as a team. We ended the month with festive Thanksgiving games to celebrate the season and get into the holiday spirit, with an emphasis on gratitude and giving thanks.

Grades K-2

For our younger grades, we focused on communication, safety, and agility with games like The Floor is Lava. This was also a great opportunity to encourage honesty and the value of telling the truth. We also introduced Mario Kart Coin Runners Rock Paper Scissors, which was not only a blast but also taught students how to be gracious winners and good sports when they didn’t win. To wrap up the month, they joined in Thanksgiving-themed games similar to those played by the older grades, creating a fun, festive atmosphere for everyone.

We’re proud of all our students for their hard work, sportsmanship, and positivity this month. Wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving and a season full of gratitude!

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.

UPCOMING PTO EVENTS & FUNDRAISERS

Christmas in the Village: December 13th 5:00-7:00PM

Sign up to bake or volunteer: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/409054DAEA723A1FA7-52855593-christmas

Next Meeting: Wednesday, January 15th 7:30pm

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

The Scituate School Committee will hold it's December meeting on Tuesday, December 3rd. 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.

• 12/10: Report Cards emailed to families with attachment
• 12/12: Parent Teacher Conferences 4:00-6:30pm
• 12/13: Scituate High School Chorus Visits for High 5 Friday & Concert
• 12/13: Christmas in the Village Event 5-7pm
• 12/18: Holiday Chorus Concert 11:00am and 2:00pm
• 12/19: Munchkins & Juice Boxes by PTO
• 12/20: Holiday Store (more details to come)
• 12/23-31: No School- Holiday Recess
• 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)
• 01/20: No School- Martin Luther King Jr. Day

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