Deer Families

Deer Hill School News . October 11, 2024

Dear Deer Hill Families,

I hope this finds you enjoying the start of the long weekend. Today staff are participating in a variety of professional learning opportunities that include a review of our Responsive Classroom social emotional practices and an initial analysis of our MCAS and fall benchmark data (DIBELS and iReady data will be shared on October 16 and MCAS family reports will be published later this month). Teachers are looking forward to meeting with you during our upcoming conferences to reflect on the start of the year and set shared goals -- if you haven't signed up for a time yet, please do!

All the best,

Alexandra L. Sullivan

Principal, Deer Hill School

P.S. Our next newsletter will be published October 25, 2024.

Need to Knows

Deer Hill Family Handbook

Absence Line & Email Address: 781-383-6115; DHS-notes@cohassetk12.org.

PSO's Annual Fun Run: The Fun Run is Wednesday, October 16th! Please see the details on the attached flyer and consider making a donation to support all of the fabulous enrichment programming that the PSO provides our school. Your child is encouraged to wear blue or their favorite Cohasset gear on Wednesday!

Upcoming Spirit Days: We have three Spirit Days planned for October. Help your child shop their closet and join in the fun!

Friday, October 18: Be the "I" in CommUNITY! Students are encouraged to wear orange to support a visible message of building commUNITY through kindness, acceptance, and inclusion to prevent bullying. This is the finale to Digital Citizenship Week and aligns with the National Bullying Prevention Center's Unity Day.
Thursday, October 31: Crazy Hat & Sock Spirit Day
Friday, November 1: Pajama Day (because we're just hazarding a guess that we may have some tired kiddos that day!)

Digital Citizenship Week: October 14-18 is Digital Citizenship Week. Our Instructional Technology Specialist, Cassandra O'Brien, has compiled a variety of important Family Resources on this topic. Additionally, on October 16th there is a free webinar hosted by Common Sense Media entitled "Online Safety: Parenting Tips for Kids and Teens". You can register using this link. In technology class with Mr. Saluti and throughout our classrooms, digital citizenship is an ongoing topic. Mrs. O'Brien has shared the following questions with teachers to encourage further discussion during the upcoming week. You're encouraged to continue the conversation at home as well!

What are some ways your family helps to balance digital media and device use at home? What are some rules your family has for device-free moments?
Why is it important to balance device use and time “online”
What are some solutions to large group text strings or chats within apps when someone isn’t being kind?
Why is it important to Pause & Think before sharing anything online? (commenting or photos, etc.)
There is a lot of information online; what are some ways we can make sure we are safe, and what we are seeing is “real” from a trusted source?

Safety Drills at Deer Hill: To ensure the preparedness and safety of our school community, Deer Hill conducts several safety drills. In conjunction with the Cohasset Fire Department we've already held 3 fire drills and will hold a 4th in the spring. Beginning next Friday, Officer Lowrance will be taking several classes at a time on a walk along the hasty evacuation route which passes behind the Osgood building and ends at the top of the path at Old Pasture Road. Later this fall, students will participate in a couple of different shelter in place drills. There will be further communication at that time. Please know that all drills are approached with sensitivity to the ages and developmental levels of our students.

Deer Hill Dismissal Process: Thank you to Deer Hill parent and School Committee member Tori Hanna for this very helpful graphic that illustrates our car dismissal process MUCH better than my wordy letters!

Deer Hill Happenings

Deer Teams: Deer Teams is a monthly opportunity for students to join a small Morning Meeting group made of students from all grade levels. The goal during these 30 minute meetings is to form new relationships with both staff and students while allowing opportunities for student voice on a variety of topics. We have 36 Deer Teams established with approximately 10 students per team. These teams are each led by faculty members -- classroom teachers, SPED teachers, specialists, adjustment counselors, our MECTO director, and me. Each meeting, the teams share a common experience such as a community circle, a read aloud, or an activity that builds a sense of community and inclusivity. We had our first Deer Teams on September 30. Now in our second year, 4th and 5th graders were excited to reconnect with their teammates from last year and welcome our new grade 3 members!

Student Advisory Council (SAC): The Deer Hill Student Advisory Council (SAC) meets throughout the year and addresses topics that benefit from student input in decision-making. We had our first meeting last Friday where we discussed playground expectations and rules for the Gaga Ball pit (a very hot topic!) In advance of each SAC meeting, the topic/guiding questions are shared with teachers to discuss in class. Based on that discussion, teachers select a representative from each class to join that SAC meeting which allows for wider participation throughout the year, a great way to increase student voice.