Use sidewalk chalk to write your words outside.

Read a story at home and act out the different parts of the story together!

Play a dice game. Roll two dive and add them together. Try to keep score to see who can get to 100 first.

You may have heard your child come home before April break talking about our school assembly for the Masked Reader. During the Month of March, and the beginning of April, we read various fiction books with animals as the main characters in our March Madness Tournament of Books.

Our first week starred the Panda, our second week starred the Duck, our third week starred the Unicorn, and our fourth week starred the Chicken. Each animal was actually a staff member wearing a mask, showing our students the two books that were facing off each week:

During our Panda week, the winning book was “We Love You Mr. Panda” by Steve Antony. During our Duck week, the winning book was “Truck Full of Ducks” by Ross Burach. During our Unicorn week, the winning book was “Unicorn Thinks He’s Pretty Great” by Bob Shea. Then finally, during our Chicken week, the winning book was “Interrupting Chicken Cookies for Breakfast” by David Ezra Stein.

We held a school wide wrap up assembly Friday before April break and revealed the overall winning book and the masked animals revealed their true identities. The winning book for the school was “Interrupting Chicken Cookies for Breakfast.” Special thanks to Mrs. Connelly for volunteering to be the Panda, Ms. Williams for volunteering to be the Duck, Mrs. Dehal for volunteering to be the Unicorn, and Mrs. Campbell for volunteering to be the Chicken.

Make sure to ask your child about this if they haven’t already told you about it, we had a lot of fun!

In our SEL lessons, we are moving into the fourth and final unit of our Second Step program that focuses on problem solving. All students are learning about the four steps to solving a problem through visuals and songs (K & 1 Problem-solving song, Gr. 2 - Step up song)

Students who are more skilled problem solvers get along better with peers and have fewer conflicts and problems with aggression. We are learning that before you can solve a problem, you need to ensure that your body and brain feel calm. We have learned and continue to practice six coping skills that can be accessed here:

Wheel of coping skills

Kindergarten students are focusing on the first two steps of the problem-solving process - Saying the problem and thinking of solutions to the problem.

First grade students are also learning to E: Explore consequences which allows them to think through the effects of their choices, thus increasing their ability to pick solutions that will solve the problem while taking people’s feelings into account. We are learning that not all consequences are negative; they can also be positive or neutral too.

In second grade students are expanding on the problem-solving steps by putting perspective-taking into account. Students can escalate conflicts by failing to consider the situation from the other person’s perspective. The perspective-taking skills learned earlier are an important part of the first of the Problem-Solving Steps, S: Say the problem. It is important for students to see a problem in a neutral way that does not blame the other person.

Thank you for supporting your child’s social and emotional development!

Kristie Deyoe

School Counselor

kdeyoe@auburn.k12.ma.us

Can you believe it is almost May? This year is flying by! After a tough cold and flu season, I am so happy to see some warm weather on the horizon. Unfortunately, with the spring blooms comes allergy season. Here are some helpful tips for managing hay fever:

• Have your child bathe at night to remove any allergens on the skin or hair before bed

• Sleep in a room with an air purifier and/or a humidifier if your house is dry

• Refrain from drying clothes outside

• Change your sheets and pillow cases regularly

• Stay inside on days with high pollen counts

• Keep your windows closed

• Wash hands and change clothing after playing outside

As a reminder, sunscreen should be applied to your child before school. For school purposes, sunscreen is considered a medication and we would need a doctor’s order in place to be able to apply it here.

Always feel free to reach out to me if you have any updates, questions, or concerns about your child’s health at school.

Have a wonderful spring season,

Kerri Gustafson, BSN, RN, NCSN

Pakachoag School Nurse

kgustafson@auburn.k12.ma.us

Gracie, Holy Cross's Therapy Dog, visits PAK throughout the school year with her handler, Officer Salerno. Our students enjoy reading and visiting with her.

Auburn Youth and Family Services Inc. offers a food pantry for Auburn residents. Auburn Youth and Family Services does not require proof of income, they are here to support and help those in our community. The food pantry is Monday through Thursday, currently only operating at curbside pickup or delivery. If you are interested, please call (508)832-5707 ext. 102, Lisa or Sally will give you a call back to give you a list of food items you can pick from. Auburn Youth and Family Services Inc. also has baby items (diapers and food items), when calling to place your order please ask to add these items on.

Find Food - Worcester County Food Bank

If you are in need of any housing assistance here is the direct link for RCAP in Worcester ~ Community Resources | RCAP Solutions

Please also know that you can confidentially reach out to either Kristie Deyoe, School Counselor, or Ariella Emmanuel, School Social Worker, at any time if you have social/emotional concerns about your child or need support in accessing community resources. Supporting the social/emotional needs of students and families is an integral part of our jobs.

6/5/24: Spree Day (Rain Date 6/11/24)

6/7/24: Unified School Day Games (Rain Date 6/10/24)

6/14/24: Flag Day

6/18/24: Last Day of School: 1/2 Day for Students

Co-Chairs:

Jess Spring & Julie Creedon-Linton

Treasurer:

Amy Feen

Secretary:

Jenna Mahoney

Event Coordinator:

Jen Osborn

Social Media Coordinator:

Sherri Gentile

Pakachoag Representative:

Katelyn Lynch