3/28 Staff Collaboration/Term 3 Grades Close: Half Day (12:00 Dismissal no PM PreK)

3/29 Good Friday: Schools Closed

4/5 Report Cards Sent Home

4/10 PTO Meeting 5:30pm at Woodland School

4/15 Patriot's Day Schools/Offices Closed

4/16-4/19 Spring Vacation

5/17 Spring Concert

6/5 Field Day (Rain Date 6/6)

6/14 Last Day of School (Half Day)

Dear Woodland Parents/Guardians,

I hope this message finds you well. I am following up after Woodland School recently concluded our Week of Kindness just prior to February vacation last month. This week served as a reminder of our ongoing commitment to fostering inclusivity, caring behavior, respect for all, kindness, and creating a positive learning community. As we reflect on the values that define Woodland School, it is important that we continue to support Woodland CARES.

Our students at Woodland School learn to Cooperate, Act Responsibly, Respect All, Exhibit Effort, and Show Self Control each and every day.

Your support as parents and community members is integral to creating a positive, safe and respectful learning environment for our children. We encourage open dialogue and welcome your input as we continue into the remaining months of this school year.

Thank you for your support and commitment to our students and the Woodland School community.

Respectfully,

Michael Pescitelli, Principal

During the month of April, preschoolers will begin a new unit, Our Community. They will learn about school workers and people in their neighborhood. The children will be introduced to the last two Lively Letters- c and e. Students will continue reviewing all the Lively Letters and their sounds. Preschoolers will continue to learn about Phonemic Awareness through our Heggerty Program. They will also continue to review shapes and numbers 1-10. All the students love choice time. This is the time when they are working on sharing and self-control. They have been demonstrating many acts of kindness. We are very proud of them!

ELA: Students will be "Zooming in" on Module 7 soon. As children read, view and interact with Module 7 texts and read alouds, they will build deep knowledge on what it means to look closely and observe the world around them. The Unit's essential question is, "What can I learn when I look closely?" The unit also provides opportunity for students to learn a bit about different genres of writing, such as creative writing and poetry. In Foundational Skills, students will be learning to blend, segment, read, and spell words with digraphs ch, ck, ng and wh.

Math: In this next unit, students explore solid shapes while reinforcing their knowledge of counting, number writing and comparison, and flat shapes. They compose figures with pattern blocks and continue to count up to 20 objects, write and compare numbers, and solve story problems. Students will distinguish between flat and solid shapes before focusing on solid shapes. They will consider the weight and capacity of solid objects and identify solid shapes around them. Geoblocks, connecting cubes, and everyday objects are used throughout the unit. Students will learn to use their own language to describe attributes of solid shapes as they identify, sort, compare, and build them, while also learning the names for cubes, cones, spheres, and cylinders. Watch this video to learn more about this unit: Unit 7 video Enter the Passcode: SF?8s@MV

Social Studies and Science: Our last Unit, "Our Earth" begins in April. Students will learn about plants, and how trees are important to our earth. They will study the importance of recycling and even get opportunities to repurpose recycled materials in Art Center. In Blocks center, students will make their own representations of trees, gardens, and plant life. In Discovery center, students will study seeds, plant a bean, and then study the bean's growth as it develops from seed to plant.

In first grade, students continue to grow as learners. Students are beginning new units in both reading and math. They will read many fairytales and fables while discussing what lessons we can learn from these different stories. In writing, students will continue writing personal narratives with a clear beginning, middle, and end to our stories. Students are also continuing to work on their long vowel sounds and have begun reading and blending words with vowel teams such as: ee, ea, ai, ay, oa, ow.

In math, students continue to grow their math minds and have stretched their math thinking as they worked hard on addition with two-digit numbers. Students continue to practice adding and subtracting by tens from any number. In the near future, students will be starting a unit on measurement. They will explore measuring and comparing lengths of different objects. Watch these videos to learn more about these units: Unit 5 video Enter the passcode: Wu#p!AR6

And moving into unit six: Unit 6 video Enter the passcode: Mf9w&nn*

In social studies, students are wrapping up their unit on maps. They have learned all about where they live, the continents, oceans and landforms. Students have explored different types of maps and can use the directional words north, south, east, and west to locate places on a map. Grade 1 students are excited to begin a new science unit about plants in the upcoming weeks.

Students are entering an exciting part of second grade! Not only is the final marking period right around the corner, they have some great interdisciplinary work to engage in during the next few weeks. The next module in ELA is called Home Sweet Habitat. Students will learn about different habitats and the animals that live there. They will also explore how habitats meet the needs of the animals that live there. In writing, students will research an animal and its relationships with other living things. They will use this research to write an informational text.

This ELA work ties directly into our current science unit. Students are continuing to learn about our ecosystem and biodiversity habitat. One of the most exciting lessons students complete during this unit is our log investigation! Watch this short video to learn more about this activity: Exploring Microhabitats: Life Under Logs . Grade 2 will also take a field trip at the beginning of April to the Hitchcock Center for the Environment! Please note that permission slips & payment ($15) for this field trip are due by March 29.

In math, students are working on Unit 7, Adding and Subtracting within 1,000. In this unit, students use place value understanding, the relationship between addition and subtraction, and properties of operations to add and subtract within 1,000. Watch this video to learn more about this unit: Unit 7 video Enter the Passcode: Gnw8dt!5

The students are having their own March Madness Tournament here at Woodland School! Ms. Stearns and Mrs. Stratton have put together a tournament of books to see who will be victorious. The students have had a chance to read the books in their classroom and cast votes for their favorites. The final two books were Rocket Learns to Read and The Cat in the Hat, and the winner of the tournament (by two votes!) was The Cat in the Hat!

Massachusetts DPH has updated its recommendations for the general public to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses, accessible here: Staying home to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses | Mass.gov

If your child experiences any illness and you have questions about sending your child to school please contact Nurse Deb Carellas.

Exciting news for our first and second graders! Mark your calendars for April 9th because the Southwick Fire Department is bringing their expertise to our school during Specials time. Get ready for a hands on session where our young learners will dive into the world of fire safety, guided by the brave firefighters from our community.

Over this past weekend we had artists from Imaginate Your Space come to Woodland School to do a make-over of our cafeteria space. Thank you Mr. Lillibridge, Food Nutrition Director and our custodial staff for their support during this school-wide project. As you will can see in the pictures below the space is absolutely beautiful.

A Totally Stellar Event is coming! On Monday, April 8th Western Mass will experience 95% of a Total Solar Eclipse between 2:13-4:37 with the maximum sun coverage occurring at 3:27. Woodland students will be given solar eclipse glasses on April 8th so that they can view this event with their families. Please find the attached documents as resources.

Coming home to you soon is your child's custom catalog for the Square 1 Art fundraiser catalog - featuring their own name and art on the cover, WITH FREE STICKERS OF THEIR ART!

Get a head start, and start ordering keepsakes and gifts featuring your child's art online NOW, if you like! Simply search for your child's art using Art Search, and enter state, school name, and your student's name. Your student's art and code will appear, and you may order! NEW - *Ship to Home FREE. (*Customer pays a small $1.99 processing fee at checkout and order ships to home.)

Order by: 4/5/2024

Upload additional art if you like, using Art Upload!

If you have questions, or need anything at all, contact customer care online .

Thank you for supporting our school!

Tiffany Jacquier

Square 1 Art fundraiser coordinator

Woodland Elementary School

square1art.com/shop

Students and families in grades PK-6 are invited to join us Thursday, April 11th in the Woodland Cafeteria for an exciting family night playing Bingo for Books. Please use the link below or scan the QR code to register. Looking forward to seeing everyone there! https://forms.office.com/r/Gmv6a0SWZ0

We are currently accepting registrations for the 2024-2025 school year! If you or someone you know has a child that will be turning 5 on or before September 1st have them reach out to the main office and they can help assist them with the enrollment/screening process. You can find our enrollment packet by clicking on the picture below!

Do you have pictures that you would like to submit for this year's yearbook? You can submit pictures to images.jostens.com . Use Login ID: 0QldEH0qAIiQWKhA61nBHfw

Photo submissions are due April 1, 2024