CH School News & More - 10.8.24

Hello Claypit Hill Caregivers,

Thank you so much to the many families who supported Claypit Hill’s Harvest Feast and Eliza's Celebrate with Heart Community Festival. Both events were well attended by members of our community who enjoyed the beautiful weather, supported our school, our community and remembered a beautiful life lived so fully that she inspires us to play hard and live big each day. Thank you to our PTO and the Eliza J. Norton Foundation organizers for helping to create very special memories for our community.

Our school community joins the Hispanic/Latinx community in celebrating Hispanic Heritage month which began on September 15th and culminates on October 15th. Our Claypit community is enriched by many Hispanic families as is our global community. Do you want to learn more about the origins of Hispanic Heritage month? This Smithsonian website is a great place to begin. Do you want to continue the work we started with your student(s) at our October All School Meeting? This is a great little video from PBS that will help you to continue the celebration in your home.

Yesterday students were greeted by Archie. Archie is School Resource Officer Shane Bowles’ therapy dog in training. He is a handsome black lab. A couple of caregivers asked why we had a police presence at school. We often partner with the Wayland Police Department. They help us to keep our building safe and they work to build positive relationships with our students. They are truly positive partners if educating our kiddos. Please know that we will be 100% transparent in our communication if ever there is cause to worry. Yesterday was a good day! We all began our day with Archie!

As you know, our school will be working hard to inspire great attendance for our students as outlined in our School Improvement Plan. This week, letters were sent to the families of students who have been absent more than five times this school year. If this trend continues for these students, chronic absenteeism will be inevitable. For some who received the letter, absences were unavoidable due to serious illness. Please ensure that your child attends school when healthy. Please take excellent care of your students at home when they are not and hurry them back to us as soon as they are well. We promise to do our part to provide an excellent educational experience. We can do this best when our students are attending school.

As a reminder, TOMORROW is a SUPER WEDNESDAY. We begin dismissing students at 11:15. We acknowledge that these days are inconvenient, at best, for families. Thank you for your flexibility and support. Tomorrow, our professional development will focus on Multi Tiered Systems of Support. We’ll hear from expert Katie Novak. Our School Improvement Plan sets the following goal: Claypit Hill will focus on strengthening instructional systems, practices, and curriculum as we innovate to meet the diverse needs of all learners by providing a comprehensive range of challenges and supports. I am confident that tomorrow’s professional development will accelerate our progress toward meeting this important goal.

The forecast for the weekend looks beautiful. We hope you all enjoy the long weekend and your observance of Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday!

Sincerely,

Marie, Kate and Naomi

Please join us for the first PTO meeting of the year at 7pm on Thursday 10/10. This is a great opportunity to learn about fall school events/initiatives, share new ideas, meet other parents and get involved!

Did you enjoy the Claypit Hill Harvest Festival this weekend? Harvest Festival is just one of the many community-building events brought to you by the PTO!

Part of the mission of the PTO is to help build community at our school by hosting events such as the Back-to-School Bash, Harvest Festival, Science Fair, and Ice Cream Social, as well as parent socials and grade-based meetups throughout the year.

We would not be able to do this without your generous support.

Thank you for your support of the PTO! Donate here:

https://waylandpto.org/gift-your-child/

Thank you to all the PTO volunteers who hosted a delightful Harvest Festival this past Sunday! Special thanks to our planning committee: Amanda Harpole, Avi Dagan-Noble, Cathy Gustus, Asma Khan and Andrea Toochin! Also thank you to our book fair and harvest festival volunteers (Elizabeth Wuerz, Larina Mehta, Jee Eun Song, Kristin Simas, Erin Harleman, Lenna Boatwright, Kiera Liu, Amanda Gale and Patrick Flynn) and our brave volunteers who helped at the water bucket game (Ms. Brigham, Ms. Narita, Ms. LeBaron and several good spirited parents!)