News From The Nest: Issue #14

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful extra long weekend. Our Eagles transitioned back from the extra time away and got right to work, getting ready to make the most of our three fast weeks before the Winter Break.

This week our Kindergarteners have been hard at work learning about story elements across different gingerbread stories and transforming hallway spaces into delicious looking wonderlands. In third grade classrooms students made elastic jumpers to support their learning about forces and motion. First grade students worked with Mrs. Farley, our Digital Learning Coach, on ways to be a good and safe digital citizen online. Our fourth grade students explored equivalent fractions while in second grade students were creating their own picture problems for friends to solve next week. And what a treat we had when Mr. Gough and some 5th graders from OPR came over to the Nest to teach our fifth graders how to play Gatorball!

In this edition of our weekly newsletter you will find information about:

• upcoming dates and celebrations for December
• December Counseling Newsletter
• Essentialist Newsletter: ART
• Cold Weather Gear Reminder
• Elm Street School Spirit Days
• Soaring Speakers Podcast: We Love Walpole
• December Coffee and Conversation Save the Date
• Elm Eagles Read!
• Elm Families First
• MCAS Dates
• Dedham Savings Bank Holiday Card Contest
• Student Support and Attendance Newsletter
• SEPAC Caregiver Connection Series

The snow on Thursday certainly brought a lot of excitement and anticipation for snow play here and also made for a messy drop off. A friendly reminder to leave yourself a little extra travel time if you are driving to school in the slippery weather and to take extra caution around our driveways.

Have a wonderful weekend and we will see everyone back at the Nest on Monday!

Jen

At the beginning of each month I will share a calendar of some upcoming Elm events as well as upcoming cultural celebrations and heritage months with hyperlinks to more information if you are interested in learning more. Below is information for the month of December.

If there are cultural celebrations that are important to you and your family that you would like to share with the adult Elm community, please email me so I can be sure to include them in upcoming newsletters. If you have any questions about anything you see on our calendar, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.

12/4 3:15p: Elm Street School Council Meeting

12/13: Early Release Day

12/16 - 24: Las Posadas

12/18 6:30 - 8:00p Elm Winter Maker's Market

12/21: Winter Solstice

12/23 - 1/1 Winter Break: School Closed (School Resumes on 1/2)

12/25: Christmas Day

12/25 -1/2: Hanukkah

12/26 - 1/1 Kwanzaa

As the weather finally makes a turn please help your children remember to bring cold weather gear to school. Boots, snow pants, a hat, and gloves/mittens are needed if children want to play in the snow. If they do not bring this gear they will be able to enjoy recess outdoors on the blacktop. Since we go out in the colder temperatures (unless the weather is extreme) it is important that all students have at least a warm coat, hat, and gloves/mittens.

Our Grade 5 Student Council has been hard at work planning and organizing special things to help continue to make our Nest a joyful place for all students including our Elm Street School Spirit Days. You can find our full spirit day schedule for the rest of the school year below:

• Every Wednesday- Walpole Wednesdays: we invite all students every Wednesday to show off their Walpole pride by wearing blue and orange, Walpole gear, Elm gear, Walpole sports jerseys, or other clothing that represents Walpole.
• Assembly Days- Theme Days: on Elm Street School student and staff assembly days (1x/month) we invite all students to take part in that month's theme day. (All dates are Fridays)
• January 31st: Favorite Sports and Hobbies Day
• February 28th: Color Competition Day
• March 21st: Decades Day
• April: No Assembly this month
• May 23rd: Mismatch Day
• June (exact date TBD): Teacher/Student Switch Day

More information about each spirit day and suggestions on what to wear to participate will be shared in upcoming Elm Street School family newsletters.

All Elm Street School Spirit Days are optional in terms of participation.

Did you know that Elm Street School hosts it's very own podcast that features student voices and experiences?

Our latest episode of Soaring Speakers features Kindergarten and Grade 3 learning buddies in a special collaboration sharing all about their love for their town in celebration of Walpole's 300th year! You can find the Soaring Speakers podcast on Spotify and by clicking this link.

Our next Coffee and Conversation will be on Friday, December 13th at 8:30a. Stop by starting at 8:15a for coffee, treats, and connections. We will get started with our program at 8:30a. The focus of our time together will be navigating social conflict with students, bullying, and discipline at Elm.

Starting with the upcoming Winter Break we are challenging all of our Elm Street School Eagles to "get caught reading" over the breaks. Whether your child is snuggled up on the couch at home, reading on the slopes, deep into a text on a car ride to visit friends and family, or poolside somewhere warmer than New England in winter, we want to see them reading!

You can snap a photo of your child being "caught reading" over the break and send it to Ms. Torigian (atorigian@walpole.k12.ma.us). We will post all of our Elm Eagles reading on the digital display in the main lobby.

DONATE A NEW UNWRAPPED TOY AND/OR A GIFT CARD TO

OUR “ELM FAMILIES FIRST” HOLIDAY GIVING DRIVE

November 12th – December 11th

This year we will be collecting toys and gift cards for families within our Elm community.

We will collect toys for kids from 0-13 years of age.

SUGGESTED ITEMS:

• TOYS TO LEARN AND GROW

• ARTS &CRAFTS

• BUILDING BLOCKS

• SPORTS EQUIPMENT

• BOOKS

• PUZZLES

• STEM TOYS

We will also collect gift cards to local or online stores.

SUGGESTED STORES:

• LOCAL CLOTHING AND FOOD STORES

• STOP AND SHOP

• BIG Y

• KOHL’S

• TARGET

• WALMART

• AMAZON

Donations will be given to Elm families first. Please drop donations off at the Main Office by December 11th.

Thank you in advance for your generosity during this holiday season!

Below are the dates for MCAS for grades 3-5. All elementary schools will be following this schedule.

Grade 3 English Language Arts

April 1 and April 2

Grade 3 Math

April 29 and 30

Grade 4 English Language Arts

April 3 and 4

Grade 4 Math

May 1 and 2

Grade 5 English Language Arts

April 8 and 9

Grade 5 Math

May 6 and 7

Grade 5 Science Technology and Engineering

May 14 and 15

For more than 25 years the Walpole Elementary Schools has partnered with Dedham Savings Bank and participated in their Holiday Card Contest. Cards can showcase any winter holiday that is celebrated around this time of year. If students would like to participate in the contest, we are asking that this take place at home.

Here are the details:

• All cards should be on 8.5 by 11 white paper

• On the back of the card, please put the student's name, school, and grade.

• The cards need to be returned to school by Friday, December 13th

Below are the generous prizes for each grade donated by the Dedham Savings Bank:

• 1st Prize $100

• 2nd Prize $50

• 3rd Prize $25

Tuesday December 10th 7:00 - 8:00p

Walpole Public Library- Pinnacle Room

Featuring Clinical Social Worker, Jessica McCaig, MSW, LICSW

The Caregiver Connection Series is a newly organized group created by SEPAC members, offering an informal space for parents to connect, build a sense of community, and support each other.

The Connection Series will focus on enhancing caregiver quality of life by addressing the unique challenges and stresses they face. Parents of children with special needs are encouraged to participate in an open discussion to share experiences, seek advice, and explore practical strategies for self-care.

For questions contact: sepacwalpole@gmail.com

Email: jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.walpole.k12.ma.us/o/ess
Location: 415 Elm Street, Walpole, MA, USA
Phone: 508.660.7374

Instagram: ElmStSchool