Kittredge Connection
Week of May 13, 2024
Safe • Understanding • Perseverant • Engaged • Respectful
MCAS This Week
We continue with Math MCAS this week for grades 3 and 4. Grade 4 will test on Monday and Tuesday, grade 3 on Wednesday and Thursday.
Students who are absent will be required to participate in a makeup session as soon as possible and before the MCAS window closes. We also know that students who regularly attend school and miss fewer than 10 days per year are at lower risk of falling behind academically.
End of Year Concert on Friday May 24th at 1:30PM
See this invitation from Ms. Bruno for the end-of-year concert coming up on Friday, May 24.
Concert Invitation and Letter (Google Link) a PF version is attached below.
The Importance of Town Meeting
Spring means town meetings in most Berkshire communities. Town meetings are a long tradition in Massachusetts (they began more than 100 years before the American Revolution) and are the primary form of government for all of the towns included in the CBRSD.
The Hinsdale Town Meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15 right here at Kittredge Elementary School. You can find detailed information about the topics to be discussed and voted on at this year's meeting on the Hinsdale website.
Please note that the town Select Board and Finance Committee have both recommended voting NO on the school budget and the revised regional agreement. Town Meeting is your opportunity to speak to your neighbors about the incredible work we do here everyday for the children of Hinsdale, Peru, and many other surrounding town.
Why is town meeting important? At this annual meeting, the town will vote on its funding for the upcoming year along with many other agenda items. Your presence at town meeting can serve as a voice for the importance and value of schools in Central Berkshire. By attending and speaking in favor of the school budget, you're saying that you support the strong schools where your children learn and grow every day.
Wait, I thought CBRSD had a separate school committee? Yes, CBRSD is a regional school district, which means that it is governed by a separate body elected solely for that purpose with representatives from each town. School committees work to balance district needs with the reality of what towns can be responsibly asked to contribute. Once the school committee approves their finalized budget, each town in the district is required to vote on the school budget as part of their overall town budget. In CBRSD, 5 of the 7 member towns must vote to accept the budget in order for it to be approved. Showing your fellow residents that strong schools are important to you and the health of the community ensures that schools have adequate resources to meet the needs of all students.
But town meetings are so boring! That’s true, town meetings can be boring or go late into the evening. However, it’s a one-night commitment to demonstrate strong support for local schools.
More information: https://www.hinsdalemass.com/home/news/annual-town-meeting-3
Field Day Volunteers
We are looking for adult volunteers to help with our Field Day on Tuesday, June 11th. Volunteers are needed from 8:45-11:30am. If you are interested, please email Jenn Brandi at jbrandi@cbrsd.org. Once we have a list of activities, Ms. Brandi will contact volunteers to confirm that their help is needed!
Please note that in order to volunteer you will need to complete a CORI/SORI background check in advance. Anyone can request a check that will allow them to support this or future volunteer opportunities with CBRSD. To get started on that process, you can stop in in-person to see Mrs. Jenkins in the main office. You will also need a government-issued photo ID.
Notes from the Nurse's Office
Ticks and Sunscreen
We are now in the month of May and Spring is here, and so are the Ticks and Sunburns!
Also attached is another article from KidsHealth, “Tick Removal: A Step-by-Step Guide, that gives a very quick and easy review of how to remove a tick safely and what to do after removal, as well as what to watch out for.
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/tick-bites-sheet.html
Remember to heck your students for ticks regularly. You may also want to consider applying insect spray before school.
Please take a look at “How to Choose & Use Sunscreen; and if possible please apply sunscreen to your child before coming into school. Every little bit helps!
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/sunscreen.html
I hope these articles are of interest to you all, and again take a look at this website and use it for further information that you may have or your child has.
First Grade Screenings
Hello to First Grade Parents and Guardians!
As the nurse here at Kittredge, I am responsible for completing a group of health screenings each year; i.e. Vision, Hearing, Heights & Weights, and Postural/Scoliosis; and the First Grade has not had their Height & Weights Screening completed.
To do this I bring one student at a time in the nurse’s office, measure their height and then measure their weight. It is a quick and easy process.
If you do not want your child screened for their Height & Weight; please do the following:
Send me a message that states that you do not want your child to participate in the Height & Weights Screening performed here in the nurse’s office.
Or, if you are able to send in a copy of a current physical that shows the physician your child sees has measured them and has this information on their physical, and I will not need to screen your child here at Kittredge.
I hope to complete the Height & Weight Screening the week of May 20th.
Spirit Day - Friday, May 31
May 31st will be crazy hair/hat day at Kittredge.
Becket Atheneum May Calendar
See the calendar of upcoming events in May at the Becket Atheneum!
Links and Resources
Arrival and Dismissal Routines
Family Newsletter Archive (Google Versions)
Family Newsletter Archive (on Smore, beginning 11/20/23)
Kittredge Elementary School
Email: hmarshall@cbrsd.org
Website: kittredge.cbrsd.org
Location: 80 Maple Street, Hinsdale, MA, USA
Phone: (413) 655-2525
Facebook: https://facebook.com/groups/355140157966942/