Wentworth Family News
Week of January 15 - January 19, 2024
Wentworth Family News
January 18, 2024
Upcoming Dates
- Friday, January 26 ~Spirit Day: Pajama Day
- Monday, January 29 ~ Grade 5 Puberty Education lessons begin; parent information included below
- Wednesday, February 7 ~ PTA Zoom Meeting at 6:30 PM
- Wednesday, February 14 ~ Early Release at 1:45 PM
- February 19 - February 23 ~ No School for Winter Break
Third and Fourth Grade Music Concerts, 6 PM in the Wentworth cafe:
- Green LC - March 4
- Purple LC - March 5
- Red LC - March 7
- Blue LC - March 13
More information to come, mark your calendars now for a lovely evening of music!
Important Information Regarding Remote Learning on Snow Days
Dear Wentworth School Families,
I hope this message finds you and your families well. The winter season is upon us, and I want to inform you about our plans for remote learning resulting from inclement weather cancellations - usually in Maine we call that a Snow Day!
The Board of Education approved a plan wherein the first three Snow Days are traditional snow days: drink some cocoa and build a snowman, watch a movie and stay cozy! For the record, we have already had ONE school cancellation due to weather this year. For any day school is canceled after the third traditional Snow Day, all students in Scarborough Public Schools will have a remote learning day. This is like a “work from home” day, and looks different at each phase level based on the developmental needs of the learners. We are committed to ensuring that your child's education continues on remote learning days, and our dedicated teachers have prepared engaging and meaningful assignments for such occasions.
Here's what you can expect:
Communication: School closure information will be communicated through our regular channels, including the school website, email, and automated phone calls. Please ensure your PowerSchool parent portal is updated with all of your contact information. This will ensure you receive all of the communications from the district. https://scarborough.powerschool.com/public
Lessons and Assignments: Teachers have collaborated to create accessible, low-tech Snow Day packs for our third, fourth and fifth graders. These envelopes will be sent home on Monday, January 22. Please tuck them away in a safe spot until they are needed. The work has been carefully selected to include detailed instructions and assignments that your child can complete from the safety and comfort of home. We have linked a digital version of the work on our website, as a backup for families. Again, please wait for communication from school about when to work on these assignments.
Access to Resources: The Snow Day pack will be nearly all that your child will need available to students to support their independent learning. The only other materials are basic supplies, like pencils, pens, etc that most households have access to and/or your child has in their backpack from school. If you need any assistance in requiring home office supplies, please reach out to your child’s teacher. Teachers may choose to substitute the materials from the Remote Learning Snow Day pack with something more relevant to what they are currently working on if the storm day is a “predictable one” and the lessons are easily transferable to home. Teachers may provide more information about this as applicable. We are not basing our Snow Day Packs on technology use for the following reasons:
Wentworth students do not bring their chromebooks home daily, and therefore not all students would have access to a computer
During inclement weather, internet is not always reliable
Our students still require varying degrees of adult support to use the computer and internet safely and effectively, and therefore would not be able to be as independent with their school work
Wentworth aged students will be in varying child care situations on Snow Days, and the paper packets are portable and can be completed anywhere
Flexibility: Recognizing the unique circumstances of a snow day, we understand that families may have different schedules. Snow Day packs provide flexibility in completing assignments over the course of the day using a timeframe that works for your family. The menu also provides options for your child regarding which assignments are selected.
Teacher Availability: Teachers will be available to answer any questions or provide additional support to students (provided we do not have widespread power/internet outages). If there is a question or need for additional support, email your child’s teacher and they will be back in touch. Contact details will be included in the communication from your child's teacher.
Attendance: Will be completed via a Google Form that we will provide for families. Please complete it by 10:30 AM indicating that your child is “present” and will participate in the remote learning day via the Snow Day pack assignments.
We appreciate your support and anticipate that this balance of traditional Snow Days and remote learning days will be a successful plan for SPS. Thank you for your ongoing partnership in your child's education.
Stay warm and safe!
Sincerely,
Kelli Crosby
Principal
Lockdown Practice Today
Today we practiced a safety drill at school called a Lockdown drill. Students and staff did an outstanding job with this! Here is a link to a previous communication that describes the common types of safety practices, and sample language that we use at school when we practice safety drills.
**Attention Fifth Grade Families**
Winter 2024
Dear Families of Students in Fifth Grade:
The purpose of this letter is to inform you about upcoming health topics in fifth grade puberty education for your child. Our Puberty Education Instructors are one of our school nurses, Anne Ornstein, and one of our health and physical education teachers, Keith Kitchin. This letter will provide an overview of the schedule, curriculum, and plans for Puberty Classes this year.
Puberty Education takes place as part of the grade 5 PE/Health curriculum. Classes will begin January 29 and continue through February 16, 2024, students watch the video Always Changing and Growing Up | Co-Ed Puberty Education Video. We have linked it in this letter so you know exactly what your child will see and discuss. If you choose to begin the conversation at home, here are some additional resources you may find helpful.
In the second class, which will take place the week of February 5, Mrs. Ornstein and Mr. Kitchin will play a fun “Truth or Myth” game with the students, reviewing the important points from the video. Students will also have a lesson from the Safer, Smarter Kids curriculum titled Body Boundaries. We previously held an Information Night about this new curriculum, and you can access the presentation slides and a video from SARSSM here. You will also receive a Home-School connection letter, summarizing the lesson during the second week of Puberty Class.
Finally, in week three, the students split up into two groups based on sex assigned at birth. The female students work with Mrs. Ornstein and the male students work with Mr. Kitchin to discuss topics specific to their anatomy. Mrs. Ornstein introduces (or reviews) feminine hygiene products and Mr. Kitchin reviews key points of the male anatomy and body changes, answers questions and plays a Kahoot game with the males. If your child identifies differently on the gender spectrum, we can create a customized plan - please reach out to us to talk through what will work best for your child.
Thank you for your support as we move into the Puberty Education Unit for our fifth graders. Should you elect to have your child excluded from this three-week program, please notify the Health Office at aornstein@scarboroughschools.org in advance so alternative arrangements can be made for your child. Likewise, if you have any questions please reach out to us. We appreciate your partnership in this important work.
Respectfully,
Kelli Crosby
Principal
Thank you for your Donations!
We extend our gratitude to the following families and local businesses who have donated to "Stock the Staff Rooms" with snacks and drinks during the late fall and early winter. Our hardworking teachers love being able to grab a selter water or bag of chips, or make a quick cup of coffee to fuel up and bring their best for our kids each day. Thank you to:
Greene Family
Phelan Family
College Solutions
Bencosme Family
Hladik Family
Atragata Family
Bozsik Family
Perrigo Family
Gurley Antiques Gallery
Hanaford Family
Morin - Tabuchi Family
Bailey Family
Moudachirou Family
Hemingway Family
Green Family
Chiarello Family
Giant thanks to the anonymous donors as well, and anyone who dropped off treats without leaving their name. Your thoughtful gesture means so much to us! If your family would like to donate, we are looking to continue stocking the staff rooms each month throughout the year. Chips, popcorn and crackers, flavored seltzer water, K-cups, and granola bars have been a hit!
Panorama SEL Surveys to Gather Students' Perceptions of Their SEL Skills
Dear Wentworth Families,
Students are important partners as we work to improve our schools. Our focus on supporting our students with the lifelong skills necessary for success within and beyond our schools is referred to as social, emotional learning or SEL for short. We have used Panorama Survey tools to gather feedback over the past few years and make changes for our students in grades 3-12. This winter we plan to survey students on their perceptions of their skills and competencies. This short online survey will take less than 30 minutes to complete. It will be scheduled to be completed during the school day. The survey will take place between January 29 and February 9.
We are asking that all of our students participate in the survey, as their feedback provides invaluable insights into their experiences and how we can improve and adapt our district to their needs. If a student doesn’t feel like they have enough information to answer a question, they will be able to skip the item altogether. If a student is uncomfortable taking the survey, they do not need to take it. Only the staff on your child’s educational team, which may include their classroom teacher, principal, guidance counselor, social worker, or district leadership, may have access to individual student responses.
We are partnering with a third-party vendor to support us in administering these surveys. To learn more go to Panorama Education. The survey content will ask students to self-reflect on their perceptions of their experiences at school. The survey topics include:
Self-Management: How well students manage their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in different situations.
Social Awareness: How well students consider the perspectives of others and empathize with them.
Self-Efficacy: How much students believe they can succeed in achieving academic outcomes.
Emotion Regulation: How well students regulate their emotions
Growth Mindset: Student perceptions of whether they have the potential to change those factors that are central to their performance in school.
Supportive Relationships: How supported students feel through their relationships with friends, family, and adults at school.
These surveys are optional. If you do not wish your child to take part in the survey, please let your child's teacher and principal know by January 26, 2024.
Scarborough Public Schools values our partnership with you as we work together to prepare our students for success beyond Scarborough Public Schools. We value input from our students – and we want to hear from your child or children! If you have any questions about the survey, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
23-24 Wentworth School Yearbook Orders
SCHOOL ORDER DEADLINE APRIL 11, 2024
ONLINE DEADLINE APRIL 22, 2024
Wentworth Yearbooks are on sale now. Order forms are available in the main office. You can complete the order form with payment and return to your student’s homeroom teacher or you can order online at ybpay.com and enter the Yearbook ID Code: 11561924. Yearbooks are $16.00 and checks are made payable to Wentworth School.
Bus Driver Appreciation
The PTA is looking for gift card donations or monetary donations in order to give our bus drivers an amazing Bus Driver Appreciation event! On Tuesday, February 13th, we will be showing our love and support of the incredible bus drivers we have in our school community. In collaboration with the primary PTA, we are asking for donations in order to give each driver a special treat. $5 gift cards, cash or check made out to Wentworth PTA can be sent to school or Venmo us @Wentworth-PTA
Contact Us
*please update dismissal plans before 1:30 PM*
Email: kcrosby@scarboroughschools.org
Website: https://sites.google.com/a/scarboroughschools.org/wentworth/
Location: 20 Quentin Drive, Scarborough, ME, USA
Phone: (207)730-4600