News From The Nest: Issue #9

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends!

Despite the drippy dreary start to the week, the Nest was full of sunshine and smiles finishing the week off strong with our launch of The Glow Run. Jazz Berry Jam and Bumblebee Bethany were here helping usher in Friday and the weekend with upbeat tunes and cheerful greetings at arrival and dismissal. They also visited all the grade level lunches to introduce Star Quest 5 and the day's theme of CURIOSITY as well as our weekend fundraising challenge where the class with the most Student Star Videos will earn Galactic Game Time with the Booster Team!

Also this week, second graders had a visit from the Discovery Museum on Thursday to enrich their science unit on states of matter thanks to the support of the Cultural Arts and Enrichment Team of our PAC. The funds raised through our Glow Run directly support these enriching activities that bring learning to life and allow all our students opportunities to extend lessons beyond the four walls of their classrooms. We are so grateful to our PAC and all of you for committing to the Glow Run to raise funds that support these special activities and experiences for our students.

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

• upcoming dates and celebrations for October
• Elm Street School Counselor September/October Newsletter- Topics include: navigating separation anxiety and upcoming themes for SEL classroom lessons
• Essentialist Newsletter: STEM (including Battle of the Books update)
• Fall Family Educator Conferences
• Halloween Parade
• Assistance for Elm Families
• AI Steering Team
• Upcoming Elm School Council Meeting
• Multicultural Potluck (November 19th)
• Walpole Wednesdays
• Walpole SEPAC Upcoming Meetings
• Backpack Awareness Day (10/27)
• Reminders from previous newsletters: NEW Principal's Office Podcast, Math Corner for October, MCAS 2026 Dates, Attendance Information, front office reminders
• Lunch Menus
• Walpole Virtual Backpack (community notices)

Have a fantastic weekend and we will see all of our Eagles back at the Nest on Monday ready for the last week of October!

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 October.

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.

October

• Disabilities Awareness Month

• 10/1-2 Yom Kippur

• 10/2 National Custodian Day

• 10/6 World Cerebral Palsy Day

• 10/6-13 Sukkot

• 10/9 6:45p School Committee Meeting

• 10/10 Early Release Day

• 10/11 National Coming Out Day

Twice a year we offer blocks of time for Family Educator conferences, one set of days in November and another set in March. These conferences are a great time to connect with your child(ren)'s teacher(s) and discuss academic and social emotional goals and progress as well as learn more about how your child(ren) is(are) connecting with the grade level curriculum.

This Fall our conference schedule is:

Thursday November 13th from 5:00 - 7:00p

Friday November 14th from 1:00 - 3:30p

Tuesday November 18th from 5:00 -7:00p

We utilize Google Appointments to schedule these conference and encourage all families to schedule time with all of the educators who work with and support your child(ren). You can access the links to each educator's appointment schedules here. If you are having trouble with the link or finding an appointment time, please reach out to that educator directly.

This year the Halloween parade will take place on Friday 10/31 right after arrival. Students who do not celebrate Halloween or who may not want to participate will have a different activity offered. This event is for students and staff only.

Please read the following expectations:

• Our parade will take place at the start of the day.

• Students can wear costumes to school. They will not be allowed to call home if anything is missing.

• Students may wear black and orange and participate in the parade if they do not want to wear a costume.

• Masks and any type of inflatable costume are not allowed, given safety concerns.

• We ask that you refrain from applying makeup and face paint as it can not be removed when it is time for costumes to be removed.

• No weapons (real or toy) are ever allowed in school. This includes “parts of costumes” such as a fire fighter’s axe, a cowboy’s guns, Robin Hood’s bow & arrow, etc. If you have a question about it, it's best to leave the item at home. Any items that violate this guideline will be stored in the main office and an adult caregiver will need to pick it up at the end of the school day.

• Students will change out of their costumes after the parade and should bring in a bag for their costume- please label with your child’s name to minimize mix-ups.

• School staff are not responsible to monitor that all costume pieces are returned home that day or for the condition they are returned in. (i.e. spills, rips, etc.)

Please note: to minimize disruptions, and for safety concerns, no visitors or volunteers will be allowed in the building until all students are back in their classrooms.

Each year we reach out to all of our Elm families to offer assistance with winter gear (coats, hats, mittens, gloves, boots, snow pants) and holiday meals and gifts. If your family is in need of assistance this year because of financial hardship please reach out to myself (jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us) or a member of our Guidance Team (Shannon Songin- ssongin@walpole.k12.ma.us Tori Dore- vwintersdore@walpole.k12.ma.us). Because of the generosity of our community here in Walpole we are able to support all families with need. When contacting us please share the ages and gender identity/expression of anyone living in the home under the age of 18, coat sizes, and the total number of people living in the home. Please know that all information will be kept confidential amongst myself, Ms. Songin, and Mrs. Dore.

Over the past few years, there has been a surge in national conversation about new AI technologies in our society. Like many new tech tools, AI has the potential to dramatically change how we work, learn, and play. This year, WPS is beginning a process of intentional, thoughtful study of AI’s opportunities and challenges, with an eye toward adopting the most beneficial AI practices while avoiding pitfalls.

We are seeking interested parents/guardians to join our new WPS AI Steering Team. The AI Steering Team will be made up of a representative sampling of teachers, administrators, parents, students, office staff, and other stakeholders. Members of the team need not be “AI experts” and may be anywhere on the spectrum between “excited” and “skeptical,” as long as they can approach the work with an open mind. This team will meet approximately once a month after school via Google Meet.

Parents/guardians who are interested in joining the WPS AI Steering Team can fill out this form to apply. Please note that there are a limited number of seats available on this team and selections will be made to ensure a wide range of perspectives. Questions can be directed to Tom Reeve at TReeve@walpole.k12.ma.us.

Apply to join the WPS AI Steering Team!

The Elm School Council will be meeting this upcoming Tuesday (10/28) afternoon at 3:45p in the Media Center. All School Council meetings are open to the public and we encourage our families to attend.

Our agenda is linked here and includes:

• Introductions and Welcome to New Members
• School Council overview and responsibilities
• School Improvement Plan Update
• Community Concerns
• Action Steps

You can find our full School Improvement Plan online on our School Council webpage.

For those of you unable to join in person you can join via this link: meet.google.com/yjd-nwzr-rrs

Bring your questions about, IEP’s, Walpole’s special education program, or any general topics. For specific questions or concerns, please contact your child’s team directly.

Wednesday, November 5, 2025

7:00 PM

Walpole Library Stone Room

Functional Behavioral Assessments

Emily Luth, BCBA

Emily is a former Walpole School BCBA and now an educational consultant who helps families navigate special education services and supports.

Want to connect with other parents? Join the SEPAC committee for an informal chat at Tessie’s after the meeting.

My name is Kayla Jackson, and I am currently a senior at Walpole High School. As some of you may already know, I started an initiative called Backpack Awareness at the end of last year. The Backpack Awareness Initiative aims to educate students on how to properly pack and wear their backpacks to prevent the development of back, neck, or shoulder pain. Current studies show that the improper use of backpacks is directly linked to spinal developmental issues, breathing issues, and general back pain in some cases.

Happy International School Backpack Awareness Day! Today we would like to remind all students and staff about the importance of wearing your backpack properly. Proper backpack usage is the best way to prevent the development of back, neck or shoulder pain. Remember, pack it light and wear it right!

This year we are excited to launch a podcast for our Elm Street School families that will connect the community to curriculum and content information as well as address questions about various topics related to student learning, engagement, growth, and achievement at Elm. Each episode will feature a special guest who works directly with the Elm community and is connected to the focus topic as well as student interviews about how they interact with the topic. Ahead of each episode I will share a quick survey (embedded in News From the Nest) with families about the upcoming focus topic to gather questions to be addressed and answered in the episode. Below is the schedule for the podcasts this year:

November: Literacy Learning with Shannon Findley (K-5 ELA Curriculum Coordinator for WPS)

December: Health and Wellness with Tina DiCicco (Elm Nurse)

January: Engaging with Math with Jen Torigian (Elm Math Coach)

February: Digital Citizenship with Kim Farley (Elm Digital Learning Coach)

March: Social Emotional Learning with Shannon Songin and Tori Dore (Elm Counselors)

April: Student Support with Danielle Nalbach (Elm Team Chair)

May: Grade Level Transitions with Jen Buller, Grade Level Teachers, and Student Council Leaders

Our hope is that this podcast will help families connect more to all of the rich and engaging learning opportunities here at Elm and also be able to hear directly from our students on how they are experiencing the curriculum and activities that make Elm such as special place!

In our fast-paced world filled with standards and expectations, goals and grades, one essential part of learning, no matter what subject or age of student, often gets overlooked-the power of play. Brandon Smith, the head mathematician for Mind Education and ST Math puts it best , “None of this is wasted time. It’s the brain at work, wiring itself for problem-solving, social understanding, and persistence. Play is the most natural laboratory the brain has. It sparks curiosity, lowers fear, and keeps learners engaged long enough to wrestle with big ideas.” (Read the full article, “When Math Begins with Play, Everything Changes”)

Fortunately, play is embedded in our math curriculum in Walpole. Through ST Math, Work Places in Bridges, Number Corner activities and the wide variety of math games our teachers use, students are actively learning math while having fun.

Families often ask educators what they can do to support their child’s learning at home. After a long day of school, some homework and probably an activity or sport one of the best things you can encourage after school is simple: play! Board games, card games, and even some computer games (though we do encourage more socially interactive games) will have your child engaging in a fun activity while boosting their pathways for flexible thinking, problem solving and number sense! Our Family Math site includes a whole section on games that can support your child’s growth as a mathematician. The next time you are wondering what might help your child the most, remember the wise words of Mr. Rogers…

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning.

But for children, play is serious learning.

Play is really the work of childhood.” - Mr. Rogers

Below is the schedule for MCAS that will take place in the Spring of this school year. We will share more information about MCAS and testing dates as we get closer. For now, please mark these dates in your calendar and help ensure that your child(ren) are present for each testing session for their grade level.

Grade 3

ELA Session 1: Tuesday March 31

ELA Session 2: Wednesday April 1

Math Session 1: Tuesday April 28

Math Session 2: Wednesday April 29

Grade 4

ELA Session 1: Thursday April 2

ELA Session 2: Tuesday April 7

Math Session 1: Thursday April 30

Math Session 2: Friday May 1

Grade 5

ELA Session 1: Wednesday April 8

ELA Session 2: Thursday April 9

Math Session 1: Tuesday May 5

Math Session 2: Wednesday May 6

STE Session 1: Wednesday May 13

STE Session 2: Thursday May 14

Absences: If your student is going to be absent or tardy, please call the absence line and let us know in advance. You may call this line at anytime and leave a message. The telephone number is 508-660-7374 and then press 1

Early Dismissals: Please send a hand written note with your student in the morning or email the classroom teacher and Ms. Torigian in the main office (atorigian@walpole.k12.ma.us)

Afterschool dismissal changes: If your student is changing their typical way of leaving Elm Street School at 3:30pm, please send a note into school with the plan that morning.

*If you haven't already filled out the dismissal plan form sent by Ms. Torigian, please do so as soon as possible.

What is Chronic Absenteeism?

A student is considered Chronically Absent when they miss 10% of the school year. In Massachusetts, this means a student who misses 18 or more days, regardless of an excused or unexcused reason, is classified as chronically absent. Just two missed days each month can lead to this status.

Why is school attendance so important?

Students who are in school consistently are more successful learners. Per the National Center for Education Statistics: A missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn and interact with their classmates. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. This relationship between attendance and achievement may appear early in a child's school career. Greater absenteeism during the school year can lead to lower achievement in reading, math, and general knowledge. Poor attendance has serious implications for later outcomes as well. High school dropouts have been found to have exhibited a history of negative behaviors, including high levels of absenteeism throughout their childhood, at higher rates than high school graduates.

If your child starts to accumulate absences, we will work with families to figure out the best way to help improve your child's attendance at school.

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