Wood End Wildcat News

April is National Bilingual/Multilingual Learner Advocacy Month—a meaningful opportunity to recognize and celebrate the many strengths, identities, and contributions of our bilingual and multilingual learners across our schools and community.

Spring is the time of year when we begin planning for next year. Soon we will be meeting as a staff to begin the process of assigning students to classes. Student placement is a complex, collaborative process that the staff and administration take very seriously. We spend a great deal of time carefully thinking about the whole child while we create our classes each year.

Any parental input should be provided in a written format through this survey form but know that written input is optional. Placements are made by the professional educators involved with your child and are also informed by your input as a parent. Our highest priority is to create safe, inclusive, heterogeneous classrooms. It is important that you offer information that is not specific to any particular teacher. Requests for specific teachers will not be considered in the placement process.

In order to facilitate our placement process, we ask that you complete this survey no later than Sunday, April 26 . After this date, we cannot accept additional responses.

🎨 Celebrate Your Child’s Creativity with Artsonia!

We are excited to share that Wood End is participating in Artsonia, the world’s largest student digital art museum! This unique platform creates a digital portfolio of your child’s artistic journey that you can cherish forever.

Why Join Artsonia?

• Safe & Free: Artsonia is a highly secure, educational program designed specifically to connect families with their children’s creative work in a private, digital gallery.

• A Growing Portfolio: You can view, share, and leave encouraging comments on your child’s masterpieces from any device.

• Support Wood End Art: While completely optional, you can purchase high-quality keepsakes (like mugs, magnets, or ornaments) featuring your child's art. Artsonia donates 20% of all funds generated directly back to our school’s art program to help us purchase new supplies and resources!

How to Get Started: We want to make sure every student is represented! To access your child’s gallery:

1. Locate the custom QR code included in this newsletter.

2. Use our school access code: 4B7WB6ZT.

3. Follow the prompts to claim your child’s account and start exploring their gallery!

4. Some students will receive a unique code via backpack as they have not been signed up for Artsonia.

SAFETY in the DRIVEWAY: Please adhere to typical traffic patterns in the driveway. We are a one-way in and one-way out access and with students, staff and families trying to get into the building, we need to be safe. We have observed many drivers not stopping at the crosswalk and passing cars quickly while traffic is coming the other direction. To ensure our students are not hurt, we are asking that families adhere to safety regulations as outlined below:

• Crosswalk: Please be sure to use the crosswalk when crossing the drive way.

• Morning Drop-Off: Staff will be visible beginning at 8:10 a.m. to assist students. All cars will remain in a single-file once they enter Sunset Rock Lane, up the driveway, continuing around the circle at the top of the driveway near the playgrounds, and back down the driveway to exit the school. Drivers will pull into the unloading area along the sidewalk. All students must exit quickly & safely through the passenger side doors closest to the sidewalk. Drivers must stay in cars and remain alert. We will unload several cars at a time, so please pull up and unload as soon as you enter this area. Do not wait to pull up to the front door. Please do not pass cars in the driveway or park in the fire lanes

• Afternoon Placard Pickup: All parents or designated adults will place the placard on the right-hand side of their vehicle’s windshield upon entering the Wood End driveway. Cars will line up along the school driveway and onto Sunset Rock Lane (do not park or idle in the rotary at the end of the driveway blocking in our neighbors). As your car reaches the school, a staff member will radio your name to additional staff stationed where your child will be waiting (under the large wooden awning at the front of the building). Staff will direct your child to the right side of your car as you stop. Please remain in your vehicle while your children get into the car. Once your children are seated and buckled in, you will proceed around the traffic circle and exit back onto Sunset Rock Lane.

• Idling of Motor Vehicles - For the safety of staff and students, school policies restrict operators of school buses and personal motor vehicles, including students, faculty, staff and visitors, from prolonged idling of such vehicles on school grounds and violators may be subject to a fine.

We respectfully ask you to partner with us by reminding your student that all student smartwatches (GizmoWatch, etc.) & cellphones must be powered off and remain in backpacks or teachers' desks during the entire school day. Students always have access to call home with the permission of their classroom teacher in case of an emergency. We want to help our students learn that we have many caring adults here during the day to help them navigate challenges and solve problems together.

School’s and state’s expectations around attendance and why it matters so much for every student:

Why is attendance so important?

• Building strong connections with peers. Missing multiple days can make it harder to come back, as students feel they’ve missed out on social and academic opportunities.
• Providing the best opportunities for academic success. From core instruction to interventions, research shows a direct correlation between poor attendance and academic challenges.
• Establishing good habits for the future. Consistent routines now build lifelong responsibility.

It’s absolutely okay for students to come to school with a mild cold. Students should stay home if they have a fever, vomiting, or diarrhea (fever-free for 24 hours before returning).

A few reminders:

• If your child will be absent, please notify the main office by calling or emailing.
• If your child misses school for an appointment, please send in a doctor’s note.
• If a child is out sick for five or more days, a doctor’s note is required.
• Please avoid planning vacations during school days. We are fortunate to have many breaks built into the calendar, including one of the longest winter breaks in recent years. You can find the full calendar here: RPS District Calendar 25/26

To support your child’s energy and focus throughout the school day, we kindly ask that you send a snack with your child each day. Please avoid any allergens as they relate to your child's classroom (notice from Nurse Kristin went out if there are any classroom restrictions). Thank you for helping us promote healthy habits and a positive learning environment!

All five elementary schools in RPS dedicate a weekly 30-minute block to Social Emotional Learning (SEL). This year, with guidance from an RPS multidisciplinary curriculum team, we are excited to launch updated SEL lessons. This flier gives families a snapshot of what SEL looks like in grades K-5.

SEL is the process through which all young people and adults acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring decisions.

Students need new medicine orders for each new school year. The summer is an ideal time to start this paperwork. Families can use this attached form for parent permission and doctor's orders. We also accept medication orders that a doctor writes on their own form. If you think your child would occasionally need Tylenol or Motrin, we need a doctor's order to give this in elementary school. For medicine safety, a parent or guardian needs to bring the medicine directly to the nurse to sign it into school. Please do not send medicines in their backpack.

School Medical Policies below!

PTO General Meeting Schedule

• May 13 @ 7pm: LINK HERE
• June 3 @ 8:15 (In Person)

We have some amazing parents who have taken on leadership roles to keep our very active PTO up & running. We are so grateful for their willingness to provide our community with many opportunities to volunteer and support our students and families. Our PTO has been involved in coordinating fundraising events, book fairs, enrichment programs, school supplies, teacher appreciation events, flamingo flocking, and restaurant nights, just to name a few, to make Wood End the special community it is today. If you are interested in becoming more involved in our PTO, please reach out to any of our board members @ woodendpto@gmail.com .

BOARD MEMBERS

Linda Liang, President

Linda Liang, Treasurer

Courtney Bell, Secretary

Hilary Quinn, Events and Fundraising Coordinator

Sarah Henic, Enrichment Coordinator

Steff Keilty, Room Parent Coordinator

⭐ SEPAC ANNUAL SURVEY

Forthcoming by email and next SEPAC Newsletter

To learn more about Reading SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council), please visit our website: Reading SEPAC Website

Should you wish to receive our monthly newsletter, please send an email to SEPACReading@gmail.com

SEPAC WEBSITE!

Click here for the NEW, IMPROVED READING SEPAC WEBSITE, an incredible resource for parents/caregivers of all children, especially those with diverse learning profiles. We strongly urge you to visit it soon, and often. Short on time? Here’s a very brief video to give you a sense of what’s there in just over one minute.

About Reading SEPAC

SEPAC works for the understanding of, respect for, and support of, all children with special needs in the community (including ALL children on IEPs or 504 plans and children who may require specialized supports).

SEPAC WEBPAGE

Join SEPAC's mailing list

Follow SEPAC on Facebook

Follow SEPAC on Instagram

"Since its founding during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement, the METCO program has enrolled tens of thousands of Boston students of color in predominately white school districts, creating the opportunity for those districts to experience the advantages of learning and working in a racially and ethnically diverse setting."

April

April 6,7: Grade 4 MCAS

April 8,9: Grade 3&5 MCAS

April 8: 4th grade Field Trip

April 9: Culture & Creativity Night

April 20-24: April Vacation (NO SCHOOL)

April 29: Wildcat Wednesday

May

May 5: 3rd grade field trip, 1st grade Field Trip

May 6: Kindergarten Field Trip

May 20: Grade 2 Field Trip

Reading Public Schools Calendar 2025-2026

📌 Family Council Meeting – Save the Date

Multilingual Learner (MLL) Program

We invite families to join our upcoming Family Council Meeting:

🗓 Date: April 9
⏰ Time: 6:00 PM – 8:30 PM
📍 Location: Reading Public Library

✨ Theme: Summer Camps & Activities

We are excited to welcome Rebekah Torreson from the YMCA, who will present information about Camp Wakanda and other summer opportunities for children.

💬 During the meeting, families will learn about:

• Summer camp options
• Activities for children
• Registration information
• Q&A session

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Families are encouraged to bring their children — babysitter is offered

Kids in grades K-7 can submit their own library card designs with the theme "Reading is Revolutionary" during the month of April. This theme celebrates our country's 250th anniversary and will also be the RPL's Summer Reading theme. One winner will be selected by our Library Board of Trustees and the winning design will be used as our limited edition library card in September for National Library Card Sign Up Month!

Please find additional details on the website at https://readingpl.org/library-card-design-contest

• https://readingpl.org/healing-kits/

• At the Reading Public Library, there are 10 different kits that address different needs that people in the community may experience (e.g. Grief, anxiety, trauma, etc.). You can request a kit through the online library catalog or check it out in person. Kits contain a variety of materials that are accessible to kids, teens, and/or adults, as well as a resource packet with lists of community resources and activities. Each kit also contains a notebook where others who have used the kit can leave words of support.

In the box at the top of the newsletter, click on Translate to pick the desired language.

• Portuguese: Na caixa preta na parte superior do boletim, selecione Traduzir Boletim informativo para escolher o idioma desejado.

• Spanish: En el cuadro de Negro en la parte superior del boletín de noticias, seleccione Traducir Boletín de escoger el idioma deseado.

• Vietnamese: Trong hộp đen ở đầu bản tin, chọn Dịch bản tin để chọn ngôn ngữ mong muốn

• Polish: W czarnym polu u góry biuletynu wybierz Przetłumacz biuletyn, aby wybrać żądany język

• Korean: 뉴스레터 상단의 검은색 상자에서 뉴스레터 번역을 선택하여 원하는 언어를 선택하세요.

• Chinese: 在新闻通讯顶部的黑框中，选择“翻译新闻通讯”以选择所需的语言。

• Arabic: في المربع الأسود الموجود أعلى النشرة الإخبارية، حدد ترجمة النشرة الإخبارية لاختيار اللغة المطلوبة.
  fi almurabae al'aswad almawjud 'aelaa alnashrat al'iikhbariati, hadad tarjamat alnashrat al'iikhbariat liaikhtiar allughat almatlubati.

Please save my email address and reach out with questions, comments or thoughts. My door is always open!

Email: nicole.schwartz@reading.k12.ma.us
Website: http://www.reading.k12.ma.us/woodend/
Location: 85 Sunset Rock Lane, Reading, MA, United States
Phone: 781-942-5420

Wood End Resource Guide/Handbook

District Handbook