We kicked off the short week with a wonderful Community Meeting hosted by the kindergarten students and focused on integrity. Student Government met on Tuesday to discuss the upcoming Food Drive for the Norwell Food Pantry. We look forward to the district band concert being held tonight at 7pm at Norwell High School.
It's hard to believe that April 1st is this coming Monday! We'll celebrate Mrs. Benner for Assistant Principal's Week and all of our amazing aides for Aide Appreciation Day on Wednesday. We'll also celebrate National Rainbow Day on Wednesday, April 3rd. This spirit day was selected by raffle prize winner, Thea. Please help your child wear as many colors of the rainbow as possible and let's make Cole School the most colorful place in town on that day! The first day of MCAS testing will also happen in grade 4 on Friday. It's going to be a busy week!
As MCAS testing approaches for students in grades 3, 4, and 5, we ask families to help their child get a good night of rest, eat a healthy breakfast, and encourage them to give it their best effort. They have been working so hard all year and they are ready and will shine brightly!
The School Council will be sending out the Spring Family Survey from April 1st - April 12th. The survey will be sent to the first contact only in Aspen. The email will come from Panorama Ed and often goes to spam or junk. Reminder emails will be sent out during the two week window to encourage participation in taking the survey. The information gathered helps the School Council to write goals and action steps in next year's School Improvement Plan.
Time is flying! It's time to begin our placement process for the 2024-2025 school year! The Parent Input Survey for Placement will be shared via email on Monday, April 1st and is due by Friday, April 26th (no exceptions). We are looking to gather all pertinent information in order to create the most balanced classrooms possible.
The digital form will be reviewed as part of the placement process. The information will be kept confidential and released only to pertinent staff. You are welcome to include any information you feel is important for us as we build each class, however, we will NOT take into consideration specific teacher requests and we will NOT guarantee that we will be able to separate certain students or place certain students together. Although parents have shared concerns with other staff, only concerns submitted on this form will be considered as final input. The goal is to create the most balanced classrooms for learning for all students.
The placement process is:
· The current teacher starts the class lists without a specific teacher’s name attached. The goal is to create a balanced classroom and not to customize a class to fit a particular teacher.
· Teachers review their current list to determine the needs of the current students. They consider combinations of students that have not been productive.
· Grade levels meet to make tentative class lists for the next year. The factors that guide this stage are student strengths, gender, class size, number of sections for each grade and the pertinent information from the parent input form.
· The lists are reviewed by staff members and by administration to verify that the classes are balanced and appropriate.
· The final step is for the principal to assign specific teachers to each class.
· Fifth graders will receive their teacher assignments from Norwell Middle School.
· The principal reserves the right to make any changes necessary to ensure well-balanced classes.
Check out this week's Magnificent Meerkats! These students were nominated by staff and students for their consistent positive behavior and for being excellent role models for others. Some examples in this week's nominations include:
- He is always aware and noticing any tech issue we may have. When he sees or hears of something he never hesitates to lend a hand and share his expertise!
- She shines brightly in the third grade by treating everyone with respect, kindness, and empathy. She is also a hardworking student who approaches her learning with enthusiasm. She is creative and produces outstanding work.
- They teach us the importance of being ourselves no matter what each day. They show a great balance of having fun at school but also following the classroom and academic expectations. We are lucky to have such a great role model in our class!
- She is always showing expected behaviors. She is helpful, kind and shows integrity by doing the right thing all of the time. She was nominated by multiple classmates who have noticed her excellent expected behaviors.
March
March 28 - District Band Concert at NHS - 7pm
March 29 - No School
April - Mark Your Calendar
April 1st - School Committee Budget Hearing 7pm
April 1-5 - National Assistant Principal Week - let's shower Mrs. Benner with appreciation!
April 1 - Parent Information for Placement Google Form Shared via Email
April 1 - 15 - Cole School Spring Family Survey - link sent via email from Panorama Ed
April 1 - Variety Show Practice for Grades 3-5 3:20-5:00pm
April 3 - Cole School Spirit Day - wear rainbows or as many colors as you can for National Rainbow Day as selected by raffle winner and kindergarten student, Thea
April 3 - National Aide Appreciation Day
April 5 - Grade 4 MCAS ELA Session 1
April 8 - Grade 4 MCAS ELA Session 2
April 9 - Grade 3 MCAS ELA Session 1
April 10 - Early Release - All students dismissed at 12:20pm - Parent Conferences
April 10 - Variety Show Practice for Grades K-2 12:20-3pm
April 11 - Grade 3 MCAS ELA Session 2
April 11 - Evening Parent Conferences
April 15 - 19 - April Vacation Week
April 23 - Bus Driver Appreciation Day
April 23 - Grade 5 MCAS ELA Session 1
April 24 - Grade 5 MCAS ELA Session 2
April 24 - National Secretary Appreciation Day
April 24th - PTO Meeting - Superintendent Keegan sharing at 2pm
April 26 - Parent Information for Placement Google Form Due
April 26 - Community Meeting 9:00am
Upcoming Mark Your Calendar
May 6th - Town Meeting
May 9 - Cole School Variety Show at NHS
May 29 - Art Show
May 30 - Grade 4 Concert
June 7 - Field Day
June 10 - Grade 5 Band Concert
June 13 - Grade 5 Celebration 6-8pm (Grade 5 Students and Parents only, no siblings or other family please)
June 17 - Tentative Last Day of School
This week, we wrapped up our unit on Integrity, with the kindergarten doing a great job leading our community meeting. Students have learned that integrity means doing the right thing, even when no one is watching or when it's hard to do. Our next unit is Responsibility. We will learn about and practice taking responsibility on Monday through Cole Connections, with a read aloud of "But It's Not My Fault" by Julia Cook.
