Fisher Family Update

To the entire staff of Fisher Elementary School, Students, Parents and the Members of PAC Committee,

I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for the incredible support that you have provided to Zeeshan during his treatment. Zeeshan has been very strong and resilient throughout the course of 4 toughest months of his life. He was able to do this knowing he is being loved by his friends and teachers at Fisher. The letters and postcards each one of you wrote to him, the FaceTime calls to checkin, not to forget the virtual Fortnite game times, these are the things that kept him smiling during his rough days at the hospital. Thank you teachers for your remarkable efforts and commitment towards providing academic, social and emotional support during these tough times.

Thank you to all the parents who kept Zeeshan in their thoughts and for regularly checking in and providing emotional support.

As a family we are overwhelmed with all this love and support, and feel very fortunate to be a part of this community.

With Love and Respect,

Zeeshan and Family

On Monday, March 13th, Linewize’s Director of Community Engagement, Teodora Pavkovic, a renowned online safety and digital wellness expert, walked us through our district’s Online Safety Hub and showed us how to use it as a key resource for any of our digital parenting questions.

During this session we learned about:

• The 8 key online safety risks children face today

• Practical strategies to reduce these risks

• The ABC approach to setting up your home for online safety

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Click the button below to view the webinar

Check out Fisher School’s new podcast! You can search “Fisher School” on Spotify or you can use this link. Thanks for listening and don’t forget to subscribe!

March

28 MCAS - Gr. 5 ELA Session 1

29 MCAS - Gr. 5 ELA Session 2

30 MCAS - Gr. 4 ELA Session 1

31 Early Release - Dismissal at 12:25pm

April

4 MCAS - Gr. 4 ELA Session 2

5 MCAS - Gr. 3 ELA Session 1

6 MCAS - Gr. 3 ELA Session 2

7 NO SCHOOL

17-24 NO SCHOOL - April Break

26 Fisher PAC Meeting 7pm

May

1 Town Meeting 7pm

2 MCAS - Gr. 5 Math Session 1

3 MCAS - Gr. 5 Math Session 2

3 District Art Show 6-8pm at the Walpole Library

4 MCAS - Gr. 4 Math Session 1

5 MCAS - Gr. 4 Math Session 2

9 MCAS - Gr. 3 Math Session 1

10 MCAS - Gr. 3 Math Session 2

11 MCAS - Gr. 5 Science and Technology Session 1

12 Early Release - Dismissal at 12:25pm

12 Fisher Carnival

16 MCAS - Gr. 5 Science Session 2

17 Kindergarten Orientation 7pm

24 Fisher PAC 7pm

29 No School - Memorial Day

Click HERE for the minutes from our meeting this past Wednesday evening.

Please click on the virtual backpack for the newest and latest information about sign ups, fundraisers and upcoming events in and around our community.

In SWIM (Show respect, Work cooperatively, Integrity first, Make good decisions)lessons this month:

Kindergarten will be revisiting the Zones of Regulation. These lessons will help remind students how important it is to identify and understand their emotions as we head into the second half of the school year!

First through fifth grade will be discussing how they can use their Power to Choose to have a positive impact on their community and themselves. Students will learn to use this Power to Choose to stand up for others and themselves, solve problems, and to be honest and responsible throughout their days. The goal of these lessons is to encourage students to have confidence in their decision making skills and in their ability to make the right choices for themselves.

During the month of March, Fisher School will be focusing on practicing Gratitude, as

well. Classes will be talking about what gratitude is and ways that they can show an Attitude of

Gratitude at Fisher School and beyond!

Visit our website for more information and resources

Please do not hesitate to reach out to a counselor at any time!

In celebration of this special time we will have weekly announcements about various famous artists, quotes and special exhibits! Youth Art Month (YAM) is celebrated nationally each March to bring awareness to the fact that Visual Art Education is an important factor in the total education curriculum that develops citizens of a global society.

This week we are featuring Pop Art.

Grade 5 Classes have been studying the art work of Pop Artist, Jim Dine. Jim Dine is an American painter, graphic artist, sculptor, and poet who emerged during the Pop art period as an innovative creator of works that combine the painted canvas with ordinary objects of daily life. In this lesson, students have learned to apply the elements of color, texture and form in their heart compositions!

One of the most important components of our Bridges math curriculum is Number Corner. The students look forward to the revealing of the new calendar grid cards each month to see what the new focus and patterns are going to be, or what they will be collecting in Calendar Collector activities. Number Corner is a time each day when the focus is on building Number Sense. What is number sense and how can you support the development of it at home? Number sense is a person’s ability to compose and decompose numbers, compute mentally using a variety of strategies, make reasonable estimates, reason with numbers, and understand quantities and the magnitude of numbers. It begins with learning to count and seeing the patterns in our number system and grows to being able to look at a more complex problem and find the most efficient way to solve it based on the numbers. Below are some links with quick activities to help build number sense at home in your daily activities.

• Quick Number Sense activities for in the car, while waiting to pick up a sibling, cooking dinner, or waiting for a meal at a restaurant.

• 12 Activities to Build Number Sense

• What is Number Sense

In addition, you can find activities created by our math curriculum's publisher, The Math Learning Center, on the free Math at Home site. Activities are sorted by grade level, and each "set" correlates with a Bridges Unit of study. For example, Set 5 has activities related to the learning targets in Unit 5 in school.

This site is linked for you on our Family Math site on the Bridges Math at Home button on both the Parent/Caregiver and Student pages.

Enjoy playing with and exploring numbers and number relationships together, while helping to build strong number sense and flexible thinking in your budding mathematicians at home!

Walpole Public Schools invites families to attend ELPAC to discuss opportunities for the educational success of students who are currently or were formerly in the English Learner Education (ELE) program. It is also a time to network with other families as we continue to build collaborative partnerships.

Wednesday - March 29, 2023

Walpole High School Media Center

6:00 - 7:00 P.M.

Every month Sportsmanship Superstars are selected, one from each grade. These students demonstrate respect and fair play to opponents, teachers, equipment and graciousness in both victory and defeat. Congratulations to our February Sportsmanship Superstars!

Kindergarten: Connor

Grade one: Nathanael

Grade two: Rihanna

Grade three: Lillian

Grade four: Ahana

Grade five: Lola

Congratulations to Fisher Alum, Swara Sonchattra, on being selected as Walpole’s ambassador for Project 351. Please support Swara and her town-wide clothing drive to support the charity, Cradles to Crayons. All details can be found in the flyer below.

The goal of this class is to provide an opportunity for children with special needs to participate in structured, non-competitive activities, focusing on physical fitness, music, and other fun activities. The program is run by two Registered Behavioral Technicians who work with children in a sub-separate program in local elementary schools.

Students who read all 20 books for "Battle of the Books" earned the treat to read to younger students. Here are a few of those students:

Kindergarten plays the violin in music class!

St. Patrick's Day Fun!

Dear Fisher Family,

Thank you so much for the incredible support so far for our Rally Against Cancer! Between our Fisher School activities and the contributions of our teammate, Laurie Higgins, we have reached the $8000.00 level!

The Green Monster Wall of Honor is filling up with baseballs. There is still plenty of room for more! Remember to stop by and see the names and photos of all the amazing loved ones who have been honored and remembered. The “wall” is in the hallway leading to the auditorium. If you need another form, please send me an email and I can send one home or email you a copy to print. Checks should be made payable to “The Jimmy Fund.”

Our “Change for a Cure” campaign is now halfway completed. To date, the students have brought in over $1300!!!! Each student and family is invited to look around (under couch cushions, on the floor, under car seats, in jacket pockets, etc.) for spare change or to perform a chore at home, and raise money to contribute to a jar in their classroom. Another option is to donate the money received from refunding bottles. One of the ideas we are trying to demonstrate to students is that many small donations add up to make a big difference. Student Council representatives will collect the money weekly from each classroom. On March 24th they will make the final collection and the class that has averaged the most money collected per student will receive authentic Jimmy Fund Rally baseball caps to wear. Should we raise the most money of any school participating in the rally this year, and win the visit from a member of the Red Sox team, the winning class will also receive VIP (front row) seating for the assembly and a Meet and Greet with that player, including photos and autographs! Thank you for your support.

Flyers should have been sent home by your child’s teacher for the My Grandma’s Coffee Cake fundraiser. Each coffee cake is $15. Orders and payments must be returned to school no later than Wednesday, March 22nd in order to get the total order completed and submitted. A pick-up date will be determined when we know the day they coffee cakes will be delivered to school.

One of the most important ways you can help is by joining our Fisher’s Finest team online. To show your support, please visit our team’s official fundraising page, http://danafarber.jimmyfund.org/goto/fishersfinest2023, and click on the red “JOIN TEAM” button located on the right side of the page. If every family in the school joined with a minimum $5 gift, we would be able to provide Dana-Farber with enough money to provide treatment and support to countless families battling cancer. After you’ve joined the team, you can also create your own personal fundraising page. Please share this with your family and friends, inviting them to make a gift to the Jimmy Fund as well. The more people who join, the bigger the team, and the more money we can raise to help find a cure for cancer.

Thursday, March 30th - Red Sox Opening Day, students and staff are encouraged to wear their Red Sox shirts, caps, etc., or Red Sox colors, red, white, and blue, to school to show their support for both the Red Sox and Fisher’s Finest.

Our initial goal was to reach $5,000 for Rally. We have already reached and exceeded that goal! We’re thinking bigger, though, and have increased our goal to $10,000! With just a little bit of support from each family, we can certainly reach and hopefully exceed even a “stretch goal”! As we have stated previously, we certainly don’t expect families to participate in every fundraising event – we want to provide you with some choices and hope we provide something for everyone! If you have any questions, please contact team coach Carolyn McDonough. Thanks for your support!

Carolyn McDonough

cmcdonough@walpole.k12.ma.us

Happy March!

• If your child has an EpiPen prescribed, they will need to have an unexpired one in the health office in order to attend a field trip. Please make sure your orders are up to date.
• Please remember if your child is ill with a fever (greater than 100F) they need to remain at home for 24 hours without the use of an antipyretic (Tylenol, Motrin, fever reducing medication) per WPS Policy.
• If your child has a viral stomach illness with symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, please keep them home for an additional 24 hours after symptoms have subsided.
• Please make sure you have notified the health office if your child is recovering from an injury that requires any accommodations or restrictions with a doctor's note.
• If your child has been diagnosed with an infection requiring antibiotic treatment such as Strep Throat, Conjunctivitis, Impetigo, etc. they must be treated with the antibiotic for at least 24 hours before returning to school.
• In addition, for Conjunctivitis, your child's eyes must be free of drainage. For Impetigo, lesions may not be oozing
• Here is a link to the WPS Health Services website. On this site you can find links to forms (i.e. medication administration, over the counter medication consent forms), medication policies, and information regarding illnesses, concussions and injuries.
• Please pack an extra outfit in your child’s backpack in case of emergencies, this can be stored at the school in their locker or cubbies. Please be mindful of your child wearing appropriate shoes to minimize injuries at recess and PE- sneakers are best.
  

• Here is the Fisher health office wish list.

Please send a note in the morning with your student, it is the best way to inform all who need to know. Teachers are unable to check their emails during instruction time and the office needs to interrupt important learning time with messages. We do understand emergencies arise, however, whenever possible, please send a note.

The four elementary schools rotate start and end times every three years. The 2022-2023 School Year represents year one of the next rotation. For the next 3 years, Boyden and Fisher School will start at 8:55 a.m. and end at 3:25 p.m.

Doors open at 8:45am and the doors will be locked at 8:53. If your child arrives after 8:53 they will be marked as tardy. Instruction/learning begins promptly at 8:55am

We are excited to have our students back at Fisher School! Please see below some guidelines for attendance. Any questions can be emailed to fisher-secretaries@walpole.k12.ma.us

If your student will be absent or tardy for any reason, call 508 660 7234 and press 1 and leave a message as to the reason before school begins at 8:55 am. Our automated absence calls go out at 9:30. If we do not have a reason noted for the absence you will receive an automated phone call and email. This is for your student’s safety, to ensure that all are accounted for.

The front doors will be closed at 8:53 as students are expected to be sitting in their seats at 8:55. If your student is arriving tardy, please ring the front doorbell and you will enter the building to sign your student in. A student must be accompanied by a parent/guardian when arriving. There is a sign in sheet with a column to indicate the reason for the tardy arrival.

Please note: We mark all students having school lunch in Aspen with a “L”. This does not mean the student was marked Late. We use T for tardy.

If you are dismissing your student early or changing the way they go home, send a written note on the day of dismissal that includes your student’s first and last name. The teacher will note the dismissal and plan accordingly, and the note goes to the office so we can enter it into our Aspen system. An email sent during the day may be missed by your student’s teacher.

Please avoid calling with an early dismissal change or a change in the way your student goes home. When this happens we need to call the classroom to let the teacher know and this disrupts learning time.

We cannot change the way a student goes home based on them telling the office or their teacher. We need to hear from a parent/guardian via note or phone call to make that change. If they are scheduled for Extended Day and we do not hear otherwise, we will send them to Extended Day.

Arrival/Dismissal procedures will be the same as they were last year. Please click HERE for all details regarding car drop off and pick up. Staff will be outside everyday to assist you student. Please do not exit your vehicle.

If your student is a "walker" at dismissal time.....

• Please do not park in the Fisher parking lot - You could park on Cobb terrace and walk down but the parking lot is not a safe option at dismissal time
• You may walk down to door 18 (by the Fisher Garden) to pick up your student

Please be aware that we are required to see you in the office with your CORI form. We need to ascertain that whoever we are checking is in fact the correct person. We will take a copy of your license while you are here. Also, please try to avoid arrival and dismissal times if possible when you are coming in.

If you are interested or think that you will be later this year, please complete the "Volunteer Contract" and the CORI form below. The contract has some general "agreements'' that we need all volunteers to abide by and we appreciate your cooperation. We know the students really enjoy seeing their adults involved in the school and we hope you sign up to join us.

We are pleased to share that Massachusetts will continue to fund free school meals for all students, regardless of household income, under a one-year expansion of a free federal school lunch program. The state’s budgetary commitment will ensure 400,000 students statewide, who would not otherwise qualify for free school meals, continue to have access to free school lunch and breakfast for the next year.

What does this mean?

All Walpole Public School children will receive free school meals while at school.

Important: We still encourage all families to submit a school meal application if they believe they are income eligible to receive free meals. While your child will receive a free meal regardless of their free or reduced-price meal status, the meal application can qualify your family for additional benefits beyond free school meals.

You can access our on-line meal benefit application here: https://www.myschoolapps.com/Application

This on-line application is available in multiple languages via a drop-down menu "Language" on the toolbar.

HERE is the school calendar for 2022-2023, including start dates, holidays and early dismissal days. This is continually updated over the course of the year if we have snow days.Please note that there are different start dates for Kindergarten students