Cole Miners' Dig

As we approach this joyful season, we want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude to the community for your continued partnership and support. It is your dedication, encouragement, and involvement that truly make Cole School shine brightly each and every day. This year has already been filled with wonderful moments of growth, learning, and community, and none of it would be possible without you. Thank you for entrusting us with your children, for supporting their education, and for being such an essential part of our school family. We wish you and your loved ones a happy holiday season filled with warmth, laughter, and cherished memories. May this time bring you peace, joy, and the opportunity to create special moments together. We look forward to seeing everyone in the new year, ready for more learning, growth, and success!

This week began with our kindergarteners sharing their family traditions projects and performing holiday songs. Each tradition presented was unique and meaningful, offering us a wonderful glimpse into how our families celebrate and connect beyond the classroom. On Monday night, teachers and students shared the presentation, “One Love, One Village: Connecting Our Whole Community.” They shared the new social emotional curriculum, Second Step; the Volunteer Village initiative to increase volunteerism; the upcoming Intergenerational Penpals with Council on Aging and a 3rd grade class; and the fundraiser 3rd and 4th grade students did to support Jamaica after the recent hurricane. The teacher and student presenters were exceptional public speakers! 5th graders performed the Nutcracker on Wednesday for a large audience and did an outstanding job! Kudos to Mrs. Gagnon, the fifth grade teachers, and the students for the festive performance!

Next week is a short week with an early dismissal on Tuesday, December 23rd. All students will be dismissed at 12:20pm. The next edition of the Cole Miners' Dig will be shared on Friday, January 9th. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

The 2025 Cole School "Choose Your Adventure" Spirit Week is ready and shared here to help families prepare to participate if they so choose. Each day, there are two choices for your child to decide their spirit week adventure. This is a low key and fun way to head off into winter vacation. Participation is completely voluntary.

What a wonderful group Meerkats! This week's Magnificent Meerkat nominations included reasons like:

• He is a great role model in our class! He always tries his best and is always showing expected behavior. We are so lucky to have him in our class. Keep up the great work!
• She quickly and independently invited a classmate to join her Fort during our Gem Jar celebration when the classmate forgot to bring a blanket for a fort. She is always looking out for others and finds ways to include them always with a smile!
• She put incredible effort into her recent book project. Her 3D clay otter was detailed, creative and adorable. She also created an interesting interview from the otter's point of view and shared a lot of insight into his thoughts. She really demonstrated outstanding effort!
• He is always giving his best effort and is consistently considerate and kind towards others.

December

December 22 - Connections Meeting - Habit of Mind - Striving for Accuracy

December 22 - Holiday Gear Day - Wear holiday socks or hats

December 23 - Flannel or Jammies Day - Wear flannel or jammies or both

December 23 - Early Release - All students dismissed at 12:20pm

January

January 5 - Back to School from Winter Vacation

January 7 - PTO Meeting 7pm

January 12 - Community Meeting 9:05 am - Grade 3 Hosting, Parents Welcome to Attend

January 19 - No School

January 26 - Connections Meeting - Habit of Mind - Questioning and Problem Posing

January 28 - Early Release - All Students Dismissed at 12:20pm

January 28 - Kindergarten Field Trip (Thank you, PTO!)

Looking Ahead:

June 5 - Field Day

June 11 - Grade 5 Celebration (for grade 5 parents and grade 5 students only) 6-8pm

We finished our Striking with a Paddle Unit this week. K-2 practiced their striking skills with a fun game called Farmer Frenzy. Using a lollipop shaped foam paddle to strike different types of balls (eggs) into a bucket (chicken coop), students (farmers) worked as a team to see how many eggs they could strike into a chicken coop. Grades 3-5 used their teamwork, cooperation and sportsmanship to play games of Pickleball.

Student Government met on Tuesday, and classroom representatives shared thoughtful ideas and suggestions from their classmates on ways to improve Cole School. Students proposed many great ideas, including spreading kindness, reinforcing school expectations, adding more clubs (such as a cooking club), and even an end-of-year parade for 5th graders. These suggestions were organized into categories and shared with Mrs. Burns and Mrs. Benner. As one of their first projects, representatives will help spread kindness throughout the school by creating positive posters to display in the hallways, boosting student morale and providing friendly reminders of expectations.

The Norwell Recycling and Sustainability Commiittee has collected another 29 pounds of crayons and writing tools for recycling or reuse, and thus kept out of landfills.

A reminder that collection boxes are located at the Cole, Vinal and Norwell Middle School, the Accord School, First Parish Preschool, Ridge Hill School, the Norwell Public Library and the Norwell Council on Aging. Thank you for the support of this endeavor.