Falcon Family Flyer
February 14, 2025
Something To Look Forward To!
Greetings, Forestdale families!
I am very grateful to have had the time to be home for our newborn daughter Chelsea since the first week in January. I cannot express enough gratitude to Mrs. Karie Carpenito for stepping in as Acting Principal during this time, and to Mr. Kenji Foster and Mrs. Megan LoPilato for keeping the office running smoothly. Special thank you as well to Superintendent Sippel and Assistant Superintendents Bhasin and MacDonald for their support and for being on the ground and in the building whenever we needed them. We are pretty lucky to have such an amazing staff of Falcons.
Throughout my time at home, I received a number of messages from folks in the building with pictures of things going on, notes about stuff they thought I would enjoy, or updates about classroom happenings. It was really great to see the learning going on and the relationships thriving through the winter. As much as I was enjoying time with our little lady, I had something to look forward to getting back into the building. Needless to say, Monday was a great day. I visited a handful of classrooms in between meetings and got a chance to catch up with a lot of kids - many who had a bunch to share about what I had missed!
One of the best moments though was from a group of 3rd grade girls who visit the office in the mornings before lining up every day. A few weeks ago when they were asking me questions about the baby, I had mentioned to them that she’ll be coming to Forestdale one day as a student, just like them! They did some math together, and they let me know that they were pretty sure one of them would be her 8th grade buddy when she starts in Kindergarten. Chelsea’s just about 6 weeks old now, and wasn’t even born when they mentioned this, so thinking about her in Kindergarten was definitely something I was not ready for just yet!
When I got in on Monday morning, a few of those girls ran right into the office and asked me to see a picture of her. One of them said “I hope you’re taking good care of my Kindergarten buddy.” I’m not one to wish time away, but knowing how wonderful our students are, and what a great school community we have…that’s definitely something to look forward to.
Mr. Weldai
Meet Ms. Rogers!
Ms. Jennifer Rogers recently joined the Forestdale team as our interim Kindergarten teacher, working with Mrs. Nolan and covering for Mrs. Hughes while she is out on maternity leave. This year, she's most looking forward to continuing to work with and get to know her new Kindergarten students. She loves how inviting and warm everyone has been to her so far! Outside of school, she enjoys walking her dogs and cooking. We're very excited to have Ms. Rogers as a part of our team!
Bingo for Books!
The Title 1 department will be hosting their next family event, the annual "Bingo for Books" on Tuesday, March 11th from 6pm - 7:30pm in the cafeteria! The whole family is invited for pizza and drinks, and some games of Bingo! This is always a fun night that fills the cafeteria - we hope to see you there!
Rock the Walk - Coming Soon!
The annual Rock the Walk fundraiser is coming soon! From February 28th through March 28th, students and families will be able to take part in one of our biggest PTO fundraisers of the year! Information is coming soon, and a concluding celebration is being planned for April 4th. Be on the lookout for updates coming from the PTO!
Malden Reads Book Discussion!
On Wednesday, February 6th at 6:30P.M., all are invited to join Mayor Gary Christenson for a discussion on The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, the incredible true story of innovation and perseverance. Details are in the flyer attached, and for more information on how to interact with Malden Reads, please visit https://www.maldenreads.org
Malden Youth Soccer!
Spring registration for Malden Youth Soccer is on! Information is in the attached flyer, and for more information, please visit https://www.maldenyouthsoccer.org/registration
Malden Youth Baseball!
The next Malden Youth Baseball season is almost here! To learn more and to register, please see the attached flyer. For more information, please visit https://www.maldenyouthbaseball.org
ACCESS testing!
ACCESS testing has completed! For the last month, our ELL team has been working diligently to help prepare our students, and then assess them on their progress building English Language Fluency. It's a huge undertaking for our staff, and for our students. Shout out to the amazing crew of Ms. Melissa Katz, Ms. Lisa Sheridan, Ms. Ariana Mathews, Ms. Lucy Morales, Ms. Lauren Beltran and Mr. Kenji Foster for all their work making ACCESS testing run smoothly!
Mini Writer's Den!
We are excited to invite Malden middle school students in grades 6–8 to participate in the Mini Writers’ Den after-school program! Here is the link to register your child for the Mini Writers’ Den here. (All the dates for the different sessions are listed in the registration form.)
If your child would like to participate in comic writing but is unable to make the first session due to other commitments, it is OK to register for the session and attend the remaining dates (please just email us to let us know – maldenreads@gmail.com).
Here’s a sample of student work so you can see what students who participate in the program can do. A parent of a child who previously participated in the Mini Writers’ Den had this to say about it:
“Thank you to everyone involved with organizing and making this program possible. My daughter really enjoyed going every week and is sad to see it end.”
Students will have the opportunity to have fun with creative writing by practicing comic writing, play writing, comic writing, and food writing. They will also meet other Malden middle school students and have the opportunity to connect with two high school student-mentors. The session will be led by an Education student from Tufts University, with support from other educators. Students will work with published authors who will share their own experiences during the sessions!
"Music in Our Schools Month" Contest!
March is “Music in Our Schools Month”, and this year the theme is “United Through Music”. Nearly everyone enjoys music; listening to it, singing, composing or playing an instrument. Music is a subject that can enrich students’ lives and education. March is the month to recognize the importance of music education in our schools.
This year, Ms. Kim Barber will be hosting an all-school "Music in Our Schools Month" Contest with five total winners! Students have to take the theme above and create their own poem, story, art, composition or collage that represents this theme. All entries must be received by Friday, March 7, 2025. Entries must have a name, teacher and grade on it.
Take some time, and think about why music is important to you! We can't wait to see all the creativity that comes from this!
Supporting Students during Ramadan!
For any students who are celebrating Ramadan and are fasting beginning at the end of February, we are here to support you! There will be an alternate space available for the lunch period for any students who would prefer not to be in the cafeteria. Please reach out to us if we can support you and your family with any other accommodations during this time.
Excused Absences!
The main office has received a number of questions last year about excused vs. unexcused absences. If you are keeping your student home sick, have an appointment, etc. and would like to have the absence excused, please make sure to write a physical absent note and send it in, or write an email to your student's teacher. The phone call to the office line does not excuse your student's absence, it does however stop the automated absent phone call that comes home based on Aspen/X2. Any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to reach out!
Check Your Backpacks!
Please make sure to check backpacks regularly for important notices from the nurse, and from your teachers. While most things are done electronically, a regular backpack check is always a good idea.
**Speaking of backpacks, if anyone still needs one for their student we have extras to give away in the main office. Please don't hesitate to reach out and let us know!**
Lost and Found!
Our lost and found is already going strong! For any students looking, the lost and found is in the cafeteria directly to the right when you walk in. If you're missing something, please encourage your student to come check it out. For a list of what's there so far, please check out this google doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rK0N_O9rfX86rsG1t2fpV2dG4mFw7PK9RKRTezANSt0/edit?usp=sharing
Grade 5 Honor Roll Breakfast!
Following the end of Quarter 2, the grade 5 team celebrated students who received Honor Roll and High Honor Roll on their report cards with a donut breakfast! The students enjoyed being recognized for their academic achievements, and had a great time celebrating with their teachers. Thank you to their team for putting this together!
Grade 6 Honor Roll Breakfast!
Following the end of Quarter 2, the grade 6 team celebrated students who received Honor Roll and High Honor Roll on their report cards, too! The students enjoyed being recognized for their academic achievements, and had a great time celebrating with their teachers. Thank you to their team for putting this together!
Burning the Fat!
Students in Ms. Meghan Bowe's 7th grade science class had a great time doing a hands-on lab activity around "what happens to fat when it burns?". They discussed physical and chemical changes, made observations around property changes, noticed differences in mass and appearance, and discussed what might be happening to the foods and fats inside our own bodies!
Thank you, Alan Campbell!
The Forestdale School expresses its gratitude to the late Alan Campbell. Alan was a lot of things in life, but he was most proud of being a father to Paul (a former Forestdale School student). Last fall, he came in to the school office and asked for an opportunity to give back to a place he held dear. He decided to sponsor a field trip for our 7th grade students. This past Wednesday, our students went on a hands-on STEM focused field trip to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro thanks to the generosity of Mr. Campbell. Although he unexpectedly passed away this winter and was not here to see them off, the students and staff of the Forestdale School are grateful for his generosity and his big heart.
Forestdale Main Office Team
If there's anything that we can do, please don't hesitate to reach out to any member of our main office team. Our phone number is (781) 397-7326, and each of our email addresses are listed below.
- Mr. Adam Weldai, Principal: aweldai@maldenps.org
- Mrs. Karie Carpenito, Assistant Principal: kcarpenito@maldenps.org
- Mr. Kenji Foster, Assistant Principal: kfoster@maldenps.org
- Mrs. Megan LoPilato, Administrative Assistant: mlopilato@maldenps.org