Falcon Family Flyer

Greetings, Forestdale Families! Happy December!

I was in a classroom this past week during a math lesson where students were working on subtraction problems and looking at different methods of doing the work to get their answer. This period in particular, the idea was to utilize the compensation method. It was a great class, and there was a lot of authentic engagement. My favorite part though was watching the students struggle a little bit with the idea that it wasn’t the answer that was most important - it was the method.

At least four or five kids in the span of just a few minutes each worked their way right through a problem to get their answer, went right up to their teacher, and were clearly a little annoyed by the reminder that she didn’t want just the answer - in fact, the answer was the least important part today. What she was really looking for was the work using the method that got them to that answer. The kids went back to their seats, worked with their table groups, and had conversations with each other about what they were doing and why it was or was not working. I got a chance to chat with a few of them. Hearing the academic conversations being had at tables, and how excited they were to teach me a bit about what they were learning, was a highlight of my week.

At this point, you might be thinking that this sounds a lot like one of those “it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey” musings, and you would be partially right. In a school community where we’re looking very closely at our math scores and instruction, and thinking about improving our growth and outcomes as our “destination,” I love that our "journey" to get there is students who are engaged in productive struggle, learning, and are excited to share their learning on a daily basis.

Mr. Weldai

Don't forget, for the next three weeks we'll be collecting donations to bring to the Bread of Life in Malden, helping to fulfill some of their highest needs during the winter season. Please take a look at the flyer below, and if you’re interested in taking part please feel free to bring in any items you can to donate between now and December 22. Every little bit counts, and we know they appreciate all of our support!

We have an amazing team of people supporting our students each and every day at the Forestdale School. This year we were able to bring on board a great new group of team members, and each month we'll try to showcase some of our new Falcons here.

• My name is...Lillian Wong.
  
• I am...the Forestdale School Media Center Specialist.
  
• What I am looking forward to this year is...getting to know all the students and staff.
  
• What I love most about the Forestdale Community so far is...how kind and helpful people are here!
  
• Outside of school I enjoy...staying active and finding ways to fulfill my wanderlust. I love to travel!

All Malden Public School families are invited to join the Title 1 department on, Wednesday, December 6th for a free puppet show from the Tanglewood Marionettes performers. The show will take place at the Malden High School Jenkins Auditorium at 6pm. Please note that all students must be accompanied by an adult and that no food or drink will be served at this event, but there will be a free book giveaway at the end of the night. We hope to see you there for a magically fun time!

Just a reminder, the next PTO meeting will be December 13, at 7:00pm! Come join this great group and hear about the upcoming events, ways to get involved, and more. The meeting will be held virtually on zoom, and link can be found on the Forestdale PTO Facebook page.

The Forestdale PTO will be holding a craft fair this Friday, December 8 from 5:30 - 7:30pm in conjunction with the gingerbread cookie event! If you'd like to volunteer, or sign up to be a vendor, follow the link here: https://forestdalepto.membershiptoolkit.com/form/m/261922

Here's an updated list of vendors:

Handmade Holiday Crafts

Mary Kay Cosmetics

Live Potted Plants

Girl Scout Cookies

Functional Home Decor

Embroidered Custom Items

Scentsy

Homemade Jewelry

Comic and Graphic Novels

Crochet Amigurumi Stuffed Animals

Jewelry and Resin Glass Pieces

Handmade Pottery

Bracelets

Quilled Ornaments

Leggings from Brazil

Pure Oils, fragrances, perfumes and colognes

Homemade bead and string bracelets

Scarves and handmade leather earrings

Holiday mice, snowmen, reindeers and angels

Christmas ornaments, hair-bows, keychains and bracelets

Health connector info

...and more!

Malden SEPAC invites you to our December Meeting on Monday December 11, 2023 at 7pm. The topic is: "Ask the Experts".

This month, we would like to hear from YOU, the experts on your child's education. Do you have a question for Malden SEPAC about special ed services? Do you have advice from your experiences that you would like to share with the community? Perhaps you would just like to join us to listen in and know you are not alone on this journey. Whatever the reason, we would love to hear from you. The Malden SEPAC Officers will be online next Monday evening and available to participate in a discussion on all questions around special education in Malden Public Schools. We hope to see you there.

Date: December 11, 2023
Time: 7pm EST
Location: Zoom
Link: https://cityofmalden.zoom.us/j/94727833307?pwd=YmFuY3VUQnVRWUlSRXVqc0trMzRydz09

About Malden SEPAC:
We are the Malden Special Education Parent Education Council (SEPAC). We represent hundreds of Malden parents with Special Needs children and we are here to help parents have a strong voice in their child’s education. We ensure that the Malden Public Education system remains focused on the needs of its students. We support parents in navigating the Special Education system as they exercise their rights and the rights of their children. We hold regular meetings to discuss Special Education issues.

Saturday, December 9th from 12pm - 4pm, the Gallery @57 and the Office of the Mayor are pleased to sponsor a Winter Market where artists and other vendors will be on hand for you to get a head start on your holiday shopping!

If you missed picture day, or need retakes, we will have a second round for Picture Day when Lifetouch comes back to Forestdale on Monday, December 4th. Remember, you can access your digital files in your portal on mylifetouch.com

Parent/Caregiver conferences are this week! Tuesday, December 5, from 4:30 - 6:00pm here in the building. Your awesome teams of teachers have already reached out to you to sign up or communicate their method of conferences. Some teams have used google docs, some used sign up genius, some used calendly, and some are doing walk-in appointments as well. If you need any assistance or are looking for clarification, please don't hesitate to reach out and we can connect you to your classroom teachers!

The Winter Concert is almost here, and our students are getting ready! On Thursday, December 14th at 10am, Grades 1, 3 and 5 will be hosting a singing performance for families. On Friday, December 15th at 10am, Grades 6, 7 and 8 will be hosting an instrumental performance by the students participating in band for families. Looking forward to hearing the music!

A reminder that Friday, December 22 is an 11am early release day for the Malden Public Schools! This is prior to the start of winter break, and students will return to school on Wednesday, January 3, 2024.

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!

We know it hasn't been too long, but 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.

The Forestdale School is still seeking a few candidates for open positions! If you or anyone you know is interested, we have a newly created Special Education position and a few Education Support Professional (ESPs, formerly known as ParaProfessionals) positions open. If you'd like to learn more, please feel free to reach out or visit https://maldenps.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx

The December school lunch menu can be seen below, and the link to the monthly menu is here as well: https://malden.schooldish.com/SchoolMenus/Forestdale?fbclid=IwAR2ZJ0dwZiruvvYiJhtVAk1yngQak5OmO8hyTVKfUV_rzL5gzDOlwP540_k

This week we were able to celebrate our latest group of students-of-the-month! For the month of November, students were honored for their respect - the second virtue from our school motto of P.R.I.D.E. (positivity, respect, independence, determination, and excellence). Many of them are pictured here, and a full list of students for this month can be found here: https://shorturl.at/mIR35

Following the end of quarter 1, grades 5 and 6 were able to celebrate the students who received Honor Roll and High Honor Roll on their report cards with a donut and hot chocolate breakfast! The students enjoyed being recognized for their academic achievements, and we hope the numbers continue to grow each quarter as the year goes on!

Prior to Thanksgiving break, grade 2 students came together with their teachers to celebrate the 10th annual Grade 2 Friendship Feast! After learning about the origins of Thanksgiving, students had the opportunity to share what they were thankful for with their peers, make trail mix, and create friendship bracelets as a great group activity full of creativity and fun!

The early release day before Thanksgiving break was celebrated with the annual staff-8th grade students floor hockey game! The whole building got to enjoy the activity as spectators, cheering on our teachers and 8th graders as they played a few games of floor hockey.

Our grades 6 and 7 students and teachers worked very hard with our PTO to bring back the Fall Festival - and it did not disappoint! There were games and raffles all around the lobby and cafeteria, and by the end of the night every bit of food was gone, too. The group raised a lot of money to benefit field trips and activities for the year, including their Nature's Classroom field trip scheduled for April, 2024. Thank you for all your support!

There are a lot of wonderful things happening in our classrooms each and every day - and many of those things get displayed around the building for students and staff to see! I'll try to share some of my favorite snapshots so you can get a chance to see them, too!

This snapshot actually wasn't mine, but it was too good not to share! This past Friday, Mayor Christenson came to Michelle Foley's 6th grade ELA class to read the first chapter of "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis to their class as a part of their engaging "First Chapter Friday" guest reader series. Our students love any opportunity they have to listen and learn with our wonderful city leaders. One of these days, I'll be a "First Chapter Friday" guest reader, too!

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