News From The Nest: Issue #9
October 31st, 2026
Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends!
It's hard to believe that we are already headed into November and just about finished with our first quarter of the school year! In the coming weeks we will be sharing attendance letters with families of students who have excessive tardies and absences (10% or more of the school year so far). We share these letters to keep you informed as well as invite you to partner with us to increase regular on time attendance for your child(ren) as we know this is one of the predictors of academic success and achievement in future years for students.
In this edition of our newsletter you will find more information about:
- upcoming dates and celebrations for November
- Counseling Corner: November Counseling Newsletter (mindfulness and dealing with stress, holiday assistance, social emotional learning lessons preview)
- Essentialist Newsletter: STEM with Mrs. Edwards
- Fall Festival Update: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
- Elm Turkey Trot
- A Heads Up About Lice Prevention
- Fall Picture Retake Day: 11/3
- School Council Spirit Days
- Fall Conferences (11/12, 11/13, and 11/17)
- Elm PAC Corner
- Year at a Glance at Elm
- 2026 - 2027 School Calendar
- Lunch Menus
- Walpole Virtual Backpack (community notices)
Next weekend is the Elm Fall Festival! This community building fun event relies on family volunteers to run successfully. Please consider signing up to volunteer, there are still many open slots.
I hope all of our Eagles and their families who are out tonight have a safe and enjoyable Halloween! We will see everyone back at the Nest on Monday for the start of November!
Jen
Upcoming Dates: November
At the beginning of each month I will share a calendar of some upcoming Elm events as well as upcoming cultural celebrations and heritage months with hyperlinks to more information if you are interested in learning more. Below is information for November.
If there are cultural celebrations that are important to you and your family that you would like to share with the adult Elm community, please email me so I can be sure to include them in upcoming newsletters. If you have any questions about anything you see on our calendar, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.
November
- Native American Heritage Month
- 11/1 All Saints Day
- 11/1 - 2 Day of the Dead
- 11/3 Election Day
- 11/5 7:00p Elm PAC Meeting
- 11/10 3:45p Elm School Council meeting
- 11/11 Veterans Day, School Closed
- 11/12 5:00 - 7:00p Family Educator Conferences, 6:45p School Committee meeting
- 11/13 Early Release Day- Family Educator Conferences
- 11/17 5:00 - 7:00p Family Educator Conferences
- 11/19 6:00p Elm Multicultural Potluck
- 11/20 Transgender Day of Remembrance
- 11/25 Early Release Day, Elm Turkey Trot
- 11/26 - 27 School Closed
- 11/26 Thanksgiving, National Day of Mourning
Fall Festival Update
In case you haven’t heard, the 2026 Elm Street Fall Festival is coming up on Sunday, November 8th, from 12pm-3pm at school!
The fall festival is an annual fun, family-friendly event for all Elm families to enjoy. Please consider joining us for a great time!
Wristbands are $10 per child (all ages and siblings welcome!), with a maximum of $25 per family. A wristband allows access to ALL activities AND 3 raffle tickets! Venmo and Cash accepted. Payment will be collected at the entrance.
The Fall Fest fun will include:
Carnival games and prizes
Mini Golf
Giant Legos
Raffle prizes (additional tickets for purchase)
Pizza, drinks, popcorn, and cotton candy for purchase (to benefit Fifth Grade Celebration)
Other fun activities!
Ways to Contribute:
Volunteer the day of the event! Sign Up Genius IS OPEN!!!!
If you have a middle schooler or high schooler, we could use their help! Email elmfallfest@gmail.com for info.
Sponsorship - Your family, small business, local businesses, corporate businesses or any other contribution could be a huge asset to make our day a success. We are looking to have a few more raffle prizes sponsored. If you or your company are interested in sponsoring, please reach out. We could keep this donation anonymous or we could use a logo to promote your business name!
We look forward to seeing EVERYONE enjoying this day! Please be in touch with Mrs. Buller if your family needs financial assistance to participate in this FUN day!
Contact the fall festival committee with any questions, or sponsorship opportunities at elmfallfest@gmail.com.
Thank you all for your continued support!
Elm Turkey Trot
Elm Street School is hosting our annual Turkey Trot on Wednesday November 25, 2026 during the half-day. Each grade will be invited outside during their specials block to see how many laps they can run, walk, roll, or jog! Students are encouraged to bring in nonperishable food items Monday, November 23 through Wednesday November 25, 2026. There will be a donation table set up in the main lobby by the office. These items will be donated to the Walpole Food Pantry to help members of the community during the holiday season. Please remind your child(ren) to dress appropriately for the outdoors including sneakers.
Elm Fall Picture Retake Day: 11/3
Fall Retake Picture Day is coming up on: Tuesday, Nov 3
If you're satisfied with your child's picture, no further action is required.
If you purchased and were unhappy with your Picture Package, please send your Picture Package to school with your student on Retake Day. Your Retake Picture Package will be produced and shipped to the school four weeks after Retake Day. Please note, if your child is photographed on the original and Retake Picture Days, the Retake picture will replace the original picture in certain products, like the yearbook.
Students who were absent for Picture Day should come to school prepared to have their picture taken. If you have not preordered, please use the Retake Order Code 0755MXF to place your order at https://inter-state.com/Order. To see your Order History, check your Inter-State Account.
Family/Educator Fall Conferences at Elm
This November all of our educators will be offering conference times for parents/caregivers. These 10 minute conferences are a chance to learn about your child(ren)'s progress and goals in key academic and social emotional areas as well as ask questions of our team here at Elm. Please sign up for a conference with each of the educators that support your child(ren) across their day(s) including classroom teachers, specialists, counselors, and service providers. You are also welcome to sign up for a conference block with Mrs. Buller for any questions, connections, or feedback you would like to share.
To sign up for a conference with any our educators please access their appointment schedule through this spreadsheet and links.
Math Corner
This month in Math Corner, we will explore the importance of play in learning math.
“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”
~ Fred Rogers
When children play math games, they aren't just having fun; they are practicing strategy, problem-solving, and critical thinking in an active, low-stress environment. Game-based learning also builds vital social-emotional skills like turn-taking, collaboration, following rules, and navigating healthy competition.
In Walpole math classrooms, play is everywhere! Whether our students are solving ST Math puzzles, playing Bridges workstation games, or participating in Number Corner routines, they are constantly applying concepts, making connections, and extending their thinking. As they play, students are prompted to explain their reasoning and rephrase their strategies—deepening their understanding of the math behind the game.
Parents often ask how they can support their child’s math progress and development. Playing board and card games at home is a wonderful way to strengthen these core skills as a family. (Digital math games offer great benefits too, when balanced in moderation!)
Check out our Family Math site includes a whole section on games that support your child’s growth as a mathematician.
Elm PAC Corner
Our next meeting is November 5 at 7pm in the media room! We'd love to see you there!
The grants that were awarded at the last meeting are already being purchased and arriving at school! Be on the lookout for photos of them in use soon!
Fall Fest is coming November 8th 12-3. This will be a fun day for all! There will be opportunities for parents to volunteer. Sign Up Genius IS OPEN!!!!
If you have a middle schooler or high schooler, we could use their help! Email elmfallfest@gmail.com for info.
If your child has food allergies and is hoping to attend Fall Fest and you'd like to have comparable safe foods for them, please email elmpac@gmail.com and we will make a plan!
Our annual Multicultural Potluck Event will take place on November 19th at 6pm. Please email elmpac@gmail.com if you are interested in volunteering to help with this wonderful event!
The Garden Committee is selling holiday bulbs online. Here is the link to the fundraiser, which will support the purchase of a new garden shed. Garden Committee will also be hosting a fall cleanup and winterization of the garden on November 14th.
The Friend Finder on the PAC website is a great feature that many parents use when sending birthday party invitations or organizing playdates. PAC can no longer update your child's grade level and classroom teacher for you. If you would like your information to be updated, please log on here and manually change their info.
On The Horizon...
November 8, Fall Festival
November 14, Garden Cleanup
November 19, Multicultural Potluck
February 1, Glow Run Fundraiser Kickoff
February 5, Half Day Family Swim at Goldfish, Norwood
February 10, Glow Run
Nest Connections
Email: jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.walpole.k12.ma.us/o/ess
Location: 415 Elm Street, Walpole, MA, USA
Phone: 508.660.7374
Instagram: ElmStSchool