Notes from Eddy

Hello Eddy Families,

I hope that you have enjoyed this beautiful fall weekend! This past week was a wonderful week of learning at Eddy Elementary School. Our new farm-to-school coordinator, Dave DeWitt joined us in harvesting our fall crop of kale for use in our lunches at school. We thank him for his help with this! More to come on when this kale will show up in our meals at school.

On Friday morning, we conducted a lockdown/evacuation drill with the Brewster Police Department. Chief Eldredge and Lieutenant Mawn were on site to assist. Students did a terrific job of taking the drill seriously, which involved being quiet and waiting for directions from adults. Our message to students during these drills is: be quiet and listen for directions from adults, who will keep you safe. Upon clearing the building, the Brewster Police let each classroom know that they were safe, and that we were evacuating the building, in the same protocol as a fire drill building evacuation. The BPD gave our students and staff great feedback about taking the drill seriously, and the opportunity provided the BPD and the school good feedback about ensuring we keep our students and staff safe.

This Friday, October 9, there is no school for students; there is a full-day PD Day for staff. There is also no school on Monday, October 12 for Indigenous Peoples Day. School resumes on Tuesday, October 13 with business as usual.

Please note that fall conferences will occur during the evening of Thursday, October 22 and afternoon of Friday, October 23. You will hear directly from your student's classroom teacher with a signup for fall conferences.

Don't forget: this Wednesday, October 7, we will have our first walk, ride, and roll to school day! All students in PreK-5, siblings, and family members are welcome to join us to get in some exercise, and celebrate getting to and from school using our bodies. For those interested, we will meet at the Cape Cod Rail Trail parking lot on Long Pond Road and Yankee Drive/Underpass Road at 7:15am. We will walk down the rail trail path, Stony Brook students will head to Stony Brook, and Eddy students will take the path behind Stony Brook to the gravel trail to Eddy, and enter at the third grade bus entrance. It looks to be beautiful weather: 62 degrees and sunny!

The PreK-12 SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council) meets this Wednesday, 10/7 with Dr. Erin Sullivan, the Interim Director of Special Education @ Noon on Google Meet. All are welcome. You do not need to be the parent of a student with a disability to join this meeting; it is an opportunity to ask questions and meet Dr. Sullivan and you are encouraged to login to say hello if you are available!

We are still looking for a few parents/caregivers and staff to join our Eddy School Council. This group helps develop a school improvement plan and provide input to the budget. If you are interested in assisting with this, the commitment is one meeting a month (we will likely not meet each month), for 60-90 minutes. Our first meeting will be on Wednesday, October 21 @ 2:15pm in the Art Room. If you are interested in helping out, please email me at gudituss@nausetschools.org.

Here's to a great week of learning at Eddy Elementary School!

Best,

Steve Guditus

Eddy Elementary School Principal and Lead Learner

October breakfast menu

October lunch menu

Congratulations to our green card winners this week! These students were selected from those who earned green cards this week for demonstrating our core values of respect, empathy, accountability, determination, and your best. Congratulations to Tova, Forrest, and Aimal!

We are building an Eddy reading wall! Please send in a picture of your student reading their favorite book - or snap a picture and email it to Mr. Guditus at gudituss@nausetschools.org and he can print it out for the bulletin board. Thank you for sharing our love of reading!

Please join Superintendent Dr. Glenn Brand on Wednesday, 10/7 on Zoom. This is an opportunity to learn about our district's new strategic plan and also provide input and ask questions. All are welcome.

Based on the three research articles below, here are a few things you can consider in your daily interactions with your students. One main takeaway from the research is: Well-being is more than being happy. Well-being includes feeling connected and supported, help managing emotions, handling changes and challenges, getting enough sleep and enough movement, and developing the skills to ask for help when help is needed. This research shows that schools and families can play an important role in developing these skills. Importantly, you can help at home through some simple conversations with your student; there is no need to add a special activity to your busy schedules.

Here are five things families can do at home to support student well-being:

1. Make time for connection. A few minutes of genuine, undivided attention can make a difference. Talk in the car, during dinner, while walking, or before bedtime. Instead of asking How was school? you could instead ask:

• What made you laugh today?
• What was something that was tricky?
• Who did you enjoy spending time with?

3. Protect sleep, movement, and downtime. Students' bodies and brains need to sleep, play, move, and recharge. You can help by ensuring consistent and predictable bedtime routines, encouraging physical activity and play, and ensure that there is a reasonable amount of time away from recreational screen time. Although challenging at times with busy lives, try to model this. Please limit student screen time, especially before bed, which can interrupt students' sleep patterns and habits.

4. Let students manage reasonable challenges. Determination is a core value at Eddy (the "D" in Eddy R.E.A.D.Y.), and we need to give students the opportunity to solve problems, make mistakes, and try again. It is important not to make challenges disappear, but help students navigate and build skills so they are confident the next time the challenge arises. We can be supportive by being nearby, and to be a safety net, but to let students try, and problem-solve afterwards. You can process with your student by asking questions such as:

• Who do you think was impacted by that?
• What could you have done differently?
• How could you ask for help - or who could you ask for help?
• How can we avoid making this same mistake again?

5. Notice effort, growth, and character. Kids benefit when adults notice important characteristics and qualities and they are celebrated, not just academic and athletic accomplishments. This is one reason why we celebrate our core values of being Eddy R.E.A.D.Y. so frequently and publicly. Our core values at Eddy are respect, empathy, accountability, determination, and your best - but you may want to celebrate different core values in your family. Instead of only saying, Great job! or You're so smart! or You're so tough! try saying things like: I'm proud of you for working so hard, even when it was tough! or I noticed how kind you were to someone who was having a tough day! or You should be proud of yourself for thinking about that mistake and trying it again.

Thank you for partnering with us to support students in not only being academically successful, but learning the skills they will need to be happy, healthy, and successful in life.

References:

Cohen, K. A., et al. (2024). Brief School-Based Interventions Targeting Student Mental Health or Well-Being: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 27, 732–806.

Wang, P., Wang, Z., & Qiu, S. (2024). Universal, school-based transdiagnostic interventions to promote mental health and emotional wellbeing: A systematic review. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 18, 47.

Fanxing, K., et al. (2024). Meeting 24-h movement behavior guidelines is linked to academic engagement, psychological functioning, and cognitive difficulties in youth with internalizing problems. Journal of Affective Disorders, 349, 176–186.

If you are interested in hosting a car trunk at NYA's trunk or treat, please reach out to NYA Executive Director Emma McBrearty by October 19 at emcbrearty@nausetyouthalliance.org. Trunk or Treat is community event held at Eddy Elementary School on Friday, 10/30 from 5:45-7:00pm.

Nurse Miller is making a call for donations of additional pants for students. We are looking for donations of lightly-used leggings, elastic waist pants, sweat pants, track pants, and athletic pants. You can send donations into school, labeled to Nurse Miller's attention. If you have any questions, you can contact Nurse Miller at millerm@nausetschools.org.

Dear 3rd, 4th, & 5th Grade Students and Families,

Join Mr. Lilja for an exciting after school Soccer Club starting Tuesday, September 29th from 2:10–3:10 PM! This club is open to all Eddy Elementary students, regardless of soccer experience. Whether your child is brand new to the game or has been playing for years, they'll have a blast building community, developing foundational soccer skills, learning what it means to be a great teammate, and gaining confidence on and off the field. Come ready to have fun and make new friends!

When: Tuesdays, 2:10–3:10 PM

Who: All students, all skill levels

Where: Eddy Field

Starts: September 29th

Ends: November 10th

*Please note that we are only able to accept 20 students. The form will lock after 20 responses. There will be a Spring Soccer Club. If you would like to sign up, please fill out this form or scan the qr code! We can’t wait to see you on the field!

Best,

Mr. Lilja

Eddy Elementary Technology Teacher

liljan@nausetschools.org

Here is the Eddy Family Success Guide, a comprehensive guide to all things you need to know about Eddy Elementary School.

The Brewster PTO and S&J Exco have teamed up to help provide a place to recycle your scrap metal of any amount! Just mention “Brewster Schools fundraiser” to give credit to the PTO when you weigh in. Thank YOU for supporting our kids and recycling responsibly!

Accepting metal during operating hours throughout the school year️!

S&J Hours
Monday - Friday 7:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Saturday 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM

Closed Sundays

Ms. Teevens is our new PE and Health Teacher at Eddy. She so excited by our students' enthusiasm for PE class! Please remember to wear sneakers on your designated PE day of the week. If you forget, you will get a paper slip home as a reminder to wear sneakers for your next PE class. If you're not sure when your student has PE, see the schedule below.

🚨Back To School Sale!🚨

Hello from the Brewster PTO! The Brewster PTO is the parent/teacher organization for the elementary schools in Brewster, MA. From their website, "The Brewster PTO is a volunteer-driven 501(c)(3) nonprofit organized to support the education of children at Stony Brook Elementary and Eddy Elementary by fostering relationships among schools, parents, caregivers, and teachers, and enriching the educational experience of every child."

The executive board is seeking to fill their open secretary position, vacated by a graduating parent/caregiver. The commitment is eight (nearly) monthly meetings (see below for dates), plus monthly executive board meetings to review minutes and budget requests from staff. If you are interested in learning more, please send an email to the PTO at: brewsterpto@gmail.com

Executive Board

• President: Christie Peterson
• VP: Sarah Marini
• Treasurer: Kristen O’Neal
• Secretary: *OPEN*

Meetings all take place at 7:00pm in person or on Zoom (Zoom link here):

• September 9, 2026: Stony Brook
• October 14, 2026: Eddy
• December 9, 2026: Stony Brook
• January 13, 2027: Eddy
• March 10, 2027: Stony Brook
• May 12, 2027: Eddy
• June 9, 2027: Stony Brook

You can learn more about the Brewster PTO at their website: https://brewsterpto.com/. Please considering joining us to help the students and staff at Brewster elementary schools!

• Wednesday, 10/7: Walk, Ride, and Roll to School Day @ 7:15am
• Wednesday, 10/7: SEPAC* Meeting @ Noon on Google Meet
• Friday, 10/9: No school for students (All Cape PD Day)
• Monday, 10/12: No school - Indigenous Peoples Day
• Thursday, 10/15: Brewster School Committee @ 6:30pm
• Wednesday, 10/21: All-School Assembly
• Thursday, 10/22: Evening Conferences
• Friday, 10/23: Afternoon Conferences
• Wednesday, 11/11: No School - Veterans Day

*SEPAC is the Special Education Parent Advisory Council. You do not need to be a parent/caregiver of a student who has an IEP or 504 to attend. This is informational in nature and all are welcome!