Green Meadow Weekly Update

Principal, Karen Lindquist - klindquist@maynard.k12.ma.us

Assistant Principal, Kate Murray - kmurray@maynard.k12.ma.us

Administrative Assistant- Kathy Sullivan - ksullivan@maynard.k12.ma.us

Administrative Assistant- Christine de Leon Argueta

School Nurse, Maria Bourgeois - mbourgeois@maynard.k12.ma.us

Important Phone Numbers to Add to Your Contacts List

Main Office Line - (978) 897-8246

Absentee Phone Line - (978)897-0310

The first day of school for Grade K-3 is Monday, August 31!

Regular School Hours

Grades K- 3: 8:30 AM – 2:50 PM, student drop-off begins at 8:15 AM

Preschool: 8:40 AM - 2:40 PM (full day)

8:40 AM - 11:10 AM (morning program)

12:10 - 2:40 PM (afternoon program)

Early Release Hours

Grades K- 3: 8:30 AM – 11:45 AM

Preschool: Students who attend our program on Fridays will be dismissed at 11:35 PM on an Early Release day.

School Meals

Breakfast opens daily at 8:15 AM.

Breakfast and Lunch menus will be available at this link:

https://www.fdmealplanner.com/

The Green Meadow Back to School Night is scheduled for Thursday, September 10, from 6:00 - 7:30 PM. It is an opportunity for parents and caregivers to meet staff, learn about curriculum and visit with other community members. Representatives from the School Committee, ELPAC, SEPAC, the GMS PTO, and others will be present that evening in the cafeteria.

Back to School Night Schedule

• This year it will be held on Thursday, September 11

• 6:00 - 6:30 - Grades K & 1 presentations in classrooms

• 6:30 - 7:00- Welcome & New School Update by Karen Lindquist and Kate Murray, GM Cafeteria

• 7:00 - 7:30 - Grades PreK, 2 & 3 presentations in classrooms

• Specialists can be available in classrooms for parent/guardian visits.

We have our first two early release days of the school year on Friday, September 11, and Friday, September 25. These scheduled days allow staff to participate in necessary professional development.

Please enter your child's Early Release Day schedule in Pick Up Patrol. There is a new selection for BASEC Early Release days if your child will only be attending the program on these days. If your child is going to the Boys & Girls Club just for early release days, please let us know how they will be getting there in the notes. Students may only ride Bus 1 and Bus 3 to the Club if they have a bus pass for these buses.

Early Release Day Bagged Lunches - In the past, bagged lunches have been offered to students on Early Release Days.This year, in accordance with updated DESE regulations, bagged lunches will be provided to students during the school day and enjoyed during the designated snack time in their classrooms.

Teachers will ask students earlier in the week if they would like to order a bagged lunch. Please share your family plan with your child to assist in this process. Students who do not order a bagged lunch should plan to bring a snack from home. We will encourage all students to take home any non-perishable food items that they do not eat so that nothing goes to waste.

Thank you for your partnership and understanding as we make this adjustment.

Please click here or on the link below to access the Green Meadow Handbook and learn about our school procedures and policies.

This week I had the opportunity to read a book to each kindergarten class and introduce myself. We read the book, Jubari Jumps, by Gaia Cornwall.

In the book, the young boy wants to jump from the high dive but realizes that while the idea is wonderful, the reality feels scary. His father teaches him a strategy for calming his nerves and facing his fears and in the end Jubari take the big leap.

The students and I practiced Jubari's new strategy together, which is simply taking a very deep breath and saying to yourself, "I am ready." We discussed the fact that each of them had to be brave when they started school on Monday, and they will need to be brave at other times as well. These feelings are typical and strategies like Jubari's can help during these times.

Gaia Cornwall has another book featuring Jubari titled, Jubari Tries, which is available at both the Green Meadow Library and the Maynard Public Library.

New to Green Meadow? Sign up for an account on the PTO website!

Returning family? Please log in and update your family information, including your child’s new teacher.

Visit www.gmpto.org to get started!

Please support the Maynard Food Pantry by participating in this event in one of two ways:

- Drop off donations to the bin in the Green Meadow Lobby.

- Look for the Maynard Police cruiser at Market Basket on Saturday, September 19, and donate there.

Monday, September 21st, 6:00pm

Maynard High School, Front Field

Open to children 4-13 years old

The Open Table Food Pantry (www.opentable.org; 33 Main St, Maynard) is open on Tuesdays, 3:30 - 6:30 PM and Thursdays, 1 - 4:30 PM and offers free bags of groceries 1x/week. Open Table also allows families to pick up frozen meals for family members weekly.

The Maynard Food Pantry (www.maynardfoodpantry.com; 82 Main St., Maynard) is open on Mondays from 10 AM - 12 noon 1-2x/month

The Maynard Food Pantry offers a weekly Backpack Program for all students in PreK-Grade 5 that aims to offer food assistance to families. Each backpack is filled with nutritious, non-perishable food at no cost. Forms sent home to Green Meadow families at the beginning of the school year or when a family registers during the school year. Forms are available throughout the school year. If you need a form, they are available in the Green Meadow main office. You can also request one by emailing Kate Murray at kmurray@maynard.k12.ma.us.