News from the Nest

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends,

We had an excellent first full week of school here at the Nest!

Our Eagles were all hard at work this week practicing and solidifying routines, jumping into curriculum, and continuing to build up stamina for the demands of full days and weeks at school. I imagine there were a lot of tired bodies and brains coming home to you this week!

On Monday our grade level teams participated in Grade Level Team Meetings (GLTM) as they do each Monday. You might hear your child(ren) talk about guest teachers on these days as we provide substitute coverage for 50 minutes for classroom teachers to attend these important meetings and professional development opportunities that support improving instructional practices. This week meetings were led by Shannon Findley, the Walpole Public Schools English Language Arts (ELA) coordinator, and focused on reviewing and solidifying our scope and sequences around literacy instruction for this school year.

We also held our first Staff Meeting of the school year after school on Monday where we focused on methods for providing feedback on professional practices and elements of high quality instruction for all students. We had a chance in small groups to explore the Walpole Public Schools Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) website and set individual and/or small group goals around culturally responsive practices and pedagogy.

There is A LOT of important information in this week's newsletter, so please set aside some time to read through it carefully. As always, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly.

Jen

We are looking forward to welcoming adult caregivers to Elm Street School's Open House on Tuesday, September 26th. Our educators will be sharing curriculum expectations along with information specific to the classroom. Adult caregivers will also have time to ask general questions. Any questions specific to your child(ren) should be reserved for a more confidential setting such as upcoming educator/caregiver conferences or at a separately scheduled time.

The Open Houses/Curriculum Nights at all of the Walpole Elementary Schools are for adult caregivers only. Students, other family members, and guests should not attend. Thank you for your understanding.

Schedule:

6:00 - 6:30p Families with Last Name Beginning with A-L*

6:45 - 7:15p Families with Last Name Beginning with M-Z*

*If you have more than one child, email the teacher for an exception to the assigned times.

What is a school council?

A school council is a representative, school building-based committee composed of the principal, adult caregivers, teachers, community members required to be established by each school pursuant to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 71, Section 59C.

What are the main areas of responsibility for school councils?

The law outlines four major areas of responsibility for councils. School councils are to assist principals in:

1. Adopting educational goals for the school that are consistent with local educational policies and statewide student performance standards

2. Identifying the educational needs of students attending the school

3. Reviewing the annual school building budget

4. Formulating a school improvement plan

The Elm Street School Council will meet 4-5 times this school year for about an hour each meeting. Meetings are held here at Elm Street School and will take place either 3:30 - 4:30p or 7:00 - 8:00a.

If you are interested in being a part of the Elm Street School Council as a family representative, please reach out to Jen Buller (jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us) directly.

Our teachers have many ways to check your child(ren)'s reading development and growth, including an early literacy universal screening assessment. Early literacy universal screening assessments are brief tests that provide information about your child(ren)’s early reading skills.

Screening makes it possible to see if a student is at risk of developing reading difficulties, including risk of dyslexia. Screening does not diagnose dyslexia or other disabilities, but it does help us understand which students may need additional support to be successful readers. We are required to assess students in grades K-3 at least twice per year consistent with Massachusetts regulation 603 CMR 28.03(1)(f)

Our district uses the screening assessment called iReady. This screening assessment is approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Your child will be assessed two or three times during the school year, depending on grade level. Grades 1-3 will be given the computer adaptive assessment in the Fall. Kindergarten will be given the computer adaptive assessment in the Winter. Assessments given in the Winter and Spring will also include offline literacy task assessments for grades K-3. The tentative schedule for this school year is shown below.

Screening Assessment Months (Subject to Change)

Kindergarten

• January
• May

Grade 1 - Grade 3

• September
• January
• May

Following the screening assessment, a team at our school will review all students’ results. If your child(ren) scores significantly below benchmarks, we will contact you to discuss how we can support your child.

Screening is another step that helps students at our school become proficient readers, and we are grateful for the continued support and partnership with the Elm families. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.

It has been great to see the excitement as students enter our second year in the Bridges Math Curriculum. They are enjoying the activities in Number Corner, the daily routine that builds number sense and flexible thinking around numbers and concepts. We have also had a fantastic launch to ST Math. The goal this year is for all students to reach 80% of their journey by mid May, and many of them are already on their way. Students are anxiously awaiting JiJi’s first visit to celebrate what a great start to the year they have had.

We also wanted to take this opportunity to remind our returning families and share with our new families the link for our Family Math Website which is full of great resources and information to help build your child’s math disposition, conceptual knowledge and basic skills through at home activities. There are so many activities students can do at home to build their math skills from reading books to playing board and card games to even going on a grocery shopping trip and talking about all the different ways they see and use numbers at the store. In future notes, different parts of our website will be highlighted to share more specific examples of things you can do at home. We are looking forward to a great year of mathematical learning and building math confidence in all of our students!

We are excited to be able to offer some fun classes for the upcoming Fall After School Enrichment Program. An email will go out to all families on Tuesday, September 19th with all the details of the classes being offered, the dates the program will run and the signup information.

Please contact Jen Breen with any questions regarding the After School Enrichment Program.

Join in this incredible volunteer program - bringing art history and appreciation into our school. Together, we explore different artists, art styles, time periods, cultures and types of art - and the kids love it! No experience is necessary - we will teach you what you need to know, and hand you all the materials. Classroom visits take about an hour, and often include games or crafts. Being a part of the Docent Program is a great way to get into the classroom, interact with the students, open their eyes to art, and have some fun!

If you would like to volunteer or would like to learn more about this program, please email Alanna Zammett and Moriah Boulos at elmdocent@gmail.com Everyone is welcome!

This week Officer Hart and Rebel visited all our kindergarten classrooms to review our safety protocols and procedures. Also as a whole school community we practiced our Emergency Preparedness with the support of the Walpole Fire Department during a Fire Drill.

All of our Elm Street School eagles did a fantastic job following our protocols, listening to the directions being given by our staff, and demonstrating safety.

The Walpole Public Schools Music Department is pleased to announce the fall session for our Private Lesson Program for students in grades 4 - 12. If your child is interested in taking private instrument or voice lessons, here is your chance. Lessons are offered in flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, baritone horn, tuba, piano, percussion, violin, viola, cello, guitar and voice. All lessons are taught by accomplished performers on their respective instruments. Most lessons are currently being taught virtually.

Session 1 will run September 25 to January 26. Registration is open until Monday, September 18th.

For more information, visit:

https://sites.google.com/walpole.k12.ma.us/wpsmusic/private-lesson-program/overview

To register, visit:

https://www.familyid.com/walpole-public-schools/private-music-lessons-2023-2024-session-i

For questions, email:

Tim Fleming (K-12 Music Coordinator) at tfleming@walpole.k12.ma.us

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