Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends!
This past Tuesday we finally had a full Nest with all of our kindergarten students joining us for their first day. We had a fantastic week welcoming them all as they learned their way around our school building and got familiar with all our routines, procedures, and expectations.
Students across the grade levels this week were co-creating class expectations and boundaries, revisiting our school wide protocols and procedures, having lots of time to build and strengthen new and existing relationships, and even diving into curriculum. The first six weeks of school provide ample opportunities and space to establish community and build a strong foundation so that when we increase academic demands as the year progresses students feel ready and supported to take the risks they need to push themselves to grow and achieve.
In this edition of our weekly newsletter you will find information about:
- upcoming dates and celebrations
- Meet our Counselors newsletter
- September Coffee and Conversation recap and link to presentation
- Fall School Picture Day
- bus dismissal update
- Battle of the Books update and registration
- Private Lessons Through WPS Music Department
- Elm on Instagram
I want to thank our PAC for all their support in our opening of school events including Kindergarten popsicles, our Ice Cream social, and this morning's Coffee and Conversation. Working collaboratively as a team and connected community will allow us to create opportunities for all our students to grow, thrive, and experience joy in learning this school year.
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and we will see everyone back at the Nest on Monday for our first full week of the school year. Rest up!
Jen
Upcoming Dates and Celebrations
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 the month of September.
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.
August 30th: SCHOOL CLOSED
September 2nd: SCHOOL CLOSED, Labor Day
September 3rd: First Day of School (PreK and K)
September 5th 6:00p: "Ice Cream" Social for all K-5 students and families
September 6th 8:30a: Coffee and Conversation (see below)
September 10th 3:15p: Elm School Council Meeting
September 11th: Anniversary of 9/11
September 15th: First Day of Hispanic Heritage Month
September 15-16th: Mawlid
September 16th: Fall School Picture Day
September 19th 7:00p: First PAC meeting
September 20th: Early Release Day
September 21st: International Day of Peace
September 24th: Elm Curriculum Night
October 27th: Elm Fall Festival
September Coffee and Conversation Recap
We had a great first Coffee and Conversation with those in attendance. We reviewed our School Improvement plan and how it informs our four focus areas for this year and answered some questions from families. Thank you to PAC for the delicious coffee and treats from Muffin House!
If you missed us this morning you can take a look at our slide deck here. Be sure to mark your calendars for our next Coffee and Conversation on October 4th where we will focus on math instruction at Elm with our guest speaker Mrs. Torigian.
Bus Dismissal Update
Thank you for your patience and understanding regarding the delays with our bus service. We recognize that these delays have caused some inconvenience, and we appreciate your flexibility. The new school year always brings a few unexpected challenges and the punctuality of the buses has taken longer than anticipated. The bus company, WPS transportation department, and the schools are closely monitoring the situation and working together to minimize future delays.
We will keep you informed of any updates and continue to do everything we can to ensure a smooth and timely transportation experience for our students and families.
Thank you once again for your support and understanding.
Arrival and Dismissal Procedures at Elm
Arrival
car drop off in the morning
cars start arriving in the loop at 8:15a
please pay attention and follow all staff directions in order to keep everyone safe
students need to exit the car on the right (passenger) side of the car and walk directly to the side walk
students should be able to unbuckle themselves from their seats and open and close the door themselves
when exiting the loop please wait for the staff signal and car in front of you to start moving and use safe driving practices and speeds
arrival ends at 8:25a- after this time adults must park and come into the building to sign in your child(ren) as tardy
- bus drop off in the morning
- students will exit the buses safely and walk into the building from the bus loop
- there are adults stationed in the hallway to make sure all students make it to their classrooms safely
- for bus riders: please remind your child(ren) of expected bus behaviors- staying seated the whole way, using talking level voices, listening and following the driver's directions, and maintaining a respectful and helpful attitude toward each other and the driver. Students who are unable to follow our bus expectations may lose their privilege to ride the bus
Dismissal
- car pick up in the afternoon
- any change in dismissal procedure must be shared in writing to the classroom teacher who will share it with the main office
- cars may begin queueing in the loop at 2:35p
- a staff member will come to each vehicle and take last names of students being picked up
- students will be called down (10 cars at a time) to the main office starting at 2:50p and walked outside
- students need to enter vehicles on the right (passenger) side and should be able to buckle themselves and open and close vehicle doors
when exiting the loop please wait for the staff signal and car in front of you to start moving and use safe driving practices and speeds
- bus pick up in the afternoon
- any change in dismissal procedure must be shared in writing to the classroom teacher who will share it with the main office
- we start calling buses as soon as they arrive usually around 2:55p, the last bus usually leaves Elm by 3:10p
- students will be called down by bus to the bus loop
- for any student who misses their bus we will first attempt to have the bus return to Elm and if we are unable we will start calling contacts to pick up the student
- for bus riders: please remind your child(ren) of expected bus behaviors- staying seated the whole way, using talking level voices, listening and following the driver's directions, and maintaining a respectful and helpful attitude toward each other and the driver. Students who are unable to follow our bus expectations may lose their privilege to ride the bus
Battle of the Books Update and Registration
This coming week (9/9 - 9/13) students in Grades 3-5 will hear more about Battle of the Books at Elm during the STEM class with Mrs. Edwards (formerly Flanagan). They will also be bringing home a pamphlet with more information about the competition and a contract for families and students to sign if they are interested in participating. This form along with the paper contract are required of all students wanting to register and are due by Friday September 27th.
We are so excited to launch this year's Battle of the Books and look forward to working with all the family volunteers who will help make this event successful!
Private Lessons Through WPS Music Department
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. Some lessons are currently being taught virtually.
Session 1 will run September 23 to January 31. Registration is open until Monday, September 16th.
For more information and to register, visit:
https://sites.google.com/walpole.k12.ma.us/wpsmusic/private-lesson-program/overview
For questions, email:
Tim Fleming (K-12 Music Coordinator) at tfleming@walpole.k12.ma.us
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