Doyon News
Friday, March 20, 2026
Dear Doyon Families,
Happy Friday!
It has been a busy week of learning and fun! Many students have been enjoying playing soccer on the field during recess, now that the snow is gone! Thank you for continuing to send in boots and warm coats! Fortunately the spring sun can really warm things up in the afternoons, but students need those warm layers for before school play and for morning recesses.
On Friday, we will welcomed farmer Elise, owner of Cedar Rock Gardens in Gloucester, and Lydia and Arika, of the New Entry Sustainable Farming Project. They joined our Harvest of the Month volunteer at lunch and also taught with our kindergarten classes about farming, with connections to the Wit & Wisdom module, Once Upon a Farm. We are excited to plan additional farm visits for other grade levels, all funded by a grant through New Entry Food Hub!
The Paul F. Doyon Memorial Elementary School’s fourth grade just wrapped up an incredible virtual expedition to Yellowstone National Park. They “traveled” with Ipswich High School students who were participating in a college course combining environmental science, civics, and history learning. The high school and fourth grade “Yellowstone buddies” were able to meet face to face in February to prepare for the big journey. After performing research in the park, the high schoolers hopped on Zoom to tell the fourth graders all about their experiences in Wyoming and Montana. It was great to see the younger students dive into the experience, asking brilliant questions and learning about our natural world in such a hands-on, high-tech way.
As the second trimester comes to a close, I'd like to take this opportunity to ask for your help with our tardy policy. To ensure accurate attendance records and minimize disruptions to classroom learning, students arriving at 8:45 or later must stop by the office with a parent/guardian to sign in. The office will then issue your child a Tardy Slip to bring to their teacher. This slip lets the teacher know that the office has updated the attendance record, changing the absence to a tardy. Thank you for helping us start the school day smoothly and on time. Arriving promptly supports your child’s success and respects everyone’s learning time!
MCAS testing kicks off this week for our 3rd graders!
To help everyone perform at their best:
- Please make sure your child gets plenty of sleep and eats a healthy breakfast in the morning.
- Please be sure that your child arrives to school on time on testing days.
Warmly,
Mrs. Benincasa
Bravo to All Our Doyon Readers!
We hope you're feeling incredibly proud of yourselves because you absolutely should be! Our Doyon Devours Books Read-a-thon has wrapped up, and the final results are spectacular:
- We raised over $11,000 for our school!
- Total of 136,576 minutes read!
Whether you powered through chapter books, picture books, or epic series, every minute logged and every pledge made helped make this year's event a huge success. Thank you for making Doyon Devours Books another triumphant chapter in our school's story.
🏆Top Classes
1st - Ms. Dingle's Class 12,464
2nd - Mrs. Zabelski's Class 12,084
3rd - Ms. Hubbard's Class 11,662
🏆Top Readers by Grade Level
Preschool - Marco C. read 605 minutes!
Kindergarten - Jack W. read 2,043 minutes! (2nd overall reader)
1st Grade - Max M. read 1,805 minutes! (3rd overall reader)
2nd Grade - Eva D. read 745 minutes!
3rd Grade - Aurelia W. read 2,221 minutes (1st overall reader)
4th Grade - Sawyer D. read 616 minutes!
5th Grade - Mackenzie W. read 1,725 minutes!
Congratulations to our Reading Bingo Winners! Completed bingo sheets were drawn at random and the winners received a gift certificate to Tidal Pages Bookshop.
Bella G
Wes L
Carlos F
Grade 3 Doyon Winners
Grade 4 Doyon Winners
Grade 5 Doyon Winners
Members of our amazing Student Leadership Team (SLT) are continuing to do a wonderful job starting each day with C.A.R.E.S. reminders! Way to lead by example, SLT!
Doyon's 5th Grade Movie Night
Saturday March 28th at the the Dolan Performing Arts Center (PAC)
Support Doyon 5th Graders
Buy a Doyon umbrella or black fleece blanket and help support Doyon's 5th Grader class
Frozen
Updated practice times
Egg My Yard
IHS Softball Fundraiser
Soccer Cleat Swap
Need larger cleats? Have gently used cleats you no longer need? Lets swap!
ITS Spring Registration
🎉EXTENDED 🎉
📌 Thank you to all of the volunteers who donated items for the Bingo baskets. A special thank you as well to our number callers for helping keep the games running smoothly. With the support of our amazing community, Bingo Night was a wonderful success. We truly appreciate everyone who helped make the evening so much fun!
✨ Next Meeting
Wednesday, March 18th - ZOOM
https://zoom.us/j/9335002301?pwd=Pj96LzyWKk4ZtFXLTNOgsY0KuBsXap.1
The FRIES Treasurer position will be opening at the end of this school year (2-year term). If you’re interested or would like more information, please reach out to Dougherty.family91@gmail.com.
F.R.I.E.S Summary
Q1 2026
Doyon FRIES Balance
July 2025 - March 2026
Small Business Fair
Does your student have a creative side? Sign up for a booth at the Small FRIES Business Fair!
Dear Doyon Families,
In terms of school illnesses, we are again seeing a bit of everything across all grades - some strep in kindergarten/4th grade and some tummy bugs (presenting as nausea, dizziness) in third grade. I also continue to see cases of Flu B across all grades. A reminder that students may return to school when they are 24 hours fever free; however, what I am seeing with Flu B cases in particular is the energy level does take a few days to return.
In addition, although the weather is getting warmer, we are entering mud season and it is still very wet and muddy on the play yard. Please continue to send snow pants and boots as well as change of clothes/socks - just in case!
In the coming weeks, I will be conducting state-mandated health screenings. These include height/weight for 1st and 4th grade students, postural/scoliosis screenings for 5th grade students as well as hearing for students through grade 3, and vision for all students. Please note that these screenings are not for diagnostic purposes but to determine if your child needs further evaluation.
If you do not wish for your child to participate, please email me at msforza@ipsk12.net and attach a physical stating the screening(s) were done to this email. It is always a good idea to have a recent physical exam on file and keep your child's health record up to date.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Mary Sforza RN, MSN, NCSN
Curious about school safety procedures? Take a peek at the documents displayed below. These documents are shared with students at the start of the school year by Detective Joe Perna, our School Resource Officer. The documents may serve as a guide to support families in discussing school safety. As always, please be in touch with questions around school safety at the Paul F. Doyon Memorial School.