Notes from Eddy

Hello Eddy Families,

I hope you had a great weekend, and if you celebrate Easter or Passover, that you had a nice holiday. This coming week, Principal Kasper at Stony Brook will wear her costume and I will get my new hairdo for reaching our Boosterthon goal of $20,000 for the Brewster PTO. Thank you again for all who participated, cheered students on, and donated to supporting our Brewster PTO!

MCAS begins this week, with 3rd grade ELA on Tuesday and Wednesday, 4th grade ELA on Thursday and Friday. 5th grade will test next week on Tuesday/Wednesday, and makeups for any student who missed an ELA assessment will be Thursday and Friday next week, April 16 and 17. You can help by helping students get a good night's sleep, eat breakfast at home or at school, be on time for school, and encourage students to take MCAS seriously, and to take a deep breath and just do your best!

You should have received an email from Superintendent Brand regarding an adjustment to the school calendar due to the storm this past February. As a reminder, students will now have a full day of school on May 1st, which was originally scheduled as a half day. Additionally, the last day of school for students will be June 26th, and this will also be a full day.

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

Best,

Steve Guditus

Eddy Elementary Principal and Lead Learner

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Mrs. Faris and Mr. Glancy are pleased to announce our spring concert! Please save the date!

• Eddy grades 3, 4 and 5 Spring Concert
• April 16th at 9:00am in the Eddy Gymnasium
• All are welcome!

The Eddy Elementary School fifth grade class is raising money to visit Boston on their class trip! Flower Power is a flower bulb and seed fundraiser to help Eddy Elementary earn 50% of most orders; orders ship directly to the purchaser. If you are looking to support our class trip and beautify your home this spring and summer, please consider ordering bulbs here: http://bit.ly/EddyFlowers26. Feel free to share with others! Thank you for your generosity and consideration!

Would you like to help out with Teacher Appreciation Week in May? This is a one-time volunteer opportunity, ranging from creating small tokens of appreciation to coordinating snacks for teachers. If you are looking to help out on a small scale or looking for a one-time volunteer opportunity, this is for you! Please email the PTO at BrewsterPTO@gmail.com to let the PTO know your availability and bandwidth to help. Thank you!

Theme: Brewster Beach Day

This year we are getting MORE students involved in the float making process during art classes. We will not host a family paint night this year because your amazing artists are doing all of the work! Here’s what’s happening in the art rooms:

• K-2 will add fresh paint to the coral, seaweed, and sea creatures that we made for the parade 2 years ago.

• 3rd- Fish sculptures from gallon water jugs.

• 4th- Cardboard fish relief sculptures.

• 5th- Parade flowers made from scratch!

If you would like to contribute here is how you can help:

• We need students and families to participate in walking in the parade on Sunday May 3, 2026. More details to come.

• Candy donations to throw to our fans during parade day!

• If you plan on walking, we will dress in blues, greens, and purples. Beach hats, shades, and floaties are also welcome.

• Here are some links to parade ready clothes for kids or you can use what you have. Grown ups can order adult versions! The more sparkles the better!

• Purple Sequin Jacket
• Sea Green Sequin Jacket
• Metallic Bomber Jacket
• Mermaid Leggings

• We are working on a SHORT dance routine flash mob style to perform during a few points in the parade. Stay tuned for the video!

• This year we will have a special vehicle following behind our float in the parade. A big reveal is coming soon!

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Martha Mason (Art Teacher) and the Parade Krewe

We were excited to again welcome Fisher Tolley to Eddy Elementary School this past week! Brett spoke with students about his job, being a fisherman, and the importance of respecting our local waters and ecosystems - as well as the delicious fish that he catches, and we ate the very next day! Patti Taylor and Michelle Aucoin, our cafeteria workers, prepared Fisher Brett's monkfish beautifully, with ritz crackers and baked in the oven. It was delicious!

Congratulations to our three Eddy R.E.A.D.Y. award winners this past week! We missed the week before, so pulled two students in each grade this past Friday. Congratulations to James, Virginia, and Willis, and Jazzy, Flynn, and Nika for demonstrating our school's core values of Respect, Empathy, Accountability, Determination, and Your Best! We are proud of all our students who earned green cards this past week!

From Dr. Brand, Superintendent of Schools:

Current School Year Calendar Update:

Based on the weather events of 2026, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and

Secondary Education (DESE) has indicated it will consider waivers to the 180-day school year

requirement if districts can demonstrate that they have met several criteria, including:

• The district has used all five allotted snow days;
• The district will still meet the required instructional hours for the school year;
• The school calendar has been scheduled through Friday, June 26, 2026, with snow days rescheduled as full school days; and

• Any remaining districtwide professional development days or school closure days (such as Good Friday), outside of April vacation and required holidays, have been repurposed for instructional days.

The district will be exploring the option of requesting a waiver from DESE. At this time, however,

the last scheduled day of school is Monday, June 29. As soon as we have a more specific update, we will be sure to share that information with the School Committee and the community.

Eddy Elementary MCAS dates for this spring (April and May) can be found here: 2026 MCAS Dates. All students take two ELA sessions and two math sessions, and fifth graders also take two STE (science, technology, and engineering) sessions. Sessions are untimed and students have until the end of the day to complete the MCAS session if needed. Students who miss a session of MCAS will make it up on the designated makeup days. Typically, most students finish in about a 2.5 hour time span, during which we break for a stretch break, bathroom break, and snack.

MCAS gives our teachers and school one additional way to understand how students are developing important academic skills. They are just one part of the many ways we learn about student progress, alongside classroom work, projects, and teacher observations. Our goal is for testing to feel like a typical day of school, where students are encouraged to take their time, think carefully, and show what they know. Families can help by keeping routines consistent during testing days, ensuring children get a good night’s sleep, eat breakfast, and arrive at school feeling calm and ready for the day. As always, our focus is on supporting every student's growth and love of learning.

See below. If you know any Brewster resident whose child will be 5 by August 31, 2026, please pass this flyer along to them and let them know they can register their child for Kindergarten using the directions below. Families may call Stony Brook at 508-896-4545 x0 with any questions about Kindergarten registration. Thank you for your help!

Habitat for Humanity of Cape Cod is building two new homes in Brewster- 1 two-bedroom home, and 1 three-bedroom home. Applications are due March 31, 2026, and are available at Town Hall in the Planning Department or at Brewster Ladies Library. The creation of these homes is supported by Brewster Community Preservation Act and Affordable Housing Trust funding.

Online fillable applications can be found here: Habitat for Humanity’s Homeownership Application.

There will also be two local in person workshops on:

• Tuesday, February 24th, 4:45 – 6:30 PM: Brewster Ladies Library, 1882 Main Street
• Saturday, March 14th, 10:30 AM – 12 PM: Brewster Ladies Library, 1882 Main Street

For more information on income eligibility, pricing, and the application process, please see the attached flyers and go to: https://habitatcapecod.org/to-apply-for-a-home/ or contact Habitat for Humanity at 508-362-3559 x121.

If you have any questions about Brewster community housing, feel free to contact me.

Warm regards,

Jenny

Jennifer Shaw

Housing Program Assistant

Town of Brewster

2198 Main Street, Brewster, MA 02631

508-896-3701 ext. 1172

• Tuesday, April 7: MCAS begins with Grade 3 ELA
• Monday-Friday, April 20-24: Spring Break - no school
• Wednesday, May 6: Walk, Roll, and Ride to School Day @ 7:15am
• Sunday, May 3: Brewster In Bloom Parade: please join us in the parade!
• Saturday, May 16: BikeFest @ Sea Camps Property