Cole Miners' Dig

It was wonderful to see so many families in our classrooms this week for parent-teacher conferences! These conversations are such a valuable opportunity to celebrate your child's growth, discuss how they're adjusting to the year, and work together to set meaningful goals for the months ahead.

Thank you to all the parents who took time out of their busy schedules to connect with our teachers. If you weren't able to attend, please reach out to your child's teacher to arrange an alternative time to chat. We're here to partner with you in making this a successful year for every student!

Connections groups met on Monday to learn more about the Habit of Mind - Managing Impulsivity. They discussed what it means to manage impulsivity and to use strategies like Stop, Think, Act to help stop impulsive behaviors. Ask your child what activity they did with their Connections group to practice this Habit of Mind.

Thank you for taking such good care of the entire staff with the annual teacher appreciation Soup Day event. This is a favorite day for the staff with the delicious smells of a variety of soups wafting through the hallways. The hearty soups helped to keep us fueled with energy for the late night of conferences.

This week Mrs. Benner met with Bus Ambassadors for their first meeting of the year. The students shared bus highlights as well as growth areas. Their top positives were being able to sit and socialize with friends and the kind bus drivers. The main area of improvement shared was the noise level. Bus Ambassadors also began to select their own personal project for the year. Some of these projects include writing a newsletter article, leading a bus meeting, refreshing the bus kits, or creating slideshows, posters, and/or videos to remind students about bus expectations. Stay tuned for more updates as the Bus Ambassadors complete their projects!

Did you know that Word Occupational Therapist Appreciation Day is on Monday, October 27th? We're going to take that day to celebrate our own Occupational Therapist, Ms. Shawnna Dearborn, and our Physical Therapist, Mrs. Maribeth Egan, with many thank yous to both of them. If your child works regularly with one or both of our therapists, it would be a great idea to have them make a card for them to say thank you.

As parents and educators, Mrs. Benner, Dr. Ciolkosz, and I attended an informative presentation this week called "The Emotional Lives of Tweens and Teens" featuring Dr. Lisa Damour. Dr. Damour has written three books, hosts a weekly podcast, and has been featured on many morning shows. Her website is a wealth of information for parents raising children between the ages of 10-20 years old. Check out her website here. Also, if you click on "How Can I Help?" at the top and then navigate to Search with Rosalie, you can ask her AI librarian a question and it will pull from all of her podcasts, books, and articles to answer. It could be a very handy tool to use with your tween!

What an awesome group of Magnificent Meerkats! Here are few snippets from this week's nominations for Magnificent Meerkats:

• He is a consistent example of kindness. He is a good friend to all, and his politeness and kindness even extend to his teachers.
  
• He demonstrates kindness, cooperation and respect everyday at Cole School. He is kind to others, helps out, follows the plan, and puts forth his best effort each day.
• She is consistently hardworking and diligent. She is a problem solver and consistently gives her best effort.
• She is responsible and respectful to her classmates and teachers. She is always willing to lend a hand to anyone who needs help. She knows and practices all of the classroom expectations!

October:

October 27 - Gr. 4 Field Trip - 2 classes (Thank you, PTO!)

October 27 - Gr. 1 Eyes on Owls enrichment (Thank you, PTO!)

October 27. - Occupational Therapist and Physical Therapist Appreciation Day

October 30 - Gr. 3 Enrichment Meteorologist Michael Page Visits Cole School

October 31 - Early Release Day (all students dismissed at 12:20pm)

October 31 - Wacky Day - no masks or weapons please

Looking ahead:

November 2 - Daylight Savings Time

November 3 - Gr. 3 Field Trip (Thank you, PTO!)

November 3 - Kindergarten Field Trip (Thank you, PTO!)

November 3 - School Psychology Week and School Psychologist Appreciation Day

November 4 - Picture Retake Day

November 5 - PTO Meeting 7pm

November 7 - PTO PJ Day and Music Played During Lunches for reaching 50% dues paid

November 10 - Community Meeting

November 10 - Gr. 3 Enrichment Wampanoag Visitor from Plimoth Patuxet Visits Cole School (Thank you, PTO!)

November 11 - No School

November 12 - School Council Meeting 3:30pm

November 14 - National School Superintendent Appreciation Day

November 17 - Gr. 3 Enrichment Colonial Visitor from Plimoth Patuxet Visits Cole School (Thank you, PTO!)

November 17 - Kindergarten Enrichment Puppet Show (Thank you, PTO!)

November 17 - Connections Meeting - Habit of Mind - Listening with Understanding and Empathy

Congratulations to Mrs. Walsh on the arrival of her new baby girl, Mairin Frances Walsh, who arrived on Monday. The Walsh Family is doing well!

Hello Cole Families! My name is Anna Mullen and I am the long-term substitute school counselor while Anne Walsh is out on maternity leave until March. I have enjoyed my first full week at Cole school and getting to know the students, staff, and families. If your child received a permission slip about participating in a NTSS small group, please make sure to sign those and return them as soon as you can. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to me at anna.mullen@norwellschools.org. I look forward to working with you and your children this year!

Hearing, vision, and BMI screenings are starting this week and will likely continue into November and December. Please notify me in writing if you would like to opt your student out or if you have updated information about their hearing and vision. If screening results indicate the need for follow-up care by a physician, parents/guardians will be notified via back back mail, email and or/phone call.

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health recommends that, in addition to the routine vision screening, a comprehensive eye exam by an eye doctor experienced in treating children should be sought in the following cases:

• Children unable to complete, or who refuse to complete a vision screening

• Children whose disability or behavior prevents them from performing a standard screening

• Parent or teacher concerns about the student meeting academic benchmarks

• Children who receive additional educational support such as an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

• Parent/guardian, teacher, nurse, or screener concerns about the potential existence of a vision problem, even if the child has passed a recent vision screening

Please ensure hearing and vision screenings are being done at EACH well visit as well. We appreciate your partnership in this.

Ask for the medical report to be sent to your child’s pediatrician and get a copy for the school too. Follow all recommended vision treatments as instructed by your eye doctor. Ask your eye doctor about any additional help or tools the child might need for school and how to get them.

Kindergarteners and 1st graders practiced their throwing and catching in a popular game at Cole School called Guard the Pin and played Toilet Tag! Second graders worked on lead passes in a game of Invaders/Defenders. Grades 3-5 started their two week fitness testing unit with either the mile run/jog/walk outside or push ups and crunches inside. The objective of the fitness testing is to measure the endurance of their heart/lung/legs, abdominal strength, upper body strength and to build confidence.

Monster Mash:

Friday, 10/24! Get ready for a spooktacular night of music, dancing, crafts, and Halloween fun! We can’t pull off this new event without your help — sign up to volunteer and be part of the magic (link on coleptonews.com). Details on tickets and timing coming soon!

All sign up links can all be found on the PTO website.