Flourishing At FSS!

Greetings FSS Students and Families!

As we welcome in a new month 💜 and settle back into our routines for the next half of the school year, I would like to express my deep appreciation to our students, families, and educators for making the first half of the school year go as smooth as humanly possible. We can all recognize what a challenging time this is. Technology hiccups and learning curves are still with us and that is okay 👍. We continue to work together as one community to give our students the best experience we can under these circumstances. We appreciate your patience, flexibility, and feedback. It continues to help us reflect on our practices and make the necessary improvements. 🤗

It has been such a pleasure to continue visiting classrooms and see the wonderful and creative work our students are doing! I know it certainly does not replace being together in one building but our students are truly showing us all what resilience looks like and how to look on the bright side with their smiles and positive attitudes. I don’t even think they know how much of a bright light they have been for our entire school community: FSS educators, staff, custodians, and the administrative team.

Heading into the second half of the year, let’s keep our up our momentum💪! Our students are expected to log into Morning Meeting each morning at 8:35 a.m., be punctual ⏰, participate in synchronous (live) instruction, and complete assignments daily to be counted as present for the day. We know this can be tough and issues do arise, but believe this consistency will ensure for a smooth transition back into the school building, build peer relationships, and most importantly, this is time that students receive critical instructional time and feedback from our educators. To maintain communication between families and school, FSS sends out attendance letters to parents/guardians when students have 5 or more unexcused absences and 10 or more unexcused absences. This is a common practice among many schools and it helps keep all of us on the same page. If you have received an attendance letter and have additional questions, please feel free to email or call me. Our attendance letters are not meant to be punitive but to offer support to families and caregivers. We are all in this together.

Lastly, in this newsletter you will also find some helpful remote learning reminders and tips, news from our FSS PTO, a note from our nurse, a new FSS Family Tree Spotlight, and additional important dates and reminders.

On behalf of the entire FSS staff, I want to wish you a happy and healthy February Break! We are grateful for your continued support and partnership. We could not do this without our wonderful FSS Fam!

As always, please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.

With gratitude,

Michelle Fenimore 🍎

Principal

💜 February Break, No School- 2/15-2/19

💜 February 22, Butter Braids FSS PTO Fundraiser due

💜 February 24, All-School Meeting at 9:00 a.m. Grade 3 Friends are hosting!

💜 February 24, Grade 3 Supply Pick-Up, 1-3 p.m.

💜 February 26, final day to purchase FSS PTO Gift Card Calendar tickets

💜 If you are having technical difficulties or need to request a Chromebook, please contact Carol Holzberg, Director of IT, at carhol1@gpsk12.org

⭐ Find the least distracting place to learn and listen.

⭐ Use headphones if your surroundings are noisy or distracting.

⭐ Be on time.

⭐ Use a comfortable chair.

⭐ Try to keep distracting toys and other non-learning items away from your workspace.

⭐ Dress comfortably but also dress similarly to how you would if you were attending school.

⭐ Be respectful of the virtual environment that you and your teacher have created! Even though you are in a virtual classroom, it is still your classroom.

⭐ Try assignments on your own at first. We know it might be tricky but we are here to help you. Try activities and assignments on your own and then ask your teacher for help.

⭐ Shhh...we're learning. Remember to mute your microphone when the teacher is giving a lesson. This helps everyone in our school community learn and focus the best!

⭐ School-issued Chromebooks should only be used for school-related purposes.

⭐ Trying a pair of Blue Light glasses will help reduce the strain of the computer screen/light on little (and big!) eyes.

"Butter Braids"

Our spring Butter Braid Pastry and Lyman Orchards Pies sale is back. We have scheduled this fundraiser on our usual schedule that will allow for product pick-up the Thursday before Easter; April 1 from 3-5:30 pm. We currently have plans for a "drive-thru" style pick-up at Federal Street Elementary. (Our back-up plan would be for porch drop-offs, if officials deem it necessary.)

An ordering website has been created. If your student(s) will be selling and delivering to local friends and family, you can use this link to create a sales account on behalf of your student: https://your.mcmfundraising.com/signup/2KNA

If your family would only like to order for yourselves, you can use this link to purchase from the account linked to PTO:

https://your.mcmfundraising.com/.../federal-street.../

The pastries and pies are temperature sensitive and can only be picked up on April 1, but our fundraising partner has added a SIMPLY SHIPPED section to the online fundraiser that will allow friends and family far away to purchase items that will contribute to the PTO and our Federal Street School Students.

The shift to so many online fundraisers is new and can be confusing. Please message us with any questions or reach out via email at federalstreetpto@gmail.com. If your family would prefer to pay by cash or check, please reach out to PTO so we can make arrangements for you.

THANK YOU ALL!

"Gift Card Calendar"

Exciting news!Your FSS PTO has teamed up with four other participating schools for a Calendar Fundraiser. We are joining forces to help raise money to support students in pre-K to 7th grade.

The March 2021 Gift Card Calendar includes daily prize packs worth at list $50. Tickets are $5, each and for each ticket purchased you get 31 chances at winning a prize package. There are over $1900 worth of prizes, many graciously donated by businesses and community members in Franklin County.

A copy of the calendar with daily prizes is posted on the FSS PTO facebook page ( https://www.facebook.com/fsspto ) and attached to this email.

In an effort to promote safe social distancing, PTO has chosen to provide a digital donation option for anyone interested. Go to https://forms.gle/H3gh75KuBsorpTcr7 to provide your information and let us know the digital donation option you will be using (PayPal or Facebook Fundraiser). Once you have entered your information and submitted the form, reminder links will be available to take you to the donation site.

If you would prefer a printed copy of the calendar or to make a cash donation, please reach out to PTO using Facebook Messenger or at our email federalstreetpto@gmail.com and we will make arrangements.

Thank you so much for supporting Greenfield Public School Students!

Dear FSS Families,

As a reminder I am always available to answer any questions or address any concerns that you may be having. Email is usually the best way to get in touch with me as I check my email frequently throughout the day. My email is rebcar1@gpsk12.org. Please don't hesitate to reach out to me!

Sincerely,

Rebecca Carlson RN, BSN

School Nurse, Federal Street School

1-413-772-1380 ext. 204

Summer S. (Grade 4) with her older siblings, parents, aunt, and grandparents are our FSS Family Tree Spotlight this month! What a big, beautiful family!

Email: micfen1@gpsk12.org
Website: www.gpsk12.org
Location: 125 Federal Street, Greenfield, MA, USA
Phone: 413-772-1380
Twitter: @PrincipalFSS