News From The Nest: Issue #11

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends!

Coming off a successful and fun Fall Festival on Sunday, our week at the Nest started off with a ton of high energy at our Glow Run on Monday celebrating the success of our PAC sponsored fundraiser for Elm Street School. Together we raised over $35,000 for support for field trips, cultural arts and enrichment programming, and other PAC sponsored activities. (Come to the PAC meeting on 11/20 to learn more) Thank you to all of the families who volunteered at the Glow Run event and supported the fundraiser through registering, sharing, and donating and to all of the organizers and volunteers that helped make this year's Fall Festival a fantastic community building event.

In this edition of our newsletter you will find more information about:

• upcoming dates and celebrations for November
• Elm Street School Counselor November: topics include- nurturing gratitude in the family, assistance for Elm families, and upcoming SEL lessons in each grade level
• Essentialist Newsletter: Physical Education
• Math Corner: November
• Assistance for Elm Families
• November Principal's Office Podcast: Submit Your Questions
• Elm Turkey Trot
• WPS Homework Guidelines for Elementary School
• Multicultural Potluck (November 19th)- with clickable registration link!
• Elm Street School Spirit Days for 2025 - 2026 School Year
• Walpole Food Pantry
• Walpole Wednesdays
• Reminders from previous newsletters: MCAS 2026 Dates, Attendance Information, front office reminders
• Lunch Menus
• Walpole Virtual Backpack (community notices)

Next week school is closed on November 11th, evening conferences are being held on 11/13, and there is an early release day on 11/14 for conferences. I hope everyone has a great weekend and we will see all of our Eagles back at the Nest on Monday.

Jen

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 November.

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.

November

• • Native American Heritage Month

  • 11/1 All Saints Day

  • 11/1 - 2 Day of the Dead

  • 11/2 11:00a - 2:00p Elm Fall Festival

  • 11/3 Glow Run

  • 11/4 Election Day

  • 11/11 Veterans Day, School Closed

  • 11/13 5:00 - 7:00p Family Educator Conferences

  • 11/14 Early Release Day- Family Educator Conferences

  • 11/18 5:00 - 7:00p Family Educator Conferences

  • 11/19 6:30p Elm Multicultural Potluck

  • 11/20 Transgender Day of Remembrance, 6:45p School Committee meeting, 7:00p Elm PAC Meeting

  • 11/26 Early Release Day, Elm Turkey Trot

  • 11/27 - 28 School Closed

  • 11/27 Thanksgiving, National Day of Mourning

During family conferences next week, you will be hearing about your students’ progress in our Bridges math curriculum, which is designed to build deep number sense around key grade-level standards. A crucial component of this progress is fact fluency. You might wonder what exactly is fact fluency and how does it change across the elementary grades?

Fact fluency is the ability to recall basic math facts (like 5+3 or 7x4) accurately, efficiently, and with flexibility. This skill is essential because it provides the foundation for higher-level mathematical thinking and problem-solving. When students develop fluency with their basic math facts they can complete complex tasks more efficiently and with greater confidence.This fluency allows students to focus their mental energy on understanding new concepts and applying strategies rather than struggling to compute simple facts. Moreover, strong fact fluency supports number sense, pattern recognition, and mathematical reasoning, all of which are critical for success in later math learning. Building fluency through engaging practice and conceptual understanding helps ensure that students develop flexibility, precision, and logic in their mathematical work.

Our district uses a systematic and strategic approach to ensure that all students have opportunities to develop fluency. Our kindergarteners focus on building number sense and the foundation for facts through hands-on activities in Number Corner and Bridges as well as spatial-temporal activities in ST Math. In Grades 1-5, students use Math Fact Lab, an online program that utilizes a systematic approach with visual models to master facts. We suggest students complete at least three sessions per week (each session closes after 8-15 minutes). Once students complete a certain number of activities they have an opportunity to pass a “level lifter” which will then move them on to the next level of facts. Our students are doing an amazing job passing their level lifters on the path to becoming Math Fact Masters! Here are the core facts students are expected to master by the end of each grade level:

Kindergarten: Fluently add & subtract within 5

Grade 1: Fluently add & subtract within 10

Grade 2: Fluently add & subtract within 20

Grade 3: Fluently multiply all products up to 10x10 and related division facts

Grade 4: Fluently multiply all products up to 12x12 and related division facts

Grade 5: Keep practicing all facts for fluency!

We encourage you to visit our district’s Family Math Site which has resources about fact fluency for parents and caregivers as well as a whole page of fun practice ideas for students to use at home (online and printable). Thank you for your partnership in helping our students become confident and flexible mathematicians and supporting your child’s fact mastery at home.

The Elm Street School team is aware of the growing concerns about the SNAP benefit funding expiration. If your family will be affected by this shut down, please reach out to one of us so we can help.

In addition, each year we reach out to all of our Elm families to offer assistance with winter gear (coats, hats, mittens, gloves, boots, snow pants) and holiday meals and gifts. If your family is in need of assistance this year because of financial hardship please reach out to myself (jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us) or a member of our Guidance Team (Shannon Songin- ssongin@walpole.k12.ma.us Tori Dore- vwintersdore@walpole.k12.ma.us). Because of the generosity of our community here in Walpole we are able to support all families with need. When contacting us please share the ages and gender identity/expression of anyone living in the home under the age of 18, coat sizes, and the total number of people living in the home. Please know that all information will be kept confidential amongst myself, Ms. Songin, and Mrs. Dore.

Our debut episode of the Principal's Office podcast here at Elm will focus on all things literacy learning. The episode will feature information about K-5 literacy learning at Elm and across WPS. Our guest on the episode this month will be Shannon Findley, Walpole Public School's K-5 ELA Curriculum Coordinator. You will also get a chance to hear from students across the grade levels on their experiences with literacy learning at Elm.

To help us make the content as helpful and informative to you, our targeted audience, you are invited to submit questions you would like addressed through this Google form. For this month and episode, please focus your questions on literacy learning in Kindergarten - grade 5. We will do our best to weave in answers and information to each question across the duration of the episode. Submissions for questions will close on 11/12.

Elm Street School is hosting our annual Turkey Trot on Wednesday November 26, 2025 during the half-day. Each grade will be invited outside during their designated time to see how many laps they can run, walk, jog, or roll! Students are encouraged to bring in nonperishable food items on the mornings of Tuesday 11/25 or Wednesday 11/26. These items will be donated to the Walpole Food Pantry to help members of the community. Please remind your child(ren) to dress appropriately for the outdoors including sneakers. In the case of inclement weather the Turkey Trot will take place in the gymnasium. This event is for students and staff only.

Our Belief

Homework in Walpole Public Schools helps students build confidence, responsibility, and independence while reinforcing what they learn in school. It’s meant to support, not stress, students and families.

Homework should:

• Strengthen skills taught in class

• Encourage reading and independent learning

• Foster time management and persistence

• Rarely be used to introduce new material and is never used as punishment

Families are important partners in this process. Together, we create habits that help children thrive as lifelong learners.

General Expectations

• Homework is consistent and developmentally appropriate across all schools.

• Teachers balance homework time with students’ well-being.

• Reading at home is encouraged every day for all grades.

• No required weekend or vacation homework. We believe family time matters.

• Teachers respect holidays and religious observances.

• Modifications and supports are always available for students with IEPs, multilingual learners, and others who need extra help.

• Optional projects and enrichment activities may be offered for students who want an extra challenge.

• Teachers may provide flexible timelines or extra help when needed.

How Families Can Help

• Create a quiet, consistent space for homework.

• Celebrate effort, not just completion.

• Read together every day!

• Communicate with teachers about any challenges.

• Encourage balance: play, rest, and family time are just as important.

Walpole’s homework approach is purposeful, balanced, and supportive. Together, we’re helping every child grow, academically and emotionally, both at school and at home.

The Walpole Food Pantry continues to support local families in need throughout the year. Donations of non-perishable food items, household essentials, and grocery store gift cards are always appreciated. You can help by dropping off contributions at the pantry during open hours or at one of the collection boxes located around town. Every donation—big or small—makes a meaningful difference for our neighbors in need.

https://www.wcfp.org/receiving-food

Below is the schedule for MCAS that will take place in the Spring of this school year. We will share more information about MCAS and testing dates as we get closer. For now, please mark these dates in your calendar and help ensure that your child(ren) are present for each testing session for their grade level.

Grade 3

ELA Session 1: Tuesday March 31

ELA Session 2: Wednesday April 1

Math Session 1: Tuesday April 28

Math Session 2: Wednesday April 29

Grade 4

ELA Session 1: Thursday April 2

ELA Session 2: Tuesday April 7

Math Session 1: Thursday April 30

Math Session 2: Friday May 1

Grade 5

ELA Session 1: Wednesday April 8

ELA Session 2: Thursday April 9

Math Session 1: Tuesday May 5

Math Session 2: Wednesday May 6

STE Session 1: Wednesday May 13

STE Session 2: Thursday May 14

Absences: If your student is going to be absent or tardy, please call the absence line and let us know in advance. You may call this line at anytime and leave a message. The telephone number is 508-660-7374 and then press 1

Early Dismissals: Please send a hand written note with your student in the morning or email the classroom teacher and Ms. Torigian in the main office (atorigian@walpole.k12.ma.us)

Afterschool dismissal changes: If your student is changing their typical way of leaving Elm Street School at 3:30pm, please send a note into school with the plan that morning.

*If you haven't already filled out the dismissal plan form sent by Ms. Torigian, please do so as soon as possible.

What is Chronic Absenteeism?

A student is considered Chronically Absent when they miss 10% of the school year. In Massachusetts, this means a student who misses 18 or more days, regardless of an excused or unexcused reason, is classified as chronically absent. Just two missed days each month can lead to this status.

Why is school attendance so important?

Students who are in school consistently are more successful learners. Per the National Center for Education Statistics: A missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn and interact with their classmates. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. This relationship between attendance and achievement may appear early in a child's school career. Greater absenteeism during the school year can lead to lower achievement in reading, math, and general knowledge. Poor attendance has serious implications for later outcomes as well. High school dropouts have been found to have exhibited a history of negative behaviors, including high levels of absenteeism throughout their childhood, at higher rates than high school graduates.

If your child starts to accumulate absences, we will work with families to figure out the best way to help improve your child's attendance at school.

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

Instagram: ElmStSchool