Winthrop Wednesday Weekly

We maintain a safe and supportive school environment at Winthrop School. Each school year, staff receive training in our emergency procedures in collaboration with our School Resource Officer, Detective Joe Perna. Our procedures now incorporate the Standard Response Protocol (SRP), developed by The “I Love U Guys” Foundation, which provides shared language and clear actions for responding to a variety of situations.

Student safety presentations are conducted annually and are tailored to our students’ developmental ages. Detective Perna will visit classrooms this week and next to review these procedures with students.

The Standard Response Protocol includes five actions:

1. Hold — In Your Room or Area. Clear the Halls.
   Students and staff remain in their classrooms or designated areas while hallways are kept clear. Classroom activities may continue. A Hold may be used during a medical emergency so responders can move through the building and the person receiving care has privacy.

2. Secure — Get Inside. Lock Outside Doors.
   Students and staff come inside, and exterior doors are locked because of a concern or hazard outside the school. Activities inside may continue as usual. For example, a Secure action may be used during police activity in the surrounding neighborhood.

3. Lockdown — Locks, Lights, Out of Sight.
   When there is a threat inside the school, classroom doors are locked, lights are turned off, and students and staff remain quiet and out of sight. Students follow the directions of the adults supervising them.

4. Evacuate — To the Announced Location.
   Students and staff move to a designated location, inside or outside the building, under staff direction. An evacuation may be needed during a fire or another situation requiring people to leave an area.

5. Shelter — State the Hazard and Safety Strategy.
   Students and staff follow directions appropriate to a specific hazard, such as severe weather. The announcement identifies the hazard and the protective action to take, which may include moving to a designated shelter area.

You can find a 5 Minute Video about SRP by clicking on the image above.

Regular practice helps students and staff become familiar with these procedures. Students have already completed one fire drill and one real evacuation due to smoke today. Later this month, we will conduct an emergency drill using student-friendly language and age-appropriate procedures. Our goal is to help students feel prepared, supported, and confident in following directions from trusted adults.

Please reach out with any questions, concerns, or suggestions. Mr. Clark and I, alongside our school community, are here to offer help and support. Thank you for your partnership in keeping Winthrop a safe and caring place to learn.

Dates for the Mini Photo Sessions will open up on Friday, 10/16 at 10am!

Mr. Falconieri's 5th Grade Workout program EVERY THURSDAY!

No need to register.

This is a drop-in program exclusively for 5th Graders!

Thursday Mornings

Drop off any time between 8:00-8:15

(Doors close at 8:15)

Children will be dismissed from the gym to their classes at 8:35 a.m.

Thanks to the incredibly generosity of Winthrop FRIES (which is you, thank YOU!), we have tee-shirts for every student and staff member. In order to make each shirt as unique as the students who will wear them, we are hosting grade-level tie-dye events. These events will take place during the school day so that every student is able to attend and create their own design. Parents/guardians/grandparents/uncles/aunties are welcome! Please RSVP at the bottom of the invitation.

We understand that not every family will be able to attend every event, and that is absolutely okay! Some of you have children in multiple grade levels and can't take that much time away from work. Some of you aren't able to take time off at all. And, for all we know, some of you can't attend a tie-dye event because you have chromophobia (a fear of color). 😂

The point is: you will be invited to several events throughout the year, and please don't fret if you can't make each one. We have plenty of opportunities for families to enjoy and be part of our school community. Trunk-or-Treat and Spooky Movie Night are coming up, and later this year we'll have Ice-Cream-for-Breakfast. And, of course, there will be plays, concerts, the art show, field trips, and plenty more.

We hope to see you if and when you can make it!