News From The Nest: Issue #6

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends!

The beginning of October is off to a great start at the Nest! This week our first graders participated in a community field trip where they visited the Walpole Public Library, Walpole Fire Station, Walpole Police Station, the Council on Aging, and Bird Park to learn more about all of the people who work so hard to help our community here in Walpole be such a successful and vibrant place. This field trip was directly connected to the students' current reading module centered on the theme of Community Helpers.

This week our educators spent collaborative time analyzing data from our beginning of the year screeners and assessments that students completed during these first few weeks of school. They focused on creating individualized student success plans that will translate into targeted instruction to support student growth, achievement, and success this school year. Be sure to sign up for a conference (link in this week's newsletter) to connect with our educators around how your child(ren) are progressing towards their goals and how you can help support at home.

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

upcoming dates and celebrations for September
Counseling Corner: September/October Counseling Newsletter (separation anxiety, social emotional learning lessons preview)
Essentialist Newsletter: PE with Mr. Iadarola
Health Screenings
Fall Conferences (11/12, 11/13, and 11/17) LINKS INCLUDED
Career Day Volunteers Needed! January 28th
Elm PAC Corner
Elm Street School Garden Club Fall Meeting
Walpole Youth Street Hockey Tournament
2026 - 2027 School Calendar
Lunch Menus
Walpole Virtual Backpack (community notices)

I hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend with some time to unplug, enjoy some autumn weather and activities, and find connection and joy. We will see all of our Eagles back at the Nest on Tuesday!

Jen

Upcoming Dates: October

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 October.

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.

October

Disabilities Awareness Month
9/25 - 10/2 Sukkot
10/2 National Custodian Day
10/6 World Cerebral Palsy Day
10/8 6:45p School Committee Meeting
10/9 Early Release Day
10/11 National Coming Out Day, Navratri

10/12 SCHOOL CLOSED: Indigenous People’s Day, Columbus Day
10/15 7:00p Elm PAC Meeting
10/22 6:45p School Committee Meeting
10/31 Halloween

Health Screenings

This letter is to inform you of the upcoming state mandated screenings that will be happening at the Elm Street School. While most children see their pediatricians annually, this program frequently identifies problems that arise between doctors’ visits.

State regulations require vision and hearing screenings for all students enrolled in public schools. Screenings are done at selected intervals throughout the school years. At Elm Street School all grades will have a vision screening and grades K-3 will have their hearing screened.

In addition, we will continue to collect BMI’s for grades 1 and 4. A Body Mass Index, or BMI, is a measure that is used to show a person’s “weight for height for age.” It is calculated using an individual’s height and weight. According to the state’s BMI screening regulation which passed in April 2009, schools must now collect the heights and weights of students in grades 1, 4, 7 and 10. Each child’s height and weight will then be used to calculate their BMI. The results will be kept in your child’s school health record.

If you would like to opt out of the screening(s), please let me know and provide a copy of your child's most recent physical with their vision, hearing and/or height and weight recorded within the last calendar year. Please email me with any concerns or questions. Thank you!

Kindly,

Tina DiCicco

Elm St School Nurse

P- 508-660-7374

F866-810-4619

tdicicco@walpole.k12.ma.us

Family/Educator Fall Conferences at Elm

This November all of our educators will be offering conference times for parents/caregivers. These 10 minute conferences are a chance to learn about your child(ren)'s progress and goals in key academic and social emotional areas as well as ask questions of our team here at Elm. Please sign up for a conference with each of the educators that support your child(ren) across their day(s) including classroom teachers, specialists, counselors, and service providers. You are also welcome to sign up for a conference block with Mrs. Buller for any questions, connections, or feedback you would like to share.

To sign up for a conference with any our educators please access their appointment schedule through this spreadsheet and links.

Career Day Volunteers Needed!

We are excited to announce that we are planning a Career Day for our students in grades 3–5 on January 28th! This is a wonderful opportunity to inspire our young learners by showcasing the diverse careers and professions represented in our community.

We are looking for volunteers from all types of careers and professions. Examples may include (but are not limited to) automotive technicians, firefighters, EMTs/paramedics, graphic designers, hair stylists, healthcare workers, engineers, educators, landscapers, contractors, and more!

You are welcome to participate even if your child is not currently in grades 3–5.

If you are interested in volunteering, please complete the form below. At this time, we are simply gathering interest as we continue planning. Participant spots will be limited, and additional details will be shared with selected volunteers.

Please submit this form by October 19, 2026 at 3:00 PM.

Thank you for considering this wonderful opportunity to support our students' learning and growth!

Elm PAC Corner

Please consider applying for the school council vacancy! It's a great way to get involved and be a part of important discussions regarding teaching and learning at Elm. Email elmpac@gmail.com if you're interested.

Our next meeting is October 15th at 7pm in the media room! Please join us as we will vote on new school council member and grant applications.

We are accepting grant applications from teachers, parents or students for innovative ideas for student learning and experience. Grant applications are due October 14 and will be presented and voted on at the October 15 meeting. Applications can be found here: Grant Application

The Friend Finder on the PAC website is a great feature that many parents use when sending birthday party invitations or organizing playdates. PAC can no longer update your child's grade level and classroom teacher for you. If you would like your information to be updated, please log on here and manually change their info.

Fall Fest is coming November 8th 12-3. More info to come!

Garden Club meeting October 15th with sign up by October 8th. See flyer and email for more info!

Check out our website and be sure you are signed up for emails.

The Elm Street School PAC Garden Committee is excited to offer a FREE Garden Club meeting on Thursday October 15, from 3:30-4:30pm. Registration is open to all students grades K-5, but will be capped at 20 students, chosen randomly if needed.

This Club meeting will offer students the opportunity to learn about what happens to our plants as the weather cools, which plants will come back next spring (perennials) and which will need to be planted again in the spring (annuals). We will plant fall bulbs such as tulips and garlic, plant cool weather crops like lettuce, and do some fun fall crafts. Please use the link above to register for this event before 8pm October 8, 2026. Garden Committee members will be in touch directly with students selected for the event. Students must have transportation home at the end of the club meeting.

Walpole Youth Street Hockey Tournament

Looking for a fun activity for your kids on Veterans Day? Come play in the 2026 Walpole Youth Street Hockey Tournament hosted by the Walpole High School Boys Hockey Boosters! The tournament is open to boys and girls in grades 3–8, and no hockey experience is necessary — all skill levels are welcome. WHS Boys Hockey players will help coach and referee the games, and pizza and drinks will be provided.

Teams are made up of 5–7 players, and registration is $25 per player. All proceeds benefit the Walpole Boys Hockey Boosters and support the Walpole High School Boys Hockey program.

Veterans Day — Wednesday, November 11
Walpole High School Tennis Courts
Registration deadline: Wednesday, October 28

Please see the attached flyer for details and registration information.

News From The Nest: Issue #6