Falcon Family Flyer

Greetings, Forestdale families!

For many years now, one of my favorite parts of March at Forestdale has been the Read Across America celebration for National Literacy Month that happens here. Aside from great activities and ways to highlight reading that go on during the month, we also host guest readers from around the community in our classrooms. I first came here as a guest reader back in 2002 as a student at Malden High School, and until this year I have been coming every year as a guest to read to our fabulous students. This year, it was awesome to be able to welcome guests to our building to meet, read to, and talk with our extraordinary students.

This year we were thrilled to welcome some very special guests from different areas of government, from our very own Congresswoman Katherine Clark to our Mayor Gary Christenson, to our Police Chief Glenn Cronin, and more. These visits are more than just chances to listen to a story though - they’re opportunities to connect with kids, ask questions, and have real conversations oftentimes stemming from a story that was just read or an illustration in the book! I had an opportunity to hear some of these great conversations, and they were pretty terrific. Congresswoman Clark was able to connect with our third graders about some of their favorite books as kids, and what it’s like being able to help people. Mayor Christenson had great conversations with our fourth graders about stigmas in life, and things that they value now and have to look forward to when they grow up. School Committee Vice Chair Jenn Spadafora had a really meaningful conversation with our fifth graders about their names, and what they mean and where they might come from - I learned a lot of interesting things about our fifth graders, too! Students walked away with strong connections that they were really excited to share with me later in the day, too. I enjoyed hearing from our kids about how they thought it was really exciting that School Committee member Keith Bernard drove a bus, and Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian was a teacher herself!

That’s the power of a good book and being a reader. As an individual, you get a chance to dive into a story, or a world that you might not know about, and come out having learned something new - and maybe even interesting or impressive. In the world we live in, it’s also a great chance to find some common ground and interest with people around us, too! If you need any good suggestions of books to read with your kids, don’t hesitate to reach out to your classroom teachers, our literacy coach Ms. Kathleen Bracken, or ask to come visit our library with Ms. Lillian Wong. Don’t forget, if you’re ever interested in coming in to be a guest reader in one of our classrooms - we’d love to have you, just ask. Happy reading!

Mr. Weldai

This week, the Forestdale School third grade students were visited by Congresswoman Katherine Clark as a surprise guest reader for our Read Across America celebration! Congresswoman Clark read two books with the kids, "Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race" by Margot Lee Shetterly, and "Sparkle and Spin" by Ann and Paul Rand. After reading, they had an opportunity to ask questions of each other, talk about what it's like working in Washington D.C. (and getting to meet Presidents!), and sharing their favorite books with one another. The kids had a wonderful time! Special thank you to the Congresswoman for coming, and to Kelsey, Wade, Jon, and everyone who helped facilitate the visit!

We have an amazing team of people supporting our students each and every day at the Forestdale School. This year we were able to bring on board a great new group of team members, and each month we'll try to showcase some of our new Falcons here.

• My name is...Renee Basteri.
  
• I am...a Kindergarten ESP with Ms. O'Brien's classroom.
  
• What I am looking forward to this year is...to learn more about how to help the kids in the ILP classes.
  
• What I love most about the Forestdale Community so far is...that the staff on the inside is just as welcoming as the parents on the outside.
  
• Outside of school I enjoy...spending time with my family, going to the beach and watching my boys play baseball!

This past week, Title 1 held a very successful "Bingo for Books" event in the Forestdale cafeteria! A packed room of families enjoyed pizza and a few games of Bingo where kids won books as prizes! Thank you to Ms. Martha Jancaitis, Ms. Patti Amirault and Ms. Lisa Hammersley for putting this event together! Special thank you to our literacy coach, Ms. Kathleen Bracken, for teaching some of our families how to play bingo!

Just a reminder, the next PTO meeting will be Wednesday, March 13th at 7pm! Come join this great group and hear about the upcoming events, ways to get involved, and more. The meeting will be held virtually on zoom, and link can be found on the Forestdale PTO Facebook page.

The annual Rock the Walk fundraiser is here, and it's already going strong! From now through March 22nd, students and families will be able to take part in one of our biggest PTO fundraisers of the year! Information is attached on the flyer, and a celebration is being planned for April 5th. Each morning students are coming down to the office to collect prizes for the amount they raise, and the PTO has already passed the halfway mark of their fundraising goal. Let's keep it going!

The spring book fair is coming! From Tuesday, March 19th through Friday, March 22nd, the Forestdale School will be having a book fair in the library. More information will be coming soon!

The Great Malden Outdoors, in partnership with the Recreation Department and the Mayor's Office are proud to present a first for Malden - an 8 week indoor to outdoor rock climbing program for middle school students run by Rock Spot Climbing! There will be a free information session on Saturday, March 9 and sign ups for the program go live on the Malden Recreation website on Monday, March 11. The program will cost $40 for residents and will meet on Saturday's starting on 3/30 and ending on 5/18 with the last climbing class outside at Waitts Mount!

There are many athletic opportunities coming our way in Malden this spring! Attached here are three opportunities, Malden Youth Softball League, Malden Spring Soccer, and Malden Youth Baseball. Take a look, and don't hesitate to reach out if you need more information!

The Malden Public Schools is hosting a job fair! On Saturday, March 9th from 9:00 - 11:00am at the Beebe School (401 Pleasant St. Malden, MA) come meet school principals, the superintendent, and other district team members and hear about current opportunities and preview anticipated openings for the 2024-2025 school year!

In collaboration with Malden Overcoming Addiction (MOA), the City of Malden and Malden Public Schools announce the 8th Annual “Stop the Stigma Day” on Wednesday, March 13. To join the awareness campaign, simply wear a turquoise ribbon, post a selfie and share on social media using the hashtag #MaldenStopTheStigma. Forestdale School students have been working with health educators Mr. Joe DelGallo and Ms. Kaitlyn Fazio for the past few weeks to learn more about stigma, and think of ways to spread awareness in our school and community. The annual MOA “Stop the Stigma Day” is about “leveraging the collective power of Malden’s community to bring attention to the stigma surrounding addiction.”

This coming Thursday, March 14, at 8:30am the ELPAC (English Learners Parent Advisory Council) will be hosting a meeting for all families interested in supporting and celebrating our multilingual students. A few of the topics on the agenda will be:

• ACCESS and WIDA Assessments
• ELL Programs in the Malden Public Schools
• Resources to support your child at home
• Your rights as English Learner families and your child's rights

The meeting will be held virtually, and the link and registration can be found here: https://www.smore.com/n/q2sj93

Planning ahead, on Friday, March 29 and Tuesday, April 2 there is an 11am early release day for the Malden Public Schools! Early release/after school programming details are forthcoming!

MCAS testing is coming soon! Testing will begin at the end of March. A full schedule of testing for students in grades 3-8 can be found here: https://shorturl.at/hnoI5

Ms. Vanessa Duncan and our STEM class are still seeking donations! Any water bottles, bottle caps, or paper towel and toilet paper rolls that you are willing to donate can be sent in with your students, or dropped off in the box in the main lobby. Thank you for your consideration!

Attention 8th grade families! Get ready to register for your 9th grade courses at Malden High School! There are two upcoming presentations for families so you can learn more about the process. Virtually on Thursday, March 14th at 6:00pm, and In-Person on Thursday, April 11th, at 6:00pm. Details are on the flyer attached here.

On Friday, March 15, students are invited to participate in a hat day fundraiser to benefit the 6th and 7th grade Nature's Classroom field trip! For a 1$ donation, students can wear a hat, as creative as they'd like, and know they're helping their classmates reach their fundraising goal!

Progress reports will be sent home on Monday, March 11. Keep a look out, and let us know if you need any help accessing your information!

The Harlem Wizards are coming to Malden! Sunday, April 7 at 5:00pm, Malden High Teachers (and some Forestdale teachers, too!) will be playing against the Wizards! Tickets are available at the links below! Be sure to get your tickets early!

Ticket Link: https://pretix.eu/harlemwizards/maldenma04-07-24-05-00pm

Promo video for the event: https://vimeo.com/manage/videos/915611733

For any students who are celebrating Ramadan and are fasting beginning next week, we are here to support you over the next month! The library has been made available as an alternate space for the lunch period for any students who would prefer not to be in the cafeteria. Please reach out to us if we can support you and your family with any other accommodations during this time.

Please make sure to check backpacks regularly for important notices from the nurse, and from your teachers. While most things are done electronically, a regular backpack check is always a good idea.

**Speaking of backpacks, if anyone still needs one for their student we have extras to give away in the main office. Please don't hesitate to reach out and let us know!

Our lost and found is still going strong! For any students looking, the lost and found is in the cafeteria directly to the right when you walk in. If you're missing something, please encourage your student to come check it out.

The Forestdale School is seeking candidates for open positions! If you or anyone you know is interested, we have a newly created Special Education position open, and a long term substitute position for middle school ELA. If you'd like to learn more, please feel free to reach out or visit https://maldenps.tedk12.com/hire/index.aspx

The March school lunch menu is pictured below, and the link to the monthly menu can be found here: https://malden.schooldish.com/SchoolMenus/Forestdale?fbclid=IwAR2ZJ0dwZiruvvYiJhtVAk1yngQak5OmO8hyTVKfUV_rzL5gzDOlwP540_k

We were recently able to celebrate our latest group of students-of-the-month! For the month of February, students were honored for their Excellence - the fifth virtue from our school motto of P.R.I.D.E. (positivity, respect, independence, determination, and excellence). Many of them are pictured here, and a full list of students for this month can be found here: https://shorturl.at/mqCK8

Following the end of quarter 2, the grade 6 team celebrated the students who received Honor Roll and High Honor Roll on their report cards with a donut breakfast! The students enjoyed being recognized for their academic achievements, and had a great time celebrating with their teachers. Thank you to their team, Ms. Michelle Foley, Ms. Ashley Bratsis, Mr. Patrick Kane and Ms. Kim Sullivan for putting this together!

Students in the fourth grade had an exciting visit this week from meteorologist Jason Mikell from WBZ! He came into the building to talk about all things weather with our students from weather instruments and tools, to weather preparedness. The students asked a lot of great questions, and learned a lot, too! They were even featured the next morning on the news (see the clip here!). Thank you Ms. Sue Ellis for organizing this experience for the students, and to Ms. Kelly Rufo, Ms. Lauren Gorse, Ms. Julie Fisk, Ms. Lisa Corso, Ms. Sue Johnson, and Ms. Beth Ganley for their support!

A huge thank you again to each and every guest reader who joined us this week as we kicked off National Literacy Month! A few of our guests are highlighted here, and a full album of pictures is linked below as well. Special thanks to our amazing Literacy Coach Kathleen Bracken, who helps keep everyone focused on literacy not just in March, but all year round!

To celebrate the end of their CKLA unit on Kings, Queens and Royalty, the kindergarten team held a Royal Ball and Royal Tea Time for students last week! The kids had a blast learning how to waltz, and enjoying some "tea" with their classmates. Thank you to the K team Ms. Suzanne Millett, Ms. Erika Clough, Ms. Carmen Garcia, Ms. Gail Casgrain, Ms. Kara Rock, Ms. Johnna Hughes, Ms. Yvette Nolan, Ms. Jill O'Brien, Ms. Renee Basteri, and Ms. Jessica Garrity for helping put this on!

This week, eighth grade students were visited by Director of School Counseling, Testing and Academic Support Ms. Erin Craven and Malden High School Counselor Ms. Taryn Belowsky to hear more about their transition to high school, course selection, expectations and more. Hard to believe our Falcons are just a few months away from heading off to high school!

While they're already thinking about high school, MHS Choral Arts Director Mr. Todd Cole brought members of the choral arts society down to visit our 8th grade students this week! They performed for the team, answered questions about high school, and got kids excited about some of the opportunities they could take advantage of next year!

This week, eighth grade band students were able to go visit Malden High School with Mr. Greg Waite! They had a chance to see what the band rooms look like, play some music, and experience what fun they could have next year as part of the MHS band!

Students in Mr. Kevin Carpenito's science classes were recently given some hands on experience in the life of a scientist! Working with guests from MassBioEd, students were given an opportunity to learn about micropipettes, and some of their uses in a laboratory - as well as try them out in the classroom. MassBioEd helps give students real insight into what careers in science could look like, and this is just one of the experiential activities they've brought to Forestdale throughout our partnership. The kids enjoyed themselves (and I did too!), and really practiced keeping a steady hand!

There are a lot of wonderful things happening in our classrooms each and every day - and many of those things get displayed around the building for students and staff to see! I'll try to share some of my favorite snapshots so you can get a chance to see them, too!

A few weeks ago I walked by these informative writing pieces outside the third grade classrooms, and admired one or two of them before walking the rest of the hallway. Within a day or two, I found myself walking back and reading a few more, and then a few more - they were really great! The kids put together a very descriptive picture of "A Day in the Life of an Astronaut on the International Space Station," and it did the job...it drew me right in!

If there's anything that we can do, please don't hesitate to reach out to any member of our main office team. Our phone number is (781) 397-7326, and each of our email addresses are listed below.

• Mr. Adam Weldai, Principal: aweldai@maldenps.org
• Mrs. Karie Carpenito, Assistant Principal: kcarpenito@maldenps.org
• Mr. Kenji Foster, Assistant Principal: kfoster@maldenps.org
• Mrs. Megan LoPilato, Administrative Assistant: mlopilato@maldenps.org