Hello, Howard!

The February PRIDE theme of the month is generosity. While the word may be synonymous with giving, being generous does not require physical gifts. People can be generous with time, compliments, kindness, hugs, support, and all kinds of positive things. Please take a few moments this month and talk to your child about times you've been the recipient of someone else's generosity, and how it impacted you. Discuss ways that your child can demonstrate generosity without having to spend a single cent. Maybe they write a thank-you note to their teacher, or help a peer who dropped something in the hall. Maybe they invite a peer to play at recess. There are so many ways for student to show generosity. I look forward to all the students have to give this February!

We would like to inform you that today, a lockdown drill was successfully conducted at school, organized by School Resource Officer (SRO) Packard. The drill was an essential part of ensuring that our students and staff are well-prepared for emergency situations.

We are pleased to share that both students and staff did an excellent job following the procedures and responding swiftly and calmly during the drill. Their cooperation and focus were truly commendable.

We remain committed to maintaining a safe and secure environment for all our students. Thank you for your continued support.

Click here to register for the Kid's Heart Challenge.

As a Kids Heart Challenge Heart Hero, your student will meet kids with special hearts and raise funds for the health of all hearts. They’ll also get moving with fun activities, learn about keeping their hearts and brains healthy and feel great for helping others.

Students that complete Finn’s Mission will earn an entry for two tickets to Super Bowl LX in 2026 and your school will be entered to receive a $10,000 fitness equipment makeover for every 18 students who complete Finn’s Mission.

We make a daily decision about indoor or outdoor recess based on the Child Care Weather Watch guidelines linked here. I've noticed an uptick in students coming in from outdoor recess with wet shoes/socks/pants/ etc. Consider packing extras for your child to keep at school in case this happens to them.

4th and 5th grade dance - Wednesday Feb 12th, 5-6:30

Students will get to dance, have pizza, and enjoy a movie in the cafe! Dance forms went home last week- please return them with $5.00 to your child's homeroom teacher. It will be a fun time! The 6th grade dance will be held in March after MCAS!

February Vacation - 2/17 to 2/21

Prismatic Light Show - Feb 27th - sponsored by the PTO - Thanks!

After many years we are increasing the price of our house baked cookies to .75¢. In addition to cookies we also offer a variety of other snacks, treats and bottled water for sale, prices range from .50¢ - $1.50. The cost of these items does not affect the cost of Breakfast or Lunch, which remain free for all students. Use this link to view our Breakfast and Lunch Menus- West Bridgewater Menus. If you would like to add funds to your students account to purchase additional items you may send cash into school or log into MySchoolBucks to register for an account and pay online.

Beginning this year, we are now serving students both Breakfast and Lunch on Early Release Days. If you have a student attending afternoon Surround Care you may still purchase an additional bagged lunch for them for $3.75 when filling out the Surround Care paperwork.

If you have any questions or concerns please contact Ann Marie Grinder, agrinder@wbridgewater.com

The cold weather is with us for a while longer, so please remember to have your children layer up for outdoor play. Warm jackets, hats, mittens, and boots are important so everyone can enjoy the cold fresh air daily! This is the chart we use - as long as we're not "in the red," we'll go outside. Please advise your children accordingly! Also, if you have any new or gently used clothes (youth sizes 8-16), coats, or shoes/boots - we would love to have extra available in case someone forgets or needs a change!

Thank you to everyone who continues to send in updated physical forms and immunization records. Please complete the Annual Student Health Update form at your earliest convenience, if you haven’t done so already.

We want to keep everyone healthy while at school so please keep them home if they are not feeling well. Please refer to our Sick Child Guidelines and school health policies at https://www.wbridgewaterschools.org/page/health-services and reach out to me directly with any concerns. If your child is absent due to illness, it is recommended that they visit the doctor in order to document these as excused absences.

One final note, teachers always love donations of tissues and Clorox wipes to help keep the spread of illness to a minimum in the classrooms.

As always, please feel free to reach Nurse Mando if you have any questions or concerns: smando@wbridgewater.com or 508-894-1250 ext 3115. Thank you!

During the month of February, we will begin reading the novel Hatchet. As we read the text, we will discuss the components of a good narrative story. Students will apply what they learned to write their own narrative survival story. (Mrs. Giuffre jumping in to editorialize here - Hatchet is a GREAT book! I highly recommend reading along with your child. It will make for excellent "what if" conversations. )

In math, we will complete Topic 6: Multiplicative Comparisons & Topic 8: Fractions. Keep on practicing those Math facts at home!

Thanks to everyone who came to our State Fair! We learned a lot about our states and had fun sharing that information with students and families.

4th grade students are beginning to learn about fossils in science. They will be focusing on understanding that fossils are preserved remains or traces of plants and animals.

For the month of February, 4th grade will be discussing the theme of generosity. We will be doing a “compliment jar.” Each student will have a jar. Classmates will fill out a heart with a compliment for a classmate.

In ELA, we have started Module 2 where students will be reading The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster. In this module, students are exploring and examining how and why wordplay causes humor and confusion. The students are loving this module! Please ask them to share what they are learning with you. (Mrs. Giuffre jumping in to editorialize - I remember being obsessed with this book when I was in 5th grade. I read it over and over again. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend reading along with your kiddo!)

The students did an amazing job with their "Book Talks" and should be so proud of their hard work and presentation skills.

In Math, we have begun Topic 7, "Using Equivalent Fractions to Add and Subtract Fractions." Drilling Math facts is a great way to fill car time traveling to and from school, practices, the grocery store. Keep it up!

In Social Studies, students will demonstrate an understanding of the basic origins, functions, and structure of our government.

In Science, we just wrapped up the "Human Impact" projects. Next, we will move on to our unit in Matter. Students will be able to describe its characteristics and changes.

For February, students will be showing generosity by writing letters of kindness to the Life Care Center in West Bridgewater.

Students will be working on the "Black History Month" project, which will be due on Friday, March 7th. Students are looking forward to the "Prismatic Light Show" on February 27th. Thank you very much to the P.T.O. for providing the "Prismatic Light Show" for us!

We are wrapping up our novel study of A Long Walk to Water. Next week students will be participating in a “Water Walk” outside to experience the difficulty of collecting water from the stream and carrying gallon containers of water for a distance of approximately one mile. Students will walk in solidarity in order to develop empathy and compassion for people who travel long distances to obtain clean water for drinking and cooking. We often take for granted the readily available and consistently flowing sources of water in our own homes. Then we will finish off the week with a fun project! (Mrs. Giuffre jumping in to editorialize. A Long Walk to Water is an incredible story. If your child enjoyed it, consider extending their reading to the novel Thirst by Varsha Majaja. This novel explores the politics of water in India.)

We are currently wrapping up Ramayana: Divine Loophole. From here, we will begin The Odyssey adapted by Gillian Cross. We will continue our study of the Hero's Journey leading to students writing their own narrative Heroes Journey.

This month we will be starting Topic 9, ratios. We will be using ratios and ratio language to describe the relationship between two quantities, use diagrams and other models to represent and solve ratio problems, as well as finding equivalent ratios.

In science students have finished their unit on plate tectonics. We ended the unit with project where students created books, songs, models and movies showing their understanding of unit vocabulary. Next we move on to our unit about space! We will start with motions of the earth and the lunar cycle next week!

We are learning about Ancient Egypt and Nubia this month! We have learned about the importance of the Nile, what life was like for different social classes on the social pyramid, gods and goddesses, and what it takes to have a good afterlife in Ancient Egypt. Next week, we start test prep and will have a debate about the power of women in Ancient Egypt and Nubia. When we return from February break, we will have a major project. Our test is planned for March 6th.

This month students will be exploring the PRIDE theme of generosity. Students will reflect up on work we have done in school to connect to and support causes in the community and beyond. Students will also be given the opportunity to imagine their own fundraisers and causes.

Joe Sances won 2nd place in the Patriot's Pen essay contest! He was recognized at the school committee meeting on Monday and received his scholarship on Tuesday from the VFW post representatives.

Health topics this month started off with taking a peek at Nutrition Facts labels. We played games competing in teams to compare the facts of our favorite (and not so favorite) foods. We will now start weaving in components of the CASEL 5, a framework that promotes social-emotional learning, mindfulness, and overall well-being. As we explore nutrition, students will not only learn about healthy food choices but also how their eating habits connect to focus, emotions, and energy levels. By making mindful choices, they’ll strengthen their mind-heart-body connection, reinforcing the importance of balance in daily life.

We are wrapping up our Penny War! Who won? We don't know yet!! We are doing the math on Tuesday during our club meeting. The Little Leo's Club will announce a winner on Wednesday, February 12th. We do have a total: as a school we raised $1,153.16, which is awesome!!!! $230.00 will be donated to the Lions Club disaster relief fund to help with the California Wildfires and the rest will be donated to the Massachusetts Lions Club Eye Research fund. Thank you for your generous donations and helping support people in need!

Student Council is currently working with food services to introduce new pizza toppings and chickpea flavors into the cafeteria. We have created polls and will poll every student in the school to find their preference.

Student Council and Little Leo's will be co sponsoring our first dance of the year. On Wednesday Feb. 12th we will host our 4th and 5th grade dance.

This is Quintin Lone and Jackson Pongonis. We interviewed Mrs Lehane. She told us she went to Bridgewater State University. Her favorite subject is History. She’s looking forward to having another successful year in the learning center. She has 2 kids, one boy named Finn who is 3 years old and a girl named Ellie who is 7 months old. When she was a kid, she wanted to work with penguins. She won a Febreeze bottle autographed by Khloe Kardashian and her favorite movie is “The Princess Bride.” A hobby that she likes is tennis, and something interesting about her is that she has 6 younger siblings.

Hello, we are Abigail Knight and Emily Tyler. We have interviewed Melissa Wenzel.

Mrs. Wenzel went to school at Bridgewater State College (now known as Bridgewater State University) When Mrs. Wenzel was in school, her favorite subject was history.

This year she is very excited to go to Nature's Classroom. She has a family of three with her husband named Paul and daughter named Aubrey. When Mrs. Wenzel was a child she wanted to be a teacher, teaching 1 or 2 grade. Her special talent is that she did competitive dance. Her favorite TV shows are F.R.I.E.N.D.S. and Gilmore Girls. She also loves traveling. To wrap things up, Mrs. Wenzel's favorite color is pink and blue, her favorite animals are a sea turtle and a penguin, and last but not least, her favorite season is summer.

This is Patrick Brennan and Evan Deveau. We interviewed Christine Olsen. When we talked to her about where she went to school she said Mount Holyoke College, but she also added that she spent a year in Germany as training. She said it was a tough question to answer when we asked what was her favorite subject, but she soon said it was math. It took her a while to answer this one, but when asked what she was she looking forward to this year, she said reading The Phantom Tollbooth. She has a husband named Bill and has 2 adult daughters Annalise and Caroline. She also has a golden retriever named Winston; she shares it with her daughter Caroline. When she was a child she wanted to be a teacher or a veterinarian and now she has one of those jobs. She speaks German because stayed there for a year. She also plays the piano! When we asked her about her favorite book or movie she was quick to answer she loves the book Wonder. Her hobbies are writing and knitting. At the end we asked her our final question and we got an answer for it. When she was in college she wasn't into sports but she got put into a rowing team!

Please welcome my daughter Annelise as this month's guest reader!

When Geetha and her mom move from India to Rhode Island after her parents’ divorce, they leave everything Geetha loves behind—her family, her friends, her dog, and all that’s familiar. As if that’s not hard enough, Geetha is bullied at her new school for her clothes, her food, and her English (who knew so many English words could be spelled or pronounced differently in the US—or just be altogether different!). She finds some solace in playing her flute and writing poetry, and even more when she meets Miguel, a kid with whom she has a lot in common, and the two of them help rescue an injured harp seal stranded on the beach. When she and Miguel start a beach-clean-up venture, she’s surprised to find how many kind kids are out there.