Stapleton Family News
February 7, 2020
Translations
Traduções para todos os "Anotações do Office" estão disponíveis rolando até o final de cada newsletter e clicando na barra preta "Traduzir".
Acknowledging the Change
Dear Families,
I want to take a moment to acknowledge the communication sent out by Ms. Diaz and Dr. Tremblay about the change in leadership at Stapleton. While it is sad to say good-bye to Ms. Diaz, I know you'll join me in wishing her good health and time to heal.
We recognize this will have an impact on students (and families). Teachers held morning meetings on Wednesday or Thursday to discuss Ms. Diaz and the changes. Support Staff provided the following script to students:
Ms. Diaz has not been feeling well and in order to get better, Ms. Diaz’s doctor told her she needs to take some time off. She is going to be OK. She just needs some time to heal and feel better. When she is ready to be back to work, she will not be returning to Stapleton. She misses you all and hopes you continue to do your very best each day. Everybody knows Ms. Maurao. She is going to be our principal for the rest of this year and next year.
Kids can make cards for Ms. Diaz, write her a letter and celebrate how hard she worked here, can share class picture or a class letter. Letters can be brought to the office and we will send her a package from the school wishing her well.
In addition, a voluntary meeting was held with staff on Tuesday afternoon to address concerns and discuss the vision in the weeks to come. We are all in this together (like the gear image above).
I will talk more about our work moving forward at the PTO meeting and I welcome any questions or concerns at the meeting (or at another scheduled time that works best for you).
Also, Ms. Mandes, our new assistant principal, will begin at Stapleton on Monday, February 24, 2020. We will hold a parent coffee on Tuesday, February 25, 2020, from 8:25am-8:45am to welcome her and give parents a chance to meet her. In addition, the PTO will do a larger welcome for Ms. Mandes at the March 11th PTO meeting.
Lastly, it is important to note that tomorrow, February 8, 2020, from 9-11am is our PTO Friendship Breakfast. Please come out to spend some time creating happy memories with our school community!
Respectfully,
Brenda Maurao
PTO Update
- Our next event will be the Friendship Breakfast on February 8 from 9 to 11 am in the cafe. Show up in your pajamas for breakfast food, cookie decorating, photo opportunities, and JoJo the magician!
- February 12, PTO meeting 7-9 pm
- February 13, Pizzeria Uno's night (see flyer)
Have a great weekend!
The Stapleton PTO
Stapleton Plan for Communication on Progress
What a week of accomplishments for Stapleton STAFF and STUDENTS!
- We implemented a new support call protocol that moved the "walkie calls" out of the office and into our alternative learning space that is supported by Shelby Hall, our Social-Emotional Behavior Coach and eventually our new Student Support Specialists (anticipated start date for these positions is 2/24). This now allows our office staff to focus on other essential tasks and our teachers/students to be supported by staff whose expertise is de-escalation, etc.
- We changed the way we are logging support calls to allow for more information to be gathered about the student(s) by utilizing our current student information system (SWIS). When a teacher writes a referral, there is a new drop-down tab to identify if they called for support and if the call was answered or not. This will allow support staff and other educators to look for patterns and trends and identify areas to modify supports for students and staff. This will occur weekly at support staff meetings. It is important to note that our walkie call data may look different in next week's School Council Meeting because it is being gathered this way.
- Bathroom protocols have been implemented (as outlined in a staff email sent last week) to include designated bathrooms for each grade level and increased monitoring by adults
ILT Meeting (Tuesday, 2/4/20):
- ILT members are prepared to share outcomes of diving into iReady Diagnostic 2 data at the school and grade level, along with how to use historical reports to tell the story of our students
- There is a desire to bring back more community experiences for students and staff like guest readers (more to come on this)- we might form a subcommittee to expand on this
Support Team Meeting (Tuesday, 2/4/20):
- Identified students to consider shifting from Mini-buses to Vans and Big Buses to Minis (based on bus write-ups and IEP goals/needs)- this is a process but a big step in the right direction
TLC Support Team Meeting (Wednesday, 2/5/20):
- The team reviewed a detailed visual of a proposed staffing model for 2020-2021 that can be used for "backwards planning" and action step development. Brenda will visit team collaboration next week to share this work with teams (for the first 10 minutes). A support staff member will join in the conversation, too.
- The next meeting of this group is on 2/10 and the tasks include: create the entrance/exit criteria for TLC, review students who have TLC (or ED program) on their IEP who are not currently needing these supports and create a TLC program description.
Also, there is greater clarity on establishing a sub-committee of the ILT that includes our specialists (Art, Music PE), with the goal: Utilize the expertise of our specialists to expand the efforts of the Instructional Leadership Team and School Improvement Plan to increase the ways we know all students and continuing to grow an inclusive school culture.
Safety Care Meetings: We have 20 staff members who are safety care trained (the de-escalation/response curriculum utilized at Stapleton) and we recognized the need to bring these educators together on a consistent basis to practice components of the program, discuss success and identify areas of focus. Thank you to Lisa Didonato (Adjustment Counselor/Safety Care Trainer) and Greg Peterson (Assistant Teacher/Safety Care Trainer) for leading the first-ever Safety Care Trained Staff meetings this week. Looking forward to continuing this work and supporting one another in this way.
Recess: Reyad Shah from Community Resource Development is partnering with Emilee King from Explorers to provide some additional supports during recess. They visited a few recesses and met with administration this week and there is an intentional plan for support for next week.
One suggestion that seems very reasonable for staff to try is to come up with a signal/sound/warning system to notify students when 5 minutes are left- this could be a whistle, etc.- whatever works for the staff and students.
They have scheduled time and a focus for next week's recess blocks. Reyad will be at recesses between 11:15 and 2:00pm on Monday, Wednesday and Friday next week.
- Monday: Support on the soccer/football field- using some cones to define spaces and supporting students in the games
- Wednesday: Coordinating games in various locations (including the basketball court) and bringing out pinnies to create teams, etc.
- Friday: Playworks games
Stapleton Family Workshop Series
A series of parent workshops are being coordinated this winter and spring for Stapleton families aimed at addressing topics parents are requesting and supporting the continued growth of the inclusive culture at Stapleton. Childcare, translations, and snacks will be provided.
Session 1 was entitled "Supporting the Anxious Child" and took place last Thursday. Here is a link to the Family News from 1/31/20 that includes a link to the presentation.
Session 2 of this series is entitled, "Maximizing Children's Resiliency in School (and Online)" and it will take place on, Wednesday, March 4, 2020, from 7:00pm-8:30pm in the Stapleton cafeteria. Please click here to view further details about the workshop and to RSVP.
Update from our Administrative Interns, Stephanie Tesorero and Lisa Didonato!
Doc Wayne: This wonderful behavior incentive program will be coming to Stapleton after February break. It is already in many of our other schools and we are excited to have it for our students. Doc Wayne blurb.pdf
Updates from our Math Coach, Nicole Czarnowski
i-Ready
Students have now completed two rounds of i-Ready diagnostics. Since completing the winter diagnostic, new lesson paths have been created, and students are busy practicing these skills throughout the week. Some classes may be encouraging students to complete lessons at home. Check-in with your children and have them share what they are learning in their i-Ready lessons.
Math in Our World
As we continue to develop a culture of mathematical thinkers, challenge your children to find math in their everyday lives. Perhaps you baked some goodies for a Superbowl party, recently took a trip to the grocery store and applied coupons to a total or had a family game night. All of these are great ways to show our children that math is everywhere! Encourage your children to find examples of math in their world, and share out with their classes. We can’t wait to hear! Feel free to send a blurb or picture directly to me.
If you have any questions about curriculum, assessments, or strategies to strengthen your mathematical thinker at home, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Nicole Czarnowski
Math Coach
nczarnowski@framingham.k12.ma.us
Updated from our Social-Emotional Behavior Coach, Shelby Hall
Our character trait of the month for February is COMPASSION! Here are some ways in which the teachers and staff are supporting compassion in their classrooms!
Pink Eagle Power Tickets!
On February 1st all teachers received copies of pink eagle power tickets to award children observed displaying COMPASSION throughout the day!
These tickets can be used in combination with the original eagle power tickets and each teacher can decide how they want to utilize them!
Teachers are displaying tickets on the classroom door and setting a class goal for the month!
Updates from the office!
Our new sign-in system is up and running! If you have yet to sign in using this new system please make sure you have your license or picture form of ID when you come in. If you have ANY questions about any aspect of this new system please check out the frequently asked questions here:
Dates to Remember- February
4th 3:30 Arts & Crafts /Robotics
5th World Read Aloud Day
8th 9-11 Friendship Breakfast
11th 3:30 Arts & Crafts /Robotics
12th 5:30pm School Council Meeting
12th 7pm PTO Meeting
17-21: February Break
25th 3:30 Robotics
26th Community Meetings (first starts at 9:25)
28th Spirit Day- Favorite T-shirt
2019-2020 Report Card Schedule
Semester 1- January 31
Semester 2- Last Day of School
2019-2020
School Hours 9:05am - 3:20pm
Students are welcome to begin arriving at school at 8:50 am, when teachers will be present to greet them.
Early Release Days
- Students are dismissed at 12:55pm.
- Lunch IS served.
- If your child rides the bus, you can expect them to arrive at their stop approximately two and a half hours earlier than normal.
- Early Release Thursdays: 10/17, 10/24, 10/31, 12/5, 3/5, 4/30, 5/7, 5/14, 5/21
Half Days
- Students are dismissed at 12:20pm.
- Lunch IS NOT served.
- If your child rides the bus, you can expect them to arrive at their stop three hours earlier than normal.
- Half Days: 11/27 and the last day of school.
2019-2020 District Calendar
Please use the following links to access an updated version of the District Calendar which now includes a second page - complete with the Report Card Schedule and School Hours. Please reference this document as needed throughout the year. It is also available on the district website.
CALENDARS
Feedback on Family News
Thank you!
