Sheehan Elementary

Dear Sheehan Families,

Thank you for taking the time to come in for fall conferences over these past two weeks! It’s a chance to get a glimpse of how your child is settling into the school year, celebrate what’s going well, and talk about what will help them keep growing. We also get to hear what you’re noticing at home, which helps us see a fuller picture of your child. These conversations are one of the ways we keep building strong partnerships between home and school, and we're grateful for the time you made for them.

This week in Between the Bells, we’re checking in with our fifth grade band, sharing a peek at our First Friday Spirit Days, hearing about kindergarten’s fire safety visit, and celebrating some big news about the 5th grade musical.

Thank you for your continued partnership and for taking a few moments each week to stay connected to what's happening at Sheehan.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week ahead!

Stacy Mahoney and the Sheehan Team

In fifth grade band, students learn how their part fits with what everyone else is playing. When they lose their place, they can listen to the musicians around them and find their way back in. When a tricky section finally clicks, they get to hear what their practice adds to the music everyone is making together.

Feeling like a valued part of the group gives students confidence to take more ownership as musicians. That’s student agency in action. Students notice what’s tricky, decide what to practice, and listen for what changes the next time they play.

Ask your child: What’s something that used to feel tricky to play? What did you do that helped it get easier?

For last Friday’s Spirit Day, students were invited to dress as a favorite artist or celebrity. One first grader picked an artist right here at Sheehan and came dressed as Mr. Hagel, our art teacher! That’s part of what makes Spirit Days fun. Everyone starts with the same theme, and students get to decide what to do with it. In 2S, the theme also came up during their morning meeting circle.

The December and January themes are below so kids have plenty of time to come up with their own ideas.

Ask your child: Which upcoming theme are you most excited about? How would you make it your own?

The Westwood Fire Department visited our kindergartners to talk about fire safety. The visit gives students a chance to take what they learned at school and put it to use at home. Let your kindergartner pick one thing to teach the family, then give them a turn leading the practice.

The visit was part of our PTA’s Curriculum Enrichment program. A big thank you to Mrs. Beth O’Malley for working with our teachers to arrange these opportunities, to our PTA for helping fund them, and to the Westwood firefighters for spending time with our kindergartners!

Ask your child: What’s one thing the firefighters taught you that you’d like to show us? Can you lead us through it?

On Wednesday, musical director Ms. Katie Barner shared the big news with our fifth graders. This year’s musical is Matilda Jr.! It marks the 30th year of Sheehan’s fifth grade musical tradition. Each fifth grade class gets to make the tradition its own. As rehearsals get underway, students will have opportunities to try out their ideas and make choices about how to bring the story to life. They’ll also give younger students a glimpse of a tradition they’ll get to be part of someday.

Ask your child: What’s one idea you’d like to bring to Matilda Jr.? What do you think the musical tradition means to Sheehan? How could the way you take part set an example for younger students?

Wednesday, November 11: NO SCHOOL

Wednesday, November 25: Early Release (12:10 p.m. Dismissal)

Thursday, November 26: NO SCHOOL

Friday, November 27: NO SCHOOL

Monday, November 30: Full PD Day for Staff- NO SCHOOL for students

Wednesday, December 9: Early Release (12:00 p.m. Dismissal)

Thursday, December 10: Sheehan Fall Play Performance (4:00- 6:00 pm)

Wednesday, December 23: Early Release

Thursday, December 24-January 1: December Break

Monday, January 4: Return from Break

Our Sheehan Student Council has been busy planning some fun ways to bring our school community together! Students have decided that the first Friday of every month will be a schoolwide Spirit Day, with a different theme each month.

Here’s what they have planned so far:

• December 4 – Where in the World Day: Wear something that represents a place you’ve visited or somewhere you’d love to go!
• January 8 – Sports Day: Show off your favorite team or sport with a jersey, team colors, or athletic gear!

Our Student Council members will also help share announcements and reminders throughout the year. A big thank you to our student leaders for bringing their creativity, ideas, and school spirit to Sheehan! We can’t wait to see everyone participate!

Thank you for keeping us in the loop when your child needs to miss school. Hearing from you helps us understand what’s happening and gives us a chance to work together if getting to school has been difficult.

As we shared in our attendance message earlier this year, attendance letters are part of Westwood’s K–12 attendance policy. Aspen sends them automatically at 5 or 10 unexcused absences or 18 total absences, including both excused and unexcused days.

When we don’t yet know why your child was out, the absence is initially marked unexcused. Once we hear from you, we can review the details and update it to excused when appropriate as outlined in our handbook. If you receive a letter, have a question about an absence, or want to talk through what might help your child get to school more regularly, please reach out. We’re happy to look at it together and figure out how we can help.