Bates Family Newsletter

Greetings!

We celebrated World Kindness Day on Wednesday, and it was a huge success! We were able to complete so many random acts of kindness. Just a quick reminder that the trimester ended this week, and report cards will be published to the Aspen portal on 11/27. If you don't have access to Aspen, please reach out to Ms. Roz, our family engagement facilitator, who is happy to help you figure it out.

Thank you for your continued support, and we hope you have a wonderful weekend,

Ms. Smith, Mr. Mac, and Mr. Lister

Register Now

Our Beacons of the Week were kind and helpful! We are always so proud of our Beacons. Special shout out to:

Kris Santos

Neveah Colon

Sophie Spittle

Carla Polanco Ramirez

Devan Stavros

The proposed designs are out, and our architect did an amazing job! Members of our Site Council and representatives from the PreK and K teams will meet Tuesday to review the design and make any necessary recommendations for changes. Here's a sneak peak (left) at what we could be seeing out there.

The project is slated to be completed before the 25/26 school year. Woohoo!

Twice a month, two of our wonderful families will be featured on our morning announcements that are shared each day to build community in our school as well as in our family newsletter. Our hope is that this will create new friendships, bring us closer as a community, and help us celebrate the beautiful diversity that we have here at Bates. It ties in with our motto: "Believe, be you, belong, at Bates!".

Your family can record a Zoom with Ms. Roz, create a poster to share a little about your family, or come into school for a fun interview. Want to learn more? Contact Ms. Roz at rguevera@salemk12.org. Want to sign up? Fill out this form, and Ms. Roz will contact you.

As temperatures drop, we want to ensure everyone stays warm this winter. If you or someone you know is in need of a winter coat, please reach out to our Family Engagement Facilitator, Rosalyn Guevara.

You can contact her at rguevara@salemk12.org or 781-771-8309. We want all our kids to stay warm!

Have any other clothing needs? Please reach out to Ms. Roz.

Some of the ways we're teaching kindness in school include:

1. Modeling Kindness: Teachers and staff demonstrate and praise kind behavior.
2. Teaching Explicit Lessons: Using stories, role-playing, and discussions to explore kindness.
3. Fostering Peer Activities: Introducing buddy classrooms and kindness challenges to encourage teamwork and positive actions.
4. Using SEL Practices...DAILY!: Incorporating lessons on empathy and emotional regulation.
5. Celebrating Kindness: Highlighting acts of kindness on our kindness wall.
6. Addressing Unkindness Proactively: Using restorative practices to resolve conflicts and teach accountability.
7. Promoting Inclusivity: Celebrating diversity and ensure all students feel valued.

The school menus are posted on the SPS website. Find them here.

Many thanks to the Girls on the Run who organized our lost and found. How thoughtful!

Our goal is to keep our chronic absence rate under 19.5% this year. This week, our chronic attendance rate is at 19.7%. Shout out to PreK families who are consistently getting their littlest learners to school.

If you need any assistance with getting your student to school, please reach out to Rosalyn Guevara, Family Engagement Facilitator at rguevara@salemk12.org.

If your student wasn't here on picture day or needs a re-take, please mark your calendars for Tuesday, November 19th.

November

• November 19th - School Site Council Meeting, 7:45 am + School Picture Retakes
• November 20th - Polished Dental
• November 27th - Report Cards Published + Crazy Sock Spirit Day! + 1/2 Day!
• November 28th - No School, Happy Thanksgiving!
• November 29th - No School

December

• December 4th - Teacher/Caregiver conferences, 1/2 day
• December 16th-20th - Holiday store week! More information to come.
• December 17th - Grades 2/3 winter concert! Time coming soon.
• December 20th - Cozy/Comfy/Pajama spirit day!
• December 23rd - Winter break starts - See you on Thursday, January 2, 2025!

January

• January 2 - Back to school. Happy New Year!
• January 6 - February 14 - Access testing for ML students
• January 10 - Family BINGO night, 6-7 pm
• January 20 - No school, MLK Day
• January 23 - Grades 4/5 chorus concert for families, 8:15 am
• January 23 - All City Grade 5 Concert (an evening event for families - information sent out through the instrumental music department)
• January 24 - Fandom spirit day! Wear your favorite sports gear, support your favorite singer, show off your best loved movie/TV characters, etc. Let's flood our school with what you all think is awesome!
• January 29 - Town Hall + 1/2 day

Did you know you can earn money for our school just by scanning your grocery receipts? All you need to do is download the Boxtops app, and scan those receipts! Don't want to scan? No worries, you can always send receipts into school with your student in an envelope marked, "PTO Boxtops".

Our Bates spirit rock is available for weekly rentals. Celebrate your student's birthday or other accomplishments by painting a message on our rock. Please click here to rent the rock!

Bates Elementary School, in partnership with our families and community, will provide all students with a culturally responsive, student – centered, and equitable learning experience that celebrates our students’ diverse backgrounds, creative pursuits, and their academic, social, emotional success.

School Hours:

Regular school hours:

Monday through Friday: 7:45am to 1:50pm

Early Release (Grades 1-5) at 11:15am

PK at 11am

Kindergarten at 11:10am