Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends!
Our Nest was positively fluttering with excitement and energy this week as we engaged with the Book Fair and prepared for our annual Fall Festival this weekend. A HUGE THANK YOU to Becca Costello and her team of volunteers who worked so hard at all the Book Fair previews with each class and made our first ever Night at the Book Fair and enormous success! It was incredible to see so many families at the event last night shopping for books, connecting with each other, and engaging in the activities that supported this very special event.
In this edition of our weekly newsletter you will find information about:
- upcoming dates and celebrations for November
- November Counseling Newsletter
- Essentialists' Update: STEM
- November Coffee and Conversation
- Fall Educator-Family Conference Sign Ups
- Health Screenings
- Fall Photo Retake Day: November 1st
- Absence and Attendance Newsletter
- Multicultural Potluck sign up
I hope to see you all at our Fall Festival this Sunday from 12:00 - 3:00p. There will be games, food, face painting, raffle prizes, more opportunities to shop the Book Fair, and much more! This is a wonderful opportunity to not only connect with Elm families but to show your support for our school community.
See you Sunday!
Jen
Upcoming Dates and Celebrations: November
At the beginning of each month I will share a calendar of some upcoming Elm events as well as upcoming cultural celebrations and heritage months with hyperlinks to more information if you are interested in learning more. Below is information for the month of November.
If there are cultural celebrations that are important to you and your family that you would like to share with the adult Elm community, please email me so I can be sure to include them in upcoming newsletters. If you have any questions about anything you see on our calendar, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.
- 10/31 - 11/1 Diwali
- 11/1 Native American Heritage Month begins, All Saints Day, School Photo Make-Up Day
- 11/1 - 2 Day of the Dead
- 11/2 5:00 - 8:30p Diwali Celebration
- 11/5 Election Day, School Closed- Staff Professional Development Day
- 11/8 8:30a Coffee and Conversation- Homework and Executive Functioning
- 11/11 Veterans Day, School Closed
- 11/12 5:00 - 7:00p Family Educator Conferences
- 11/14 5:00 - 7:00p Family Educator Conferences, 6:45p School Committee Meeting
- 11/15 Early Release Day- Family Educator Conferences
- 11/20 6:30p Elm Multicultural Potluck, Transgender Day of Remembrance
- 11/21 7:00p Elm PAC Meeting
- 11/22 Elm K-5 Assembly (Students and Staff Only)
- 11/27 Early Release Day
- 11/28 - 29 School Closed
- 11/28 Thanksgiving, National Day of Mourning
November Coffee and Conversation SAVE THE DATE
Our next Coffee and Conversation will take place on November 8th where our topic of conversation will be executive functioning and homework at Elm. Be sure to stop by to hear more about our work this year on aligning grade level homework and how we will be gathering data and feedback to create an informed and developmentally supportive approach to homework Kindergarten - Grade 5. We also spend some time talking about executive functioning skills and highlight work being done at Elm to teach and practice these skills as well as ways you can strengthen them at home.
Fall Family-Educator Conference Sign Ups
In order to best meet the needs of all of our families and allow for a little more flexibility with our conference scheduling, we are shifting to using Google Appointments for all educators for the upcoming Fall Conferences. Conferences will take place on November 12th between 5:00 - 7:00p, November 14th between 5:00 - 7:00p, and on the Early Release Day on November 15th between 1:00 - 3:00p. All conferences are in person. If families need a virtual conference they should reach out directly to the educator to arrange that option.
On Wednesday (10/30) I will share a spreadsheet via email with all Elm families that contain the links to each individual educator's appointment calendar. Families should use those links to sign up for a conference with any of the educators listed. If you are having trouble with the links or finding a time that works, please reach out to the individual educator.
Health Screeners
State mandated screeners are occurring this month in the Health Office at Elm. All health screenings conducted in school are required by Massachusetts Law.
Spinal Screening
Postural screening is conducted for all grades 5 – 9. Parents/guardians are notified of concerns and referred to their physician for follow-up. A separate email was shared with Grade 5 families about this screening.
Vision Screening
Vision screening is conducted for all grades 1 – 5, 7 and 10. Parents/guardians are notified if the student does not pass for referral to their physician for follow-up.
Hearing Screening
Hearing screening is conducted for all grades K - 3, 7 and 10. Parents/guardians are notified if the student does not pass for referral to their physician for follow-up.
Growth Development Screening
Growth screening is conducted for students in grades 1, 4, 7 & 10. Heights and weights are measured and calculated into BMI or Body Mass Index.
For more information about these mandatory screenings, please see this website.
Attendance and Absence Newsletter
Please read this month's newsletter. It contains links to the WPS Health Services Department and other helpful sites you can use when making decisions about whether or not you should send your child to school based on symptoms of illness.
"What if my child is sick?" - https://secure.smore.com/n/9ga8n
The newsletter is also posted on the Walpole Public Schools website.
Nest Connections
Email: jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.walpole.k12.ma.us/o/ess
Location: 415 Elm Street, Walpole, MA, USA
Phone: 508.660.7374
Instagram: ElmStSchool