Cole Miners' Dig
September 12, 2025
It has been a wonderful full week of school! Thank you all for your assistance in following procedures each morning and afternoon to help us ensure the safe arrival and dismissal of students. The systems we have in place have been working smoothly thanks to everyone doing their part to make it all work!
Smile! Picture Day is Monday. All students have their picture taken regardless of picture package purchase. Every student will receive a class picture as well.
Each year we practice a number of mandatory drills (fire, shelter in the building, lockdown, bus evacuation) with our students and present them in the most developmentally appropriate way. The bus drivers taught students about bus safety and bus evacuations this morning upon arrival at Cole School. All students (including drop offs and walkers) participated in this drill.
As part of the School Improvement Plan, we are starting a Volunteer Village to recruit people that would like to commit to volunteering at Cole School this school year on a consistent basis (for example, 20 min. each week, one hour on Friday afternoons, or once a month on a Wednesday). If you'd be interested in volunteering this year, please let us know by completing this form by Friday, September 19th. All volunteers to must complete the CORI form (good for 2 years) and fingerprinting (good for life in Norwell Schools). Click here for more information on completing both the CORI and fingerprinting.
Many thanks to the two outgoing parent representatives on the School Council - Mrs. Godin and Mrs. Bersell. We are so thankful for their time and input over the last two years.
We are now in need of two new Cole School Council Parent Representatives who will join our current parent representatives, Mr. Lucas Hamory and Mr. Tyler Martin, to help guide our school as we move forward to implement the goals in the Cole School Improvement Plan. This position holds a 2-year commitment with a monthly meeting from 3:30-4:30pm. Interested parents can learn more about School Councils and their roles in school improvement here.
If you would like to nominate yourself or another Cole School parent, please send Mrs. Burns (eliza.burns@norwellschools.org) the name and a brief bio introducing yourself to the community. This bio will be used for the ballot as these are elected positions. Nominations will be accepted through Friday, September 19th. An election ballot with all nominated parents will be sent home the following week in preparation for the first School Council Meeting on October 15th.
Please check out the Cole PTO facebook page for pictures of happenings during the school week. In order to join the Cole PTO facebook page, you must answer the question. If the question is left blank, the request will be denied.
Mark you calendars for the upcoming Open House/Curriculum Night on Thursday, September 18th. Students and families are welcome to come visit the classroom and specialist areas, meet the teachers, learn more about the grade level curriculum, and see the classroom.
Grades 1 and 2 - 5:00-5:45
Parking Lot Turn Over - 5:45-6:15
Grades 3, 4, and 5 - 6:15-7:00
We will be reviewing expected behaviors with the students before Open House/Curriculum Night, but please also preview the expected behaviors with your children before entering the building:
1. Children MUST stay with their family for the duration of the event (no running through halls)
2. Visit your child's current classroom and specialists only so previous year's teachers can focus on their new students and families
September
September 15 - Picture Day
September 18 - Grades 1 & 2 Curriculum Night/Open House 5:00-5:45pm
September 18 - Grades 3, 4, & 5 Curriculum Night/Open House 6:15-7:00pm
September 19 - PTO Stay and Play
September 25 - Norwell CARES Day (more info shared soon)
September 29 - Connections Meeting - Persisting Habit of Mind
September 29 - Instrument Rental Night at Vinal School for Gr. 5 Band Students 6:30pm
Looking Ahead:
October 1 - Early Release Day (all students dismissed at 12:20pm)
October 2 - School Custodian Appreciation Day
October 3 - PTO Stay and Play
October 8 - PTO Meeting 7:00pm
October 13 - No School
October 15 - School Council Meeting 3:30pm
October 20 - Community Meeting 9:00am
October 23 - Early Release Day - Conferences (all students dismissed at 12:20pm)
October 27. - Occupational Therapist Appreciation Day
October 27 - Connections Meeting - Managing Impulsivity Habit of Mind
October 31 - Early Release Day (all students dismissed at 12:20pm)
This week, we kicked off our new Second Step curriculum with grade-wide lessons from Unit 1- Growth Mindset & Goal Setting. We'll continue with Unit 1 for the rest of September. You can read about this unit and the lessons for each grade on my website, in addition to information on our Bullying Prevention curriculum and supplemental lessons throughout the year.
Several kids have been enjoying borrowing craft materials to use at recess- thanks to all who donated last year! If you have spare bracelet-making materials, Looms bands, or other crafts that are easy to use outdoors, I would gladly take them off your hands for replenishing my recess kits!
This week in PE/Gym Class, kindergarteners continued to work on gym rules, spatial awareness, locomotor movements and played Freeze Tag! Grades 1 & 2 worked on gym rules and played a cooperative team game called Guard the Pin. Grades 3-5 worked on gym rules and warmed up with a fun tag game called Sliders and a cooperative team game called Guard the Pin.
