News from the Nest

Issue #3: September 8th, 2023

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends,

We are off to a super strong start here in our Elm Street School Nest as this week we fully welcomed our incoming Kindergarten class who started school on Tuesday! The class of 2036 has already shown us some great things this week and we can't wait for everything they have to offer our community as they begin their journey here.

This week we have a huge amount of gratitude for our recess and lunch aides who have not only been working really hard on supporting recess and lunch expectations as students get acclimated back to our Elm routines, but were amazingly flexible as we handled really hot temperatures outside and needed to adjust our recess plans each day, sometimes at the very last minute. We are thankful that by having air conditioned spaces in our building that it allowed us to get some students outside in the cooler parts of the day, sometimes just for part of recesses, and then straight inside to cool off. It also allowed for us to have cool and comfortable learning environments in almost all parts of the building all week. We know this is an incredible privilege that not all students are afforded and we are grateful.

Visiting classrooms this week I saw lots of engaged learners across all grades practicing routines and expectations, being on task and following the group plan, and diving into academic instruction. In addition to the varied opportunities to build safe, respectful, and affirming classroom communities, many students this week started their ST Math journeys and have been working hard within their Fundations practice. There were also many examples of students stepping into leadership roles, most notably with our Grade 5 Bus Helpers. I was especially proud of our 5th graders who are demonstrating responsibility by walking our new kindergarten friends to their classes each morning. We plan to rotate Bus Helpers so that more grade 5 students who want to take on some additional leadership roles have that opportunity here at Elm.

Next week is our first full week of the school year and we expect some tired Eagles here at the Nest as we continue to build back school stamina. You can help your child(ren) be ready for the full week by supporting them in getting plenty of rest, offering space to decompress after each day, and helping them wake up in time to prepare and arrive on time to school or their bus stop.

I hope you have a restful weekend with opportunities to find connection and joy and I will see you all on Monday!

Jen

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Emergency Preparedness Practice

During the week of September 11th we will be practicing our Emergency Preparedness protocols and procedures.

I will send an email to all Elm families later in the week with some additional information about our Emergency Preparedness at our school.

Meet our Counselors!

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September at a Glance

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 September.

September at a Glance

9/4 No School (Labor Day)
9/5 First Day of School PreK and K
9/7 6:00p Pop In for Popsicles
9/11 Anniversary of 9/11
9/14 6:45p School Committee Meeting
9/15 First Day of Hispanic Heritage Month
9/15 Rosh Hashanah begins (ends 9/17)

9/18 School Picture Day
9/18 3:05p Curriculum Meeting
9/21 International Day of Peace
9/21 6:30p Elm PAC Meeting
9/22 Early Release Day
9/24 Yom Kippur (ends 9/25)
9/26 6:00p Elm Open House
9/26-27 Mawlid
9/28 6:45p School Committee Meeting
9/26-10/6 Sukkot

If there are cultural celebrations that are important to you and your family that you would like the Elm community to know more about, please be sure to send me an email by the end of each month so I can include them here.

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Attendance at Elm

Please be sure to call the school before 8:15 if you are keeping your child home for any reason. Also, if you have an early morning doctor's appointment and you will be bringing your child in late, please call the attendance line to let us know you will be sending your child in late.

Absence/Tardy line: 508-660-7374 ext. 1 - Please leave a brief message about why your child will be out. Please include your child's name, teacher and date.

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Private Lessons through the WPS Music Department

The Walpole Public Schools Music Department is pleased to announce the fall session for our Private Lesson Program for students in grades 4 - 12. If your child is interested in taking private instrument or voice lessons, here is your chance. Lessons are offered in flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, baritone horn, tuba, piano, percussion, violin, viola, cello, guitar and voice. All lessons are taught by accomplished performers on their respective instruments. Most lessons are currently being taught virtually.

Session 1 will run September 25 to January 26. Registration is open until Monday, September 18th.

For more information, visit:

https://sites.google.com/walpole.k12.ma.us/wpsmusic/private-lesson-program/overview

To register, visit:

https://www.familyid.com/walpole-public-schools/private-music-lessons-2023-2024-session-i

For questions, email:

Tim Fleming (K-12 Music Coordinator) at tfleming@walpole.k12.ma.us