ESL Updates - January 25, 2022

This update is for parents of our English Learners at Fisher School, as well as any parents who may speak another language besides English at home. It is my hope to help you stay informed and better able to participate in our Walpole town and school communities.

Email: cmcdonough@walpole.k12.ma.us
Location: 65 Gould Street, Walpole, MA, USA
Phone: 508-660-7234

Most of our students (and staff!) are now back in school and the ACCESS testing schedule has resumed as planned. Just about everyone of the students has completed the Listening and Reading assessments and this week, they are taking the Speaking portion. This is always a favorite, as the love using the microphone to record themselves! Over the next two weeks, we hope to complete all of the Speaking and Writing tests. Results will be shared with parents in June, when we receive them. Please let me know if your child will be out for an extended period so I can reschedule any sessions that need to be changed. It is far more important that our students take this assessment when they are feeling better. For the safety of all students I work with, I have scheduled no more than three students in any test session to allow for safe distancing while testing. The speaking test will be done individually for all students.

If you have anything scheduled already, such as a medical appointment, for your child, please feel free to let me know so I do not schedule testing on that day for them.

You might ask, "How can I help my child do well on ACCESS?" The best way to support them during testing is to make sure they are well rested on their test days. They should have a good breakfast and healthy snacks. If they are ill, please keep them home. In addition to not spreading germs, no one does well on an assessment when they are feeling poorly! We can reschedule their sessions. Encourage them to read and write often! Completing their regular classroom assignments, both in school and homework, will help. Take them to the public library and get a library card. They can sign out books to read at home, and it's FREE!!!

We now have a Parent Group for the parents of our English Learners. You will see it referred to as the ELPAC. This is such an exciting and important opportunity for you to become involved, to support your child, and to learn how you can have a voice in your child's education. I will send out notification through email when the next meeting is scheduled. It will most likely be a virtual meeting using Zoom, so I will be sure to send home that information when we have the date set for the next meeting.

THIS INFORMATION IS FROM THE SCHOOL NUTRITION OFFICE AND THE WALPOLE FOOD PANTRY:

The Walpole Community Food Pantry will continue to help families who would benefit from additional food. Their goal is to support families in the most flexible manner possible by distributing food packages one day a week at our usual distribution site – Walpole High School. No need to pre-register.

Food packages will be distributed out of the Walpole High School (275 Common Street) on Wednesday, January 26th between the hours of 2:30 p.m.- 4:00 p.m.

The Pantry is hoping to provide a weekly offering of fresh fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, cheese, proteins such as meats and fish, and a box of shelf-stable food with essential non-food items, if requested.

If your family faces a hardship that prevents you from being able to pick up your food packages from the Walpole High School please reach out to the Walpole School Nutrition Department at wpsnutrition@walpole.k12.ma.us to explore alternative options.

Sincerely,

Walpole School Nutrition

Walpole Community Food Pantry

We are in need of parents or community members who are fluent in speaking, reading, and writing a foreign language and would be willing to help translate certain documents or serve as an interpreter for our newer families coming to Walpole from other countries. We especially need people fluent in Arabic, Nepali, Russian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

You should all have received a copy of the questions from the Walpole Master Plan Steering Committee asking for your input about the future of your community. There was a copy in English as well as a copy in your home language, attached. The committee feels it is essential to hear from everyone in the town with their thoughts on what they would like Walpole to be as a community moving forward. It will be sent via the email you have listed with the school and you can reply in your home language. We will be using Google Translate to translate your responses. All replies are requested by January 31.. If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact me and I will make every effort to clarify it for you. Thank you to those who have already sent your responses to me. I have forwarded them on the the committee. Please remember, you may type the responses in your home language and I will translate them to English with Google Translate. We realize that isn't perfect, but it gives them a good idea of what you are saying!

First Term Progress Reports will be going home the second week in February. These are a little different than your child's report card that you receive from their classroom teacher. Their EL Progress Report shows how well they are progressing in their English language proficiency. It will explain what they are capable of doing at this point in time in listening, reading, speaking, and writing. It will also explain what their goals are for this year. That is, what we are working towards them being able to do by the end of the school year. If you have any questions when you receive it, please do not hesitate to contact me. We can meet in person or chat via email or phone.