SES Old News & Reminders

Attendance & Parent-Teacher Conferences Update:

As we gear up for our upcoming caregiver conferences, we want to share a quick reminder about how vital consistent attendance is for all of our learners in PreK through Grade 6!

Right before conference time, we will officially hit Day 50 of our 180-day school year—that means we are already nearly 28% of the way through! It is amazing to see how fast time flies, but it also reminds us how every single day matters. Daily school time gives our Moose wonderful chances to practice skills, connect with classmates, and participate in all the rich learning happening across our classrooms.

When learners miss days or arrive late, they miss out on group conversations, core instruction, and everyday school routines that are tough to replicate later. Being here consistently helps children feel truly connected to our SES community and sets up positive habits for the future.

Our teachers will be looking closely at attendance records as we prepare for our meetings. If your student has missed significant time or has accumulated tardies, we will discuss this together at conferences. We always want to work side-by-side with families to help overcome any obstacles and ensure your child is supported.

We know that illnesses, stomach bugs, and family needs happen! We truly appreciate your ongoing communication with our front office and your help in getting students here safely and ready to learn when they are well.

Thank you for partnering with us to make every school day great! We look forward to seeing you soon at conferences!

For more information, please check out: https://www.attendanceworks.org/

We hope everyone has had a wonderful 1st full week back. It is not unusual for students (and staff) to be tired! 🙂 As a mother of four, I always found it helpful to have calm activities at night as they ease into the new demands of their next grade level.

I received wonderful feedback about our technology policy. If your student has an smart watch, you can put it on "school time mode" so your child could use it as a regular watch at school. Here are the directions: School Mode

As students are getting into their routines, if they ride the bus please review our Bus Expectations with your child. If you have any concerns, please contact the bus company.

SES has a Bullying, Intervention and Prevention Plan? Here is how we talk about bullying with students:

Bullying is when someone:

• hurts, teases, or leaves someone on purpose
• does it again and again
• have more power in some way, making it hard for the other person to make it stop

If you would like to learn more about bullying, please go to our school website & click the Information tab. The Bullying Prevention & Intervention Plan is the 2nd choice on the drop down menu. (See screenshot attached).

In Choose Love, students learn about how to recognize bullying and how to advocate when they see someone being unkind. Please see below for the September Choose Love update. October is National Bullying Prevention Month, so look out next months for more updates. If you have any concerns related to bullying please email Anne at magilla@shutesburyschool.org

NEW Student Dismissal Release System:

We will be starting the 2026-2027 school year off using a system called PickUp Patrol to help us track dismissals. PickUp Patrol provides you with a convenient way to make changes to your students’s dismissal plans and helps ensure that students are accurately dismissed each day.

How It Works:

1. Your students’s regular dismissal plan will be entered into the system. This is called their Default Plan.

2. Whenever your student is doing something other than their Default Plan, you’ll submit a Plan Change via PickUp Patrol. Examples of a Plan Change include:

   1. Your student normally rides the bus, but is getting picked up today

   2. Your student is getting picked up by someone other than yourself.

   3. Your student has a doctor's appointment and will be leaving early.

3. When the change is submitted, our school will be notified, and we’ll relay the change to your student & their teacher.

4. You can also use PickUp Patrol to alert SES that your student will be absent or tardy through this new system.

REGISTER: At this time, you should have received a registration email from PickUp Patrol with a link to set up your account. If you have not, please be sure to check your student's PowerSchool contact form. Pick Up Patrol will only send emails to caregivers with whom the student lives with and/or has custody of. If your information is not listed, Pick Up Patrol doesn't not have your contact information to send you the Welcome Email! The parent portal is free and can be accessed from your phone or computer. The link in your registration email will be live for 48 hours. As soon as you receive it, please log in and confirm your student’s default plan. If you have not completed your PowerSchool Forms, you may have not received the letter as PowerSchool shares caregiver information with Pick Up Patrol. If you need to request a new welcome letter, please let us know ASAP so that we can ensure smooth dismissals at the end of the day.

Thank you for using PickUp Patrol to make safety a priority and to ensure our dismissal process is efficient for all.

If you have any questions, please first check the PickUp Patrol Parent Guide & if you need additional assistance, let us know.

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Additional Info:

We will no longer be using our Yellow Notes system for dismissals.

There will be a 2:00 cut off each day (12:00 on Wednesdays) to ensure SES staff have time to get the end of day info and have it readily available in time for dismissal.

Reminder: In order for you to send your student to Moose Lodge, you must be accepted into the program.

If you have not done so already, please make sure you fill out all of the required PowerSchool Forms for your student so that we can ensure we have correct contact information as well as necessary permissions for all students. As stated last Spring, moving forward, we will not be sending home folders with forms that need to be filled out and updated at the beginning of the year. We will be using the forms option through our PowerSchool system. This will help us ensure all information is accurate and families can update info as needed throughout the year.

Returning students were given their Access ID & Access Passwords at the end of the school year. If this information has been misplaced, please reach out to us ASAP so that I can get you another copy in order for you to complete this task.

Please note: New SES students, if you have completed the Pre-Registration, it was our understanding that you should not need an access ID & password. If you do, please reach out so we can get you that info. If you have forgotten your username, we are able to give you that as well.

Please use the information below to create your Caregiver PowerSchool Account (if you have not done so already) and fill out the requested forms.

1. Open the internet browser on your computer

2. The website location is: https://swiftriverschool.powerschool.com/public

3. Click on ""Create Account"" Tab

4. Fill in the information requested for your desired username and password.

5. Enter your student's full name (first, middle, last), Access ID and Password (a hard copy will be sent home with your student)

Please do not hesitate to reach out to Laura and/or Martina in the front office if you need additional information or support.

Thank you for your attention to matter.

Laura & Martina

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A note to K-6th grade caregivers who pick up and drop off their students via vehicle on the playground side of the building:

• We kindly ask that students are only dropped off at the sidewalk and not before.
• It would be ideal if students only exit from the passenger side back door.
• Please stay in your vehicle at pick up and drop off. A staff member is available to help your child safely into and out of the car. If for some reason you have to exit your vehicle, please do so quickly so as to not hold up the line. Goodbyes should be said before exiting the vehicle.
• You can safely pass the bus when their lights are OFF. Most days, there is a bus monitor to let you know when you can safely pass.
• On Wednesdays, when students are at recess, there will be traffic cones up before the playground. Please stop at the cones and the buses will pass on the left to turn around the island.

Thank you so much for assisting us to provide the safest arrival and dismissal procedures for your students.

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SES School Council is a team of people who work together to help the principal make the school better. The work on the School Improvement Plan, review the budget and review the Student Handbook.

I am excited to announce our School Council Team for this school year! With the addition of community member Richard, we are able to have all 3 parent representatives! Thank you to everyone who voted!

• Megan Lennon

• Melissa Fletcher

• Lakeisha Applegate

• Richard Strangman

• Amadee Meyer

• Renee Richard

• Anne Magill

Our mailing address is:

23 West Pelham Road, Shutesbury MA 01072

School Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday 8:15 a.m. - 2:55 p.m. & Wednesday 8:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m

PreK Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, & Friday 8:30 a.m. - 2:45 p.m. & Wednesday 8:30 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.