I hope you are all having a wonderful snow day and that the kids are spending lots of time in this lovely snow! We hope the snow sticks around so that students can enjoy it at recess, go snowshoeing, and go sledding! Please make sure that students bring their snow gear each day and that it is labeled with their name or initials. Our snow gear protocol is linked below.

~Kelli Colarusso

Please use the link below to review our snow clothing protocol. Also, please LABEL ALL jackets, snow pants, hats, gloves/mittens, and boots with your child's name or initials. We have quite a few students with the same or similar clothing so it is extremely helpful to be able to look at clothing left behind to identify whose it is. Your child is welcome to leave belongings at the school as long as this is communicated with your child's teacher. We may also send it home from time to time to be washed. It's also helpful to leave an old pair of sneakers if you happen to have them just in case students forget their shoes. Thank you for your help with this!

Thank you so much for being so flexible with the change in the bus schedule. Please remember that both buses are now arriving at 3:05pm, so if you are picking your child up, please wait for both buses. If both buses haven't arrived by 3:10pm, the pick up line may move forward.

As always, please arrive to your child's bus stop 5-10 minutes earlier than its scheduled time. Bus times can vary due to absences and road conditions. Stops may also be later in the winter if the roads are slippery.

Washington Elementary School has been fortunate enough to partner with NEC to provide our students with extra support and their students with teaching practice. Starting January 24th, you may see some new faces in the school. Three NEC students will be teaching small group lessons at WES Tuesdays-Fridays, at various times and days. This partnership will last 5 weeks, there will be a 3 week break, and then they will return for 5 more weeks. All students are cleared to work in schools and have completed that process through the SAU. We are looking forward to this opportunity!

January 26th - Early Learning Family Visit Day 11:20-11:50am - The Early Learners will participate in their first dramatic performance with their families as audience members! This performance is only open to Early Learners and their families. Please make sure to sign in when you arrive if you can join us!

TBD - In an effort to open our school to our families, we will be inviting families to our Whole School Morning Meetings on specific Fridays. These meetings start at 8:45am. We hope that this gives families a glimpse into our school community and how we celebrate each other. We will provide a list of dates soon so that you can plan to attend if you would like to. Be on the lookout for dates!

February 1st - Early Release for Students - Dismissal starts at 1:05pm for buses, followed by parent pick up at 1:10pm .

February 14th - Washington School District Public Hearing and Board Meeting - 6:00pm

February 22nd - Winter Showcase "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" - 6:30-7:30pm in the gym. All students K-5 are involved in this showcase, so all families should plan to participate. Students will showcase their classwork and participate in a musical performance. Early learning families are welcome to come watch. If you have any questions, please reach out to your child's teacher.

February 27th-March 3rd - February Vacation - No School

March 11th - Washington School District Annual Meeting - 9:00-11:00am in the gym

March 14th - Teacher Professional Development Day - No School for Students

March 23rd - Early Release and Parent Teacher Conferences - Dismissal will start at 1:05pm; Conferences will be held 1:00-6:00pm. More information about schedules will be sent home after February vacation. If there is a time you prefer, please let your child's teacher know as soon as possible.

There is a new calendar on the hdsd.org website that includes events from each of the SAU #34 schools. You can click on/off the schools that you want and subscribe for updates. To learn more go to: https://nh02217314.schoolwires.net/Domain/8 and scroll down to the calendar. On the left, there is an "About" section that explains how to use the calendar. You can also find the calendar on the Washington homepage: https://nh02217314.schoolwires.net/Domain/200

Thanks to the Duncan-Jenkins Trust, WES received funding for some exciting events for our students. Some of these events include performances or family nights so I wanted to give you the dates WAY ahead of time so that you could mark your calendars. More detailed information about the events will come closer to the dates.

April 7th - Circus Residency Demo Show - Families will be invited - 1:00pm

May 5th - *Tentatively* Children's Stage Adventures Performance - This theatre residency program includes each student in our school. Children's Stage Adventures is a long-standing tradition at WES but was rescheduled multiple times due to Covid-19. There have been some changes in the company but it is our hope that we will be able to have this residency May 1st-5th. If that happens, the show will be the evening of May 5th.

May 25th - Creativity Family Event - We were very fortunate to receive a grant that includes a visit from author Peter Reynolds, workshops for students, teacher professional development, and animation software that will be used during students' specials time. This programming also includes a family event on the evening of May 25th. Please save the date!

Schools in New Hampshire are required to have a certain amount of emergency drills throughout the year. Six of these drills are evacuations and our students are extremely familiar with this process. The other 4 drills practice response to other types of emergencies.

SAU #34 has adopted the Standard Response Protocol for emergency situations. Please review the handout below to learn more about the types of drills we may be practicing this year. Feel free to talk with your children about these drills, and please reach out to me with any questions.

Across the state of New Hampshire, school districts have been working on creating a multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) to help address the needs of students. MTSS involves three “tiers” of support, which together provide a wide range of intervention that help students obtain the skills they need to be ready to learn.

In all SAU 34 schools, we have been working on developing our MTSS for several years. Our efforts have focused on offering supports and services that address students’ academic needs (MTSS-A), as well as their social, emotional, behavioral, and health needs (MTSS-B).

What are the MTSS Tiers?

A multi-tiered system of support includes three “tiers” of intervention. Tier 1 is perhaps the most important tier because it includes activities that are available to all students, and have the most impact on the growth of skills and overall wellness. At WES, our Leader in Me curriculum and Habits of Wolf Leaders (HOWL) is an example of a Tier 1 intervention. Tier 2 focuses on developing specific skill sets for students who need more practice, such as small group reteaching of skills or check-ins with a trusted adult. Tier 3 activities are customized to the needs of individual students, such as counseling services or an alternative learning plan.

In coming newsletters, we will share more specific information about MTSS in our schools. You are welcome to visit our MTSS-B website for further information, or share your questions with building administrators. More information can also be found through the NH Department of Education, at https://www.education.nh.gov/who-we-are/division-of-learner-support/bureau-of-student-wellness/office-of-social-and-emotional-wellness/mtssb.

During January, students learned about Habit #4 - Think Win-Win. Here is some student-friendly language to help you reinforce the habits at home:

Habit 4 - Think Win-Win

• I am happy when others do well.

• I do not put others down to get what I want.

• I win, you win, we win.

• I balance courage for getting what I want for consideration for what others want.

• I make deposits into others’ Emotional Bank Accounts. - Students will learn what this means in a specific lesson, but essentially it means that when we are nice to others, it makes us feel good as well! See below for a menu of ways to "deposit" into others' accounts.

Be on the lookout for HOWLer awards brought home by your students. In recognition for following any of our 7 Habits, staff members will give out HOWLer awards at each whole school morning meeting on Fridays. These are great awards to hang on your fridge at home!

At the end of the month, all students who received a HOWLer award will be put into a drawing to have lunch with our local police officers. We will be combining November and December because they are such short months. Moving forward, we will be choosing 1 student from each class for the lunches.

We hope this helps students understand that ANYONE can be a leader when they are following the 7 Habits of Wolf Leaders.

If your family is experiencing difficulties at home, we would like to provide additional support at school. We understand that you are not always able to give details and that's okay. If your student is coming to school after a difficult night, morning, or weekend, please feel free to send in a note that simply says "Handle with Care." This will let us know that your student may need a little extra time, patience, or help during the day.

Teachers will follow up with an update about how your student's day went but we do not need more information other than to know how your student is doing in the coming days. We hope that this helps bridge communication between the school and families in order to best support all children.

Each month I will highlight a different community resource. If there is one that you think would be particularly helpful for WES families, please let me know! Previous resources will be linked below so that you always have access to learning more if you'd like to.

August's Highlight: West Central Behavioral Health

September's Highlight: 211 NH

October's Highlight: Washington Welfare Office and Holiday Gift Program

November's highlight: Healthy Starts

December's highlight: Sullivan County Conservation District

This month's highlight: Turning Points Network

Turning Points Network

From their website: "Turning Points Network's mission is to enhance the safety and well-being of victims and survivors of domestic and sexual abuse and stalking through empowerment and advocacy; to create a community responsive to all victims and survivors through education, outreach and accountability; and to empower the community to establish a safer culture."

Turning Points Network provides:

• 24 hour crisis and support line
• Emergency shelter and safe home network
• Peer support counseling
• Support groups
• Advocacy with court, legal, medical, and social service agencies
• Information and referrals

You can call them at 1-800-639-3130 or text M-F 9:00am-4:00pm at (603) 506-6553. Their website is linked below and offers a "safe exit" mode if needed. We also have further information in our parent resource room at school.

School lunches can be PURCHASED this year for the following prices:

Breakfast: $1.50

Lunch: $2.60

Milk: $0.40

Reduced Breakfast: $0.00

Reduced Lunch: $0.40

We encourage ALL families to fill out the free and reduced lunch application. This application helps our school obtain federal grant money which funds our Early Learning program, special programs for students, and training for teachers. Without this funding, these programs would not be possible with our current budget. If you do not think you would qualify or you do not want to use the free/reduced lunch service, we understand but still ask that you fill out the application.

You can apply online here: https://secure.ezmealapp.com/ApplicationScreen.aspx

A paper application is attached and will be sent home on the first day of school.

How to Pay for Lunch:

Each week, Barbara Jackson will send home envelopes with your child's balance written on it. Please return the envelope with cash or check payable to Washington School District with enough money for that week's meals. Please also indicate which days your child will be getting lunch to help Barbara plan. Thank you!

If you know of any new students in the area or incoming kindergarteners, please give them the information below about how to register. Our Early Learning Program currently has a waitlist but families can register to be added to the waitlist and to ensure they are on our list for next year.

If you need to reach the school for any reason, please call the main office at 495-3463. If someone does not answer, please leave a message. We check messages frequently throughout the day, but there is not always someone at the front desk, as we all wear many hats!

If there are changes to your child's dismissal routine, please make sure to leave a message on the office phone before 2:30pm, as opposed to emailing Dawn or the teacher. Our teachers often do not have time to check their emails throughout the day and may miss the message, so a phone call is best. Please do not leave messages about dismissal or absences on the school Facebook page or any staff member's personal Facebook page.

In the event that internet is down, our phones are also down. We do have one emergency phone to use if this happens. The number for that phone is 603-495-0187. There is no way to leave a message on this line. Please only use this number if you try the main line and it does not ring or gives you a busy signal.

If there's ever anything we can do to improve our communication, please let us know!

If you ever have questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. I typically get to school by 7:45am, and I stay until about 4:30 (sometimes later!). I teach on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays so you may not reach me right away those days, but if you leave a message, I will give you a call when I am available. Email is also a great way to get a hold of me.

Email: kcolarusso@hdsd.org
Website: https://www.hdsd.org/Domain/200
Phone: 603-495-3463
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Washington-Elementary-School-110720773888378
Twitter: @MrsColarussoWES