News From The Nest: Issue #8

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends!

We packed in all of the fun and engagement into our short week at the Nest! Today at our all school assembly for the month of October, grade 4 hosted our share and taught us all about prime numbers with a catchy song that stuck in our heads all day. We also met our Grade 5 student council representatives and introduced our SOARing expectation challenge of the month. From now until our November assembly we are focused on SAFE hallway behavior including walking feet/rolling slowly, hands in our own bubble space, and silent voices so we don't disturb each others' learning.

Also this week, our second episode of our student podcast, Soaring Speakers, was released. Head on over to Spotify to listen to Mrs. Oberacker's first grade class share all about the things they love about our town of Walpole.

In this edition of our newsletter you will find more information about:

• upcoming dates and celebrations for October
• Elm Street School Counselor September/October Newsletter- Topics include: navigating separation anxiety and upcoming themes for SEL classroom lessons
• Essentialist Newsletter: MUSIC
• Fall Family Educator Conferences
• NEW Principal's Office Podcast
• Assistance for Elm Families
• Multicultural Potluck (November 19th)
• Walpole Wednesdays
• Walpole SEPAC Upcoming Meetings
• Reminders from previous newsletters: Math Corner for October, MCAS 2026 Dates, Attendance Information, front office reminders
• Lunch Menus
• Walpole Virtual Backpack (community notices)

I hope you all have some opportunities this weekend to get outside and enjoy the autumn weather and changing leaves. We will see everyone back at the Nest on Monday!

Jen

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 October.

If there are cultural celebrations that are important to you and your family that you would like to share with the adult Elm community, please email me so I can be sure to include them in upcoming newsletters. If you have any questions about anything you see on our calendar, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.

October

• Disabilities Awareness Month

• 10/1-2 Yom Kippur

• 10/2 National Custodian Day

• 10/6 World Cerebral Palsy Day

• 10/6-13 Sukkot

• 10/9 6:45p School Committee Meeting

• 10/10 Early Release Day

• 10/11 National Coming Out Day

Twice a year we offer blocks of time for Family Educator conferences, one set of days in November and another set in March. These conferences are a great time to connect with your child(ren)'s teacher(s) and discuss academic and social emotional goals and progress as well as learn more about how your child(ren) is(are) connecting with the grade level curriculum.

This Fall our conference schedule is:

Thursday November 13th from 5:00 - 7:00p

Friday November 14th from 1:00 - 3:30p

Tuesday November 18th from 5:00 -7:00p

We utilize Google Appointments to schedule these conference and encourage all families to schedule time with all of the educators who work with and support your child(ren). You can access the links to each educator's appointment schedules here. If you are having trouble with the link or finding an appointment time, please reach out to that educator directly.

This year we are excited to launch a podcast for our Elm Street School families that will connect the community to curriculum and content information as well as address questions about various topics related to student learning, engagement, growth, and achievement at Elm. Each episode will feature a special guest who works directly with the Elm community and is connected to the focus topic as well as student interviews about how they interact with the topic. Ahead of each episode I will share a quick survey (embedded in News From the Nest) with families about the upcoming focus topic to gather questions to be addressed and answered in the episode. Below is the schedule for the podcasts this year:

November: Literacy Learning with Shannon Findley (K-5 ELA Curriculum Coordinator for WPS)

December: Health and Wellness with Tina DiCicco (Elm Nurse)

January: Engaging with Math with Jen Torigian (Elm Math Coach)

February: Digital Citizenship with Kim Farley (Elm Digital Learning Coach)

March: Social Emotional Learning with Shannon Songin and Tori Dore (Elm Counselors)

April: Student Support with Danielle Nalbach (Elm Team Chair)

May: Grade Level Transitions with Jen Buller, Grade Level Teachers, and Student Council Leaders

Our hope is that this podcast will help families connect more to all of the rich and engaging learning opportunities here at Elm and also be able to hear directly from our students on how they are experiencing the curriculum and activities that make Elm such as special place!

Each year we reach out to all of our Elm families to offer assistance with winter gear (coats, hats, mittens, gloves, boots, snow pants) and holiday meals and gifts. If your family is in need of assistance this year because of financial hardship please reach out to myself (jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us) or a member of our Guidance Team (Shannon Songin- ssongin@walpole.k12.ma.us Tori Dore- vwintersdore@walpole.k12.ma.us). Because of the generosity of our community here in Walpole we are able to support all families with need. When contacting us please share the ages and gender identity/expression of anyone living in the home under the age of 18, coat sizes, and the total number of people living in the home. Please know that all information will be kept confidential amongst myself, Ms. Songin, and Mrs. Dore.

In our fast-paced world filled with standards and expectations, goals and grades, one essential part of learning, no matter what subject or age of student, often gets overlooked-the power of play. Brandon Smith, the head mathematician for Mind Education and ST Math puts it best , “None of this is wasted time. It’s the brain at work, wiring itself for problem-solving, social understanding, and persistence. Play is the most natural laboratory the brain has. It sparks curiosity, lowers fear, and keeps learners engaged long enough to wrestle with big ideas.” (Read the full article, “When Math Begins with Play, Everything Changes”)

Fortunately, play is embedded in our math curriculum in Walpole. Through ST Math, Work Places in Bridges, Number Corner activities and the wide variety of math games our teachers use, students are actively learning math while having fun.

Families often ask educators what they can do to support their child’s learning at home. After a long day of school, some homework and probably an activity or sport one of the best things you can encourage after school is simple: play! Board games, card games, and even some computer games (though we do encourage more socially interactive games) will have your child engaging in a fun activity while boosting their pathways for flexible thinking, problem solving and number sense! Our Family Math site includes a whole section on games that can support your child’s growth as a mathematician. The next time you are wondering what might help your child the most, remember the wise words of Mr. Rogers…

“Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning.

But for children, play is serious learning.

Play is really the work of childhood.” - Mr. Rogers

Below is the schedule for MCAS that will take place in the Spring of this school year. We will share more information about MCAS and testing dates as we get closer. For now, please mark these dates in your calendar and help ensure that your child(ren) are present for each testing session for their grade level.

Grade 3

ELA Session 1: Tuesday March 31

ELA Session 2: Wednesday April 1

Math Session 1: Tuesday April 28

Math Session 2: Wednesday April 29

Grade 4

ELA Session 1: Thursday April 2

ELA Session 2: Tuesday April 7

Math Session 1: Thursday April 30

Math Session 2: Friday May 1

Grade 5

ELA Session 1: Wednesday April 8

ELA Session 2: Thursday April 9

Math Session 1: Tuesday May 5

Math Session 2: Wednesday May 6

STE Session 1: Wednesday May 13

STE Session 2: Thursday May 14

Absences: If your student is going to be absent or tardy, please call the absence line and let us know in advance. You may call this line at anytime and leave a message. The telephone number is 508-660-7374 and then press 1

Early Dismissals: Please send a hand written note with your student in the morning or email the classroom teacher and Ms. Torigian in the main office (atorigian@walpole.k12.ma.us)

Afterschool dismissal changes: If your student is changing their typical way of leaving Elm Street School at 3:30pm, please send a note into school with the plan that morning.

*If you haven't already filled out the dismissal plan form sent by Ms. Torigian, please do so as soon as possible.

What is Chronic Absenteeism?

A student is considered Chronically Absent when they miss 10% of the school year. In Massachusetts, this means a student who misses 18 or more days, regardless of an excused or unexcused reason, is classified as chronically absent. Just two missed days each month can lead to this status.

Why is school attendance so important?

Students who are in school consistently are more successful learners. Per the National Center for Education Statistics: A missed school day is a lost opportunity for students to learn and interact with their classmates. Students who attend school regularly have been shown to achieve at higher levels than students who do not have regular attendance. This relationship between attendance and achievement may appear early in a child's school career. Greater absenteeism during the school year can lead to lower achievement in reading, math, and general knowledge. Poor attendance has serious implications for later outcomes as well. High school dropouts have been found to have exhibited a history of negative behaviors, including high levels of absenteeism throughout their childhood, at higher rates than high school graduates.

If your child starts to accumulate absences, we will work with families to figure out the best way to help improve your child's attendance at school.

Email: jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.walpole.k12.ma.us/o/ess
Location: 415 Elm Street, Walpole, MA, USA
Phone: 508.660.7374

Instagram: ElmStSchool