News From The Nest: Issue #2

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends!

We squeezed all the fun and excitement out of our short week together this past week! Our youngest Eagles joined the Nest on Tuesday and filled our halls with their wide eyed sense of wonderment and excitement for all of the adventures that lay ahead of them. A HUGE SHOUT OUT to all our fifth grade helpers, siblings, and staff who made sure each kindergarten student made it to their classroom and had a warm, caring, friendly face to connect with at the start of each day. Throughout the week our kindergarteners explored spaces through a scavenger hunt inspired by the Pigeon from the beloved series by Mo Willems, and met new faces as they started to settle into their new environments.

In other spaces in the building all of our students continued to build their classroom communities, strengthen connections, and practice the routines and expectations of each new grade level and space. Classes across the grades launched their first units of study in math and reading while also taking time to think about and write their hopes and dreams for this new school year.

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

• upcoming dates and celebrations for September
• Elm Street School Counselor Welcome and Information
• Picture Day Reminder (9/9)
• Elm Curriculum Night (9/25)
• Battle of the Books 2025
• Private Lessons through Walpole Music Department
• Reminders from previous newsletters (arrival/dismissal, front office information)
• Bus Routes
• Lunch Menus
• Walpole Virtual Backpack (community notices)

Thank you to our Elm Street School PAC for a wonderful "ice cream" social on Thursday evening features Rita's Italian Ice! It was fantastic to see so many families across all grade levels together enjoying a gorgeous evening full of delicious treats and connection. Make sure you mark your calendars for our first Elm PAC meeting on Tuesday, September 30th at 7:00p to learn more about PAC sponsored events for this upcoming year and ways you can get involved and support our community.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and we will see all of our Eagles back at the Nest on Monday for our first full week of school! Rest up!

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 September.

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.

September

9/1: SCHOOL CLOSED

9/2: First Day of School (PreK and Kindergarten)

9/3-4: Mawlid

9/4: 6:00p Pop in for Popsicles at Elm

9/9: Elm Picture Day

9/11:Anniversary of 9/11, 6:45p School Committee Meeting

9/15: First Day of Hispanic Heritage Month

9/19 EARLY RELEASE DAY (12:25 dismissal)

9/21: International Day of Peace

9/22-24: Rosh Hashanah

9/25 Elm Curriculum Night, 6:45p School Committee Meeting

9/30 3:45p Elm School Council Meeting, 7:00p Elm PAC meeting

We are so excited to welcome our families to this year's Elm Curriculum Night on Thursday September 25th.

Curriculum Night is a great way for parents and caregivers to learn more about the day to day experience for your child(ren) here at Elm. Our educators will be sharing curriculum expectations along with information specific to the classroom and there will be a whole school presentation about general expectations and community experiences at Elm. Parents and caregivers will also have time to ask general questions. Any questions specific to your child(ren) should be reserved for a more confidential setting such as the fall educator/caregiver conferences in November or at a separately scheduled time.

In addition to seeing your child(ren)'s classroom teacher(s), please stop by to see our essentialists and specialists in their spaces to learn more about their curriculum. Our essentialists and specialists are listed below:

• Art: Ms. Fundinger
• Music: Mr. Wright
• PE: Mr. Iadarola
• STEM: Mrs. Edwards
• School Counselors: Mrs. Dore, Ms. Songin, and Mrs. Escobar (Partnership)
• Literacy: Mrs. Cook and Ms. Morasse
• Multilingual Learners: Ms. Sarkis
• Digital Learning Coach: Mrs. Farley
• Math Coach: Mrs. Torigian
• Speech and Language: Mrs. Lynch
• Special Education: Mrs. Lancaster, Ms. Disharoon, Ms. O'Shaughnessy, Ms. Burke, and Mrs. Loynd

The Open Houses/Curriculum Nights at all of the Walpole Elementary Schools are for parents and adult caregivers only. Students, other family members, and guests should not attend. Thank you for your understanding.

Schedule:

6:00 - 6:30p Families with Last Name Beginning with A-L*

6:30 - 6:45p Meeting with Mrs. Buller

6:45 - 7:15p Families with Last Name Beginning with M-Z*

*If you have more than one child at Elm, email the teacher for an exception to the assigned times.

Join the fun with Elm’s Battle of the Books! Teams of students in Grades 3-5 compete in an exciting reading showdown, answering “In what book…” questions to test their knowledge of amazing titles. Read, discuss, and battle it out for the win! Carefully review the titles below, and decide if this experience is one that your student(s) would be interested in joining!

This is an optional reading competition! Students in grades 3-5 will receive information and permission forms in STEM classes this upcoming week. All forms are due back to school by 9/18/25

DETAILS:

Begins: September

Concludes: December

Students will be in groups of 5-6. Each group will consist of students in grades 3, 4 & 5. Students will meet with their team & coach in school.

REMINDERS FOR STUDENTS:

-You will be required to read books from the provided list.

-You may have to complete the reading at home, as you will not be given time in class to read Battle books.

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. Some lessons are currently being taught virtually.

Session 1 will run September 22 to January 30. Registration is open until Wednesday, September 17th.

For more information and to register, visit:

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

For questions, email:

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

Arrival Procedures

• Students who ride the bus arrive at the first circle parallel to Rt.27. They are supervised by staff as they walk along the sidewalk to enter the main building of the school.

• Students who arrive by vehicle may be dropped off in the Main Arrival Loop ONLY. This is the loop by the main door, near the flagpole. Dropping off students by the Rt. 27 driveway is not safe and is prohibited.
  

• Follow the directions of the staff people “on duty”.
  

• Upon arrival, drivers should turn right and thread through the parking lot. The first car must pull around the loop as far as the stop sign by the preschool playground. This will allow the maximum number of students to disembark onto sidewalks simultaneously.
  

• Instruct child/ren to disembark only from the sidewalk side of vehicle to avoid the danger of crossing between cars in the roadway.
  

• Drivers must prepare students to be ready to exit vehicles immediately upon arrival. If a student is not ready, the driver will be instructed to go around the loop again.
  

• Drivers should be ready to follow a staff member’s signal to exit the loop following the vehicle ahead, once students have disembarked. Do NOT pull around and pass the vehicle in front of you.
  

• Do NOT attempt to park in the loop during arrival. If, for any reason you would like to accompany your child into the building (or help carry materials) please park in the parking lot in one of the visitor spaces.
  

• Do NOT drop off students without pulling into the main arrival loop.
  

• If a child is having difficulty separating at arrival, the driver will be instructed to go around the loop again and pull out onto the service road which leads to the back of the building. Staff there will assist in making the transition.

Departure Procedures

• Students who are attending Extended Day and/or after school enrichment classes will be dismissed from classrooms first and walk to their designated area.

• Students who take a bus home will be dismissed from their classroom when their bus is called over the PA system. All students who take a bus must have a bus pass.

• Students and drivers must always follow the instructions of the staff members on duty.

• Students being picked up by parents/car pools will be dismissed to the main office lobby. They will be grouped according to the order in which parents, caregivers, and other drivers arrive in the line and submit their names to the staff member on duty. Carpoolers should stand with the driver’s child.

• Parents/car pools will thread through the parking lot, then into the loop by the main door.
  

• Anyone picking up students may NOT come into the building.
  

• One staff member with outside duty will use the walkie-talkie. Staff will identify which parent(s)/caregiver(s) are “in line” and communicate those names to the staff member inside. Those students will then be sent outside.
  

• Staff on duty outside will ensure that students enter the correct vehicle.
  

• It is essential to keep traffic flowing. Parents must not engage staff or other parents in conversation during dismissal.
  

• If a parent/caregiver is in the building (for example, as a volunteer) and wants to take their child(ren) with them, they must stop at the office to sign out the child(ren) before exiting the building with their child.
  

• All vehicles must stay in the line until the car in front of them moves. Leaving the line and passing the vehicle ahead of you is PROHIBITED.
  

• If a child is not ready when they are called, the parent/caregiver will be asked to park at the preschool 15 minute parking area and wait. A staff member will accompany the student to the car.
  

• Student safety is our first concern. If you have concerns during dismissal, please get the attention of a staff member on duty to assist you. Please do not get out of your vehicle or move your vehicle out of the line unless instructed to do so by a staff member.

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.

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