Florence Sawyer School Happenings

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Principal's Message

Dear Families,

I hope this finds you well, having enjoyed a relaxing and rewarding summer.

At school, it has been one of our busiest summers in recent memory. I would like to publically thank our Head Custodian Karen McNamara and her team, Director of NRSD Facilities Rob Frieswick and his team, Director of NRSD Business and Operations Ross Mulkerin, and all of our teachers for their effort in achieving our reorganization plan.

You may recall that in the spring, I announced that we were moving the kindergarten and first-grade classes to the Emerson Wing, in effect creating an Early Childhood Education Center while also moving the third and fourth-grade classrooms to the first floor of the Sawyer Wing.

This reorganization plan began with our teachers boxing their books and supplies before the last day of school. Our custodial team loaded those boxes on pallets and wrapped them for transport. The pallets were stored in each gym while the team readied each classroom for the new occupants, waxing floors and painting walls. On July 13 and the following days, the team loaded over 60 pallets on a box truck and rolled them in until the switch was complete. It was a monumental effort! I am so grateful for Karen, Chris, Paul, James, Ron, Liam, Cole, Ben, and Dan!

Also, this summer, we completed the tile project that was started last summer with our Sawyer Wing first-floor rooms. This summer, we replaced all of the carpeting on the second floor with tile.

Additionally, the NRSD Facilities team removed the white pine trees that were creeping toward the corner of the Sawyer Wing cafeteria. We have replaced them with a beautiful outdoor dining space that the students will love.

When students return to school next Wednesday, they will notice the changes inside and outside.

One thing that will not change is how excited we will be to greet your children and start our new school year with positivity and enthusiasm. I look forward to connecting with you throughout the coming school year!

Yours in partnership,

Joel Bates,

Principal

Bus Routes

I am told that Bus Routes are in the completion stage and will be digitally shared with our families this week. As you may recall, we no longer publish our bus routes as part of our safety protocols.

Florence Sawyer School August and September Lunch Menus

New Staff at FSS

We have had a busy summer hiring new staff at FSS. I'm excited to announce the following additions to our Sawyer family.

Assistant Principal - Kerryann Coppinger

Assistant Principal - Patrick Perkins

Dean of Students - Mark Levine

School Adjustment Counselor/ Social Worker - Evelyn Cubero

Preschool Teacher - Kelsey Benoit

Literacy Coach - Elizabeth West

Math Coach - Shannon Payette

Spanish Teacher (Gr. 8) - Jessica Strade

Team Chairperson - Eden Dunckel

Panorama Survey Data for Grades 3-5 and Grades 6-8

The following is an executive summary from our student surveys on social emotional competency and well being. The surveys were administered once in the winter and again this spring. The results demonstrate that our students feel a strong sense of belonging at Florence Sawyer School for grades 3-5 and for grades 6-8.

Both surveys addressed six major categories: Sense of Belonging, Self Management, Social Awareness, Growth Mindset, Emotional Regulation, and Grit. The overall ranking in each of these categories was calculated from a subset of questions. For example, below are sample questions from the Grit category:

How often do you stay focused on the same goal for more than three months at a time?
If you fail at an important goal, how likely are you to try again?
When you are working on a project that matters a lot to you, how focused can you stay when there are lots of distractions?

Below you will find the overall scoring for each category and how Florence Sawyer School compares to like schools across the nation for each survey (3-5 & 6-8) with the exception being in the Sense of Belonging where there are no national comparisons.

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Grades 3-5

Sense of Belonging: 81% of students responded favorably. No national comparison.
Self Management: 75% of students responded favorably. FSS placed between the 60th and 79th percentile of like schools nationally.
Social Awareness: 68% of students responded favorably. FSS placed between the 60th and 79th percentile of like schools nationally.
Growth Mindset: 58% of students responded favorably. FSS placed between the 80th and 99th percentile of like schools nationally.
Emotional Regulation: 50% of students responded favorably. FSS placed between the 60th and 79th percentile of like schools nationally.
Grit: 51% of students responded favorably. FSS placed in the 10th percentile of like schools nationally.

The results from the grades 3-5 survey have been reviewed by our teams of teachers and shared with our FSS School Council. We have focused primarily on the questions and data for Grit. Throughout the course of our school year, teachers will be working with students to build the skills and competencies that will help them better respond to the questions in the Grit category.

Grades 6-8

Sense of Belonging: 72% of students responded favorably. No national comparison.
Self Management: 69% of students responded favorably. FSS placed between the 20th and 39th percentile of like schools nationally.
Social Awareness: 56% of students responded favorably. FSS placed between the 0th and 19th percentile of like schools nationally.
Growth Mindset: 50% of students responded favorably. FSS placed between the 20th and 39th percentile of like schools nationally.
Emotional Regulation: 43% of students responded favorably. FSS placed between the 20th and 39th percentile of like schools nationally.
Grit: 51% of students responded favorably. HMS placed in the 10th percentile of all middle schools nationally.

Our results as a middle school have been reviewed by our teams of teachers, presented to our FSS School Council and shared with our Advisory Committee. We are confident that our collective approach to Advisory, which we are now calling Home Base, will provide the necessary support and lessons to help our students grow in these areas.

If you have questions about these results from either survey or would like to discuss them in more detail, please contact me and we can set up a meeting together.

Yours in partnership,

Joel Bates,

Principal

Florence Sawyer School Virtual Backpack

We have created the Virtual Backpack as a convenience for our families to capture forms, flyers, calendars, and other information that might have traditionally come home in a backpack.

Included on the Virtual Backpack page is a Community Events and Activities page where you can find non-school sponsored activities such community events, youth sports, community information for families, and other activities for children. We do our best to keep the CAEP updated.

FSS Virtual Backpack Link