Even though the weather was rainy and the skies were gray this week, Cole School was buzzing with energy in the lead up to the Variety Show held last night. What a show it was! The student performers were amazing and each act was uplifting, well rehearsed, and showcased the many talents our students possess. The Variety Show only happens due to the extraordinary efforts of the PTO to pull together a show of that size that has many moving parts. Thank you to all that volunteered in some way to make it happen!

At this point in the year, I typically share expected staffing for the following school year so parents know which teachers will be teaching each grade level. I am unable to share that information at this time as decisions are being finalized given the outcome of the recent town vote. I hope to share that information with the community next week.

We have fully completed MCAS testing in grades 3, 4, and 5 this week. Students in K-5 are now beginning all of the year end screeners and diagnostics to see how much growth they've all made with their learning.

Many thanks to Mr. Thornton for organizing the 5th grade Fitness Field Trip to Blue Hills. Grade 5 students spent the day in the woods hiking Blue Hills and enjoying each other's company. Thank you to the PTO for bringing the High Touch High Tech Sounds Like Fun enrichment to grade 4 this week. Staff ended the week participating in an Undercover School Spirit Day with Twin Day where each team worked to dress similarly. We have a few more Undercover School Spirit Days in the works - let's see if the kids notice. :)

After today, there are just 16 days of school left and we need your help to close down the building for the year and plan for next year. Please give your attention to these matters if they apply to your child or family.

1. Parents are asked to fill out this Google form https://forms.gle/q1wtpgapSZ3CjQwz6 if their child will not be riding the bus at all next year. We assume everyone is riding a bus unless you tell us they are not.

2. Please check your child's lunch account and pay any remaining balances.

3. Return any library books to the library.

4. Check the lost and found. Items will be donated on Friday, June 21st.

5. If you are child is not returning to Cole School next year for any reason, please contact the office so we can begin the transfer process and account accurately for placement.

It's been a very busy week and we were not able to call the Magnificent Meerkats down today. We'll save them all for next week. In the meantime, let's celebrate all the students who performed at this week's Variety Show! They showed great courage in performing for such a large crowd and shined so brightly up on the stage!

Head Lice is a common concern of childhood that occurs every year to millions of children across the United States.

Both the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the CDC advocate for the following practices to be discontinued:

• whole classroom screening,

• exclusion for nits or live lice

• notification to others except for parents/guardians of students with head lice infestations

That being noted, it can never hurt to check your child's hair if they are complaining of it being itchy or if you are notified of a close playmate who did have it. Lice move by crawling; they cannot hop or fly. If you ever have any questions please reach out at any time.

Letslearnaboutlice.com is a great resource and I encourage you to take a peak so you are familiar with this information in case you find yourself or your child dealing with lice or the possibility of lice.

Ticks: We are starting to find quite a few ticks on kids here in the health office. Remember to check your child for ticks if you're spending time outside or have pets. It's a great idea to have a lint roller in your car for anytime you are outside at a sports event, leaving a playground, or coming in from your own yard.

Ticks most often attach in the armpits, hairline, groin, legs, thighs, or in and behind the ears. The deer tick, which is very small, carries the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. American dog ticks do not carry Lyme disease, however they do carry other less common diseases, so they should be avoided as well.

Ticks should be removed as soon as possible using a pair of fine point tweezers, grabbing the tick as close to the skin as possible, and pulling straight out with firm and steady pressure, making sure there are no remnants of the tick left. Be sure to clean the site with soap and water or alcohol afterwards.Typically, a tick must be attached to someone for at least 24 hours to be likely to transmit Lyme disease.

Early Lyme disease has symptoms that usually occur between 3 and 30 days after a tick bite. A person infected with Lyme disease may get an expanding rash that looks like a bull’s eye, but this is not always the case. They may also experience flu-like symptoms such as fever, fatigue or aching muscles.

Grades K-2 started a throwing, catching and batting unit. Grades 3-5 started their post fitness testing with either the mile run or crunches and push ups.

Fifth graders had a fitness field trip to Blue Hills and Houghton’s Pond as a reward for their successful completion of their seven week “Go Fit Program.” With the goals of encouraging movement, physical activity and incorporating ELA, students wrote an essay on their favorite physical activity or sport. The essay included the benefits they get from participating and a new name for next year’s fifth grade fitness program. There were 12 honorable mentions and a winning essay by Avery on her favorite physical activity of running titled “Miles for Motion.” The Blue Hills hike is definitely the most challenging of all the Cole School fitness field trips, so congratulations fifth graders!

Save the Date - Cole School Art Show from 5:00-7:00pm

Stop by to stroll the halls of Cole School to view student artwork and catch a sighting of a whale shark, complete a scavenger hunt and raffle, and enjoy the company of the Cole School community!

The Cole School students have worked so hard creating beautiful works of art for your viewing. When visiting an Art Show there are specific rules that should be followed to make it a successful event.

Please read the following:

Do not touch any of the art work (unless it is interactive).

Keep an arm’s length distance from the work

Use quiet indoor voices.

Walk around the art show in a calm, slow manner. No running in the halls.

No food or drink allowed outside of the cafeteria.

Families should stay together when walking around the Art Show. No child should be roaming the halls unsupervised.

What did the green grape say to the purple grape? … Breathe!

Finding humor has been found to liberate creativity and provoke such higher level thinking skills such as anticipation, finding novel relationships, visual imagery, and making analogies. It often helps to engage in humor with our children, helping them to see situations from a new vantage point or come up with the unexpected. And showing your child that it is ok to laugh at themselves when a situation might seem embarrassing. When children are poking fun of themselves or others, we need to remind them to do so with a sensitivity to others’ feelings. Being playful with our children lets them know that life need not be so serious at times.

Take a look at some of these strategies to develop your child’s capacity to find and generate humor:

• Go hunting for humor together for example in joke books or on social media. Ask your child, “What was it that made you laugh?”
• Introduce age-appropriate humor such as riddles, knock-knock jokes, video clips, and cartoons. Talk about what makes these examples funny.
• Enjoy a family comedy night where the venue and focus is laughing in response to a good movie, book, show, video clips, or telling jokes.
• Talk about how to use humor appropriately so that your children know the difference between good-hearted and a mean use of humor.

May

May 26 - No School

May 28 - Art Show 5-7pm

May 30 - Grade 2 and Grade 3 Rescheduled Field Trips

June

June 2 - Grade 1 Field Trip (Thank you, PTO!)

June 2 - Kindergarten Field Trip (Thank you, PTO!)

June 2 - Connections Meeting

June 3 - Kindergarten Habitat Day (2 classes)

June 4 - Kindergarten Habitat Day (2 classes)

June 5 - Grade 2 Field Trip (Thank you, PTO!)

June 5 - Grade 4 "High Seas" Play 2:15pm

June 6 - Field Day - Fingerprint and CORI required for all volunteers

June 9 - Screening for incoming kindergarten students in the library

June 9 - Delilah the Whale Kindergarten enrichment (Thank you, PTO!)

June 9 - Grade 4 Biography Fair

June 9 - Grade 5 Band Concert 2:30pm

June 11 - Grade 5 Field Trip (Thank you, PTO!)

June 12 - Grade 4 Tent Day

June 12 - Fifth Grade Celebration 6-8 pm - Grade 5 parents and grade 5 students ONLY

June 13 - PTO Stay and Play

June 16 - Grade 5 Move Up Day to NMS

June 17 - Move Up Day for Grades K-4

June 17 - Last Day of School