Elm Hill School Newsletter
September 2026
Dear Elm Hill Families
What a great start to the school year! The first few weeks at Elm Hill have been filled with making new friends, settling into routines, working through a few first-day jitters, and, of course, lots of fun and laughter. Thank you to all of our families for your support and partnership as we have gotten the year underway. We especially appreciate your patience as we continue to navigate our limited parking and busy arrival and dismissal times. Thank you for working with us, following our procedures, and helping us keep safety our number one priority. It truly takes all of us working together!
We also had our first All School Meeting, and it was wonderful to have everyone together! A big thank you to Mrs. Kurpiel’s first graders for kicking off the year with a great presentation. We are looking forward to seeing each of our classrooms have a chance to share and celebrate their learning with the whole school throughout the year.
There is also lots of learning happening throughout the building! Students are working through beginning-of-the-year assessments, while teachers are getting to know their new groups of learners and diving into new literacy programs and instruction. These first few weeks are all about building relationships, establishing routines, learning about our students, and creating a strong foundation for the year ahead. We are off to a great start, and I am excited to see where this year takes us!
Best,
Rachel
September 14-18 - Scholastic Book Fair
September 16 - PTA Meeting @ Elm Hill 6-7:30 pm
September 17 - Open House 5-6:30 pm
September 23 - Early Release @ 11:10 am
September 24 - Picture Day
Welcome to a new school year! In our class we have introduced many learning materials such as scissors, glue, markers, unifix cubes, pattern blocks and other items. We’ve toured the school and discussed school and class expectations. Our class practiced a fire drill and also participated in a school-wide fire drill. We have been reviewing numbers to 10 and 20, letters and their sounds, and practicing handwriting. The students have loved our read alouds, playing with peers on the upper and lower playground, and learning about the life cycle of a monarch caterpillar. Several of the books we’ve read have been about the life cycle of monarch caterpillars. In our class nature tank, we had three caterpillars (Huey, Dewey, and Louie) who spun chrysalis around themselves. When they emerged from their chrysalis, we set them free. The students loved not only learning but also witnessing this lifecycle!
One of my favorite team building activities is based off of the book David’s Picture. In the story, a student begins to draw a picture and has several classmates ask to join him. They end up creating a beautiful picture together. After reading this book, our class worked together to create two lovely pictures!
I am excited to see how our students grow and develop into amazing learners this year!
Hello from the guidance office!
The students and staff are settling in nicely here at Elm. I have started guidance lessons this week. Every week your child will participate in a lesson that is based on defining and practicing social emotional skills. I am excited to see and learn new faces and names. I am also having a great time catching up with the first graders, as they tell me about their summer break adventures. I want to take a moment to introduce our pantry to new families and remind our older ones that it is still a resource that is available. We stock non-perishables to send home, during these times of high economic demands. If the pantry is a resource that might help your family please reach out to me at jdufield@ssdvt.org. I will happily add you to our list of recipients! Pantry packs go home usually on Fridays with your child. I love our community, and am thankful to help out in any way possible. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if I can help your student or your family in any way!
Thanks!
Miss Jen
