News From The Nest: July 2025

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends!

I hope you are all having a fantastic start to the summer break and are finding time to read, relax, and recharge. Extended School Year (ESY) is in full swing over here which has helped the building not feel so empty but it's just not the same without all of our Eagles soaring around our Nest.

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

• upcoming dates and celebrations for July and August
• staffing updates
• School Supply Kits
• New Family Summer Visit for Students Entering Grades 1-5
• School Start/End Times and School Calendar Update
• Report Cards Viewable in the Parent Portal
• Summer Reading and Math
• Class Placement Information
• 2025 - 2026 School Year Calendar
• Walpole Annual Labor Day Road Race

Mr. Kane and his team have been busy around the building helping with classroom locations as we work on moving grade level teams together and maximizing our space in the building. If you travel to the building you might notice some construction equipment in the coming weeks as repairs are taking place on the roof above Daniel Feeney preschool and our cafeteria. It's a busy place even in the summer months and will continue to be so as we work to get everything ready for the start of the 2025-2026 school year.

Be on the lookout for another summer update from me in early August with more information about the start of the school year. In the meantime, enjoy these days away!

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 the months of July and August.

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.

July

Disability Pride Month

7/4: Independence Day

7/30: International Day of Friendship

August

8/7: Purple Heart Day

8/21: 10:00a New To Elm Families Summer Visit (rising grades 1-5)

8/25: Staff Returns to WPS

8/26: 5:30p Elm Kindergarten Popsicles, 7:30p Night Before School Read Aloud (virtual)

8/27: First Day of School (Grades 1-5)

8/28: 9:30a Kindergarten Visit (Last Name A-L), 10:15a Kindergarten Visit (Last Name M-Z), 6:45p School Committee meeting

8/29: SCHOOL CLOSED

1. As you are likely aware, Mrs. Simpson left the Nest at the end of the school year to move to Vermont with her family. After a thorough search process and input from our interview team of educator and family representatives, I am thrilled to share that Shannon Songin will be joining our team as our new guidance counselor. Previous to joining us at Elm, Ms. Songin worked in the Varied Instructional Program (VIP) at Boyden for several years and most recently was a guidance intern at Walpole High School. Ms Songin brings to our team a warm, strengths-based approach to the role of the guidance counselor, and is passionate about creating spaces where all students feel seen, heard, and supported.
2. At the close of the 2024-2025 school year, Maura McKnight left Elm and Daniel Feeney Preschool to move to New Hampshire with her family. I am excited to share that Jennifer Carty will be joining our Elm Street School team as our Occupational Therapist. Ms. Carty was a part time Occupational Therapist here in Walpole Public Schools before stepping into the full time role across Elm and Daniel Feeney Preschool.
3. Kait Brown will be joining the Nest as our new Physical Therapist. She brings experience in both the clinical and school settings to our team and her work supporting our students.
4. We will welcome Jake O'Brien as an ESP for the upcoming year. Mr. O'Brien is currently pursuing his master's in special education and will complete his practicum here at Elm through the Stonehill College partnership.
5. I am excited to share that Sarah Clancy will be joining our team as our shared school psychologist between Elm and Fisher schools. Ms. Clancy recently finished a long term substitute school psychology position with Boston Public Schools and brings a strong foundation in assessment, behavior intervention planning, and culturally responsive practices to our team.

On August 21st we welcome all of our new families and students entering grades 1-5 to come to Elm at 10:00a. Families and students will have a chance to tour the building and ask any questions they might have about Elm.

We have two opportunities for current Elm families and students to participate in this day and help our new families and students feel welcome and connected.

1. If you have a rising Grade 5 student who would like to join on that day to give a tour please reach out to me (jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us) with their name.
2. If you would like to join our New Family welcome reception at 10:30a to greet families and connect with them please reach out to me (jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us) with your name and the names/grades of each of your students.

I will reach back out the first week of August to families who share their interest in either opportunity to solidify attendance and provide more details about each event.

It’s time to start thinking about heading back to school! For the second year in a row, the Elm Street PAC will be selling School Supply Packs for all grades. These packs will include all items listed for each grade on the school website. We offer competitive prices, and a portion of the proceeds will go to the PAC.

The link to purchase supply packs is live, and will be open through Saturday, August 16. Please note that you will need to be logged in to your PAC account to place your order (or create an account if you don’t have one).

Pick up for supply packs will be at the school on August 25 from 5-7pm.

Please reach out to Sam Flaherty at elmpac@gmail.com if you have any questions.

This upcoming school year (2025-2026) Elm Street School will switch to being a "late school". Every 3 years the elementary schools in Walpole rotate late and early school hours. We will have an official start time of 9:00a and an end time of 3:30p.

• Doors will open at 8:50a for arrival
• We will begin dismissal at 3:20p in the afternoon
• Early Release Dismissal will be at 12:25p

For a full list of start and end times for all Walpole Public Schools please click here.

Report Cards for Term 2 were posted to the Parent Portal on Friday June 13th. They will be viewable in the portal through the end of August. As a reminder, to view the report card, you must access the full site. Report Cards can not be viewed through the mobile site.

You can find the resources for Summer Reading and Summer Math directly on our website on the Student Online Resources page.

Engaging in reading throughout the summer months helps students of all ages build their knowledge of the world, learn new vocabulary, and practice their word solving skills. This helps them feel prepared and confident when entering the next grade in the Fall. Check out the WPS Summer Elementary Literacy Site (linked into our school's student homepage) for book recommendations, tips, and ways students can share what they are reading this summer. Also be sure to visit the Walpole Public Library, where students can "level up" by tracking their reading minutes and earn prizes. Happy Reading :)

The class placement process for the 2025 - 2026 school year consisted of several meetings this past spring and incorporated student data, educator observations, and family feedback to help construct balanced classes that have students who can spark each other, have common interests, and will work well together.

If your child(ren) are not returning to Elm for the 2025 - 2026 school year, please contact Jen Buller (jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us) and Amanda Torigian (atorigian@walpole.k12.ma.us) to notify us and complete withdrawal forms.

We anticipate being able to share class placement information (through the Parent Portal) in early August.

Registration is now open for the 52nd Annual Walpole Labor Day Road Race!

Don’t miss this wonderful Walpole tradition. Sign-up now for the 5K, 10K, or Youth Mile. All proceeds support the 200+ athletes in the Walpole High School Cross Country / Track & Field Program. Each race participant will receive a finisher’s medal. If you register before August 15th, you’ll also receive a free race t-shirt! Can’t join us live? No problem. We have virtual editions for both the 5K and 10K races. For additional information and to register online, please visit www.walpoleroadrace.org.

See you on Race Day - Monday, September 1st!

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