Cole Miners' Dig

Thank you to all of the students, teachers, and families that helped to celebrate Principal Appreciation Day today with cards, notes, flowers, and candy! My heart is so full! It's hard to believe that this year is my 14th year as principal of Cole School, and this work continues to be one of my greatest sources of pride! Thank you for thinking of me!

We also celebrated School Lunch Heroes Day with our cafeteria staff. We surprised them with gorgeous flowers and lots of handmade cards! Our cafeteria staff work so hard each day to provide healthy lunches for our students and we are so very appreciative of their work! They are heroes, indeed!

Teacher Appreciation Week (May 4-May 8) and School Nurse Appreciation Day are coming up (May 4-May 8). The theme is "Thank you for being a part of our amazing story!" We'll kick off the week with Book Trivia and book store gift card prizes. Staff will enjoy a cafe like feel in the staff dining room on Tuesday with coffee, pastries, and bookmarks to take for their own personal reading enjoyment. Both the Vinal School and Cole School PTOs will treat staff to lunch on Wednesday during the elementary early release time with the South Shore Taco Guy truck. We hope to flood teachers with notes of appreciation and/or drawings/pictures to let them know how much we love them. We'll end the week with Blind Date with Book where each staff member can pick a wrapped book based on a few clues given. Thank you to those that have already committed to helping us make this a special week for our teachers!

We celebrated this fantastic group of Magnificent Meerkats today with nominations that included persevering on challenging academic tasks, assisting others without being asked, always showing expected and kind behaviors, and being a true friend to others. It is students like these that help to make Cole School a warm and welcoming place to learn and grow!

Happy May! I joined grade level teachers and the academic coordinators this week in progress monitoring meetings about NTSS groups. My social-emotional groups will continue for the next few weeks, and an update will go out today to families of those students. 5th grade families, please also look out for an email from me about puberty education, which starts next week! Please reach out if you have any questions- anne.walsh@norwellschools.org

Seasonal Allergies: Allergy season is upon us. If your child has seasonal allergies make sure they are started on their regular allergy medications at home, zyrtec, flonase, eye drops, inhalers, ect. Daily showers ensuring hair and face is washed will also help with pollen exposure. Daily allergy medications should be given at home, we do not give that here in the health office.

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.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. Please reach out to your doctor if

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. It is important to note that there are other complications on the rise in Massachusetts such as Alpha Gal Syndrome from long star ticks .

Reminder about Injuries: If a child has an injury that requires an orthopedic device such as crutches, cast, walking boot, splint, sling, etc., a note from the provider should accompany the child when returning to school. Such notifications should clearly detail all restrictions and identify the date when participation in PE/ recess may resume. Our fax number is 781-659-2850. Providers may fax to us directly. Written notification from a parent is required when it is necessary to excuse a child from physical education short term and the PE teacher should be notified as well.

Extra Clothes: If you are going through your child’s spring summer wardrobes and see clothes that they have outgrown, I will gladly take any extra SHORTS OR SHIRTS to keep on hand! If you see a good deal on basic socks, shorts and shirts, think of us here! I will also gladly accept any NEW packs of underwear in any and all sizes.

All classes warmed up with a Jump Rope Challenge! We continued our Volleyball Striking Unit this week. All grades worked on striking, bumping, setting and serving over the volleyball nets with age-appropriate striking items, balloons (K), beachballs (1st), rubber balls (2nd) and volleyball trainers (3rd-5th).

Student Government met this week to discuss the upcoming Norwell Trash Bash. Representatives shared information with their classmates and encouraged everyone to get involved in helping keep our community clean. In addition, Student Government representatives will be coming together to lead a clean up effort here at Cole School next week. We’re proud of our student leaders for taking initiative and helping make a positive impact both in our school and the greater Norwell community! If you're interested in signing up and taking responsibility for your street or neighborhood, you can do so here.

May

May 2 - Norwell Trash Bash

May 4-8 - Teacher Appreciation Week

May 4 - Norwell Town Meeting

May 4 - Grade 4 High Tech High Touch Enrichment (Thank you, PTO!)

May 6 - Grade 3 American Revolution Projects

May 6 - School Nurse Appreciation Day

May 7 - MCAS Grade 3 Math 1

May 8 - MCAS Grade 3 Math 2

May 11 - Grade 1 Field Trip (Thank you, PTO!)

May 11 - MCAS Grade 4 Math 1

May 12 - MCAS Grade 4 Math 2

May 13 - MCAS Grade 5 Math 1

May 13 - School Council Meeting 3:30-4:15pm

May 14 - MCAS Grade 5 Math 2

May 15 - Early Release Day (all students dismissed at 12:20pm)

May 18 - Grade 4 Field Trip (Thank you, PTO!)

May 18 - Incoming Kindergarten Screening

May 18 - MCAS Grade 5 Science 1

May 18 - School Speech Teacher Appreciation Day

May 19 - MCAS Grade 5 Science 2

May 20 - Grade 5 Fitness Field Trip (Thank you, PTO and Mr. Thornton!)

May 21 - Grade 4 Fitness Field Trip (Thank you, PTO and Mr. Thornton!)

May 21 - Kindergarten Field Trip (Thank you, PTO!)

May 22 - Grades 2 and 3 Fitness Field Trips (Thank you, PTO and Mr. Thornton!)

May 25 - Holiday, No School

Looking Ahead:

May 27 - Art Show 5-7pm

June 5 - Field Day

June 8 - Grade 4 Biography Projects

June 18 - Grade 5 Celebration (for grade 5 parents and grade 5 students only) 6:00 pm

June 22 - Last Day of School - Early Release

1. We are one step closer to new playground equipment!

• At this week's PTO meeting we had a unanimous vote to earmark $30,000 of PTO funds to purchase much needed playground equipment
• We have gotten bids on 4 different replacement pieces - no decision has been on the exact piece of equipment yet
• That decision will determine how much more is needed to fundraise
• If you missed our info sessions, you can see it HERE

2. Speaking of fundraising for playground equipment....Don't miss:

Mini Photo Session Sign Ups with our own Kindergarten mom, Kassy Desmond!

If you missed the fall photo sessions or are just looking to get some new photos on your wall, please sign up. Space is limited!

• May 3rd, Minot Beach, Scituate
• May 17th, Rexhame Beach, Marshfield
• May 31st, South Cape Beach, Mashpee

LEAFFIE B. CURTIS MILLER SCHOLARSHIP

The Leaffie B. Curtis Miller Scholarship is given annually to two Norwell High School graduates who are currently attending college. The selections are made on the basis of superior scholarship, co-curricular involvement, and financial need.

The deadline for applications is May 20, 2026. A link to the application can be found HERE as well as on the Norwell High School Guidance Website.