News From The Nest: Welcome Back!

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends!

I hope that you are all enjoying these last gasps of the summer break and that you and your family are excited for the launch of the 2025 - 2026 school year! Today was our "first" First Day with all of our team returning from the summer break. Everyone jumped right in and is busy putting all the finishing touches on classrooms and spaces making sure they are warm, welcoming environments for all students. We can't wait for the "next" first day on Wednesday when our Grades 1-5 students start and our "last" first day when our new kindergarteners join the Nest on Tuesday, September 2nd.

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

• upcoming dates and celebrations for September
• Welcome New Elm Staff
• Kindergarten Sneak Peek and Start Reminders
• School Start/End Times Reminder
• Arrival and Dismissal Procedures at Elm
• Bus Routes
• Lunch Menus
• 2025 - 2026 School Year Calendar
• Walpole Annual Labor Day Road Race

I am looking forward to seeing all our kindergarten families and students tomorrow (Tuesday) evening at 5:30p for our Kindergarten Popsicles event on the playground. We also have our Night Before School read aloud happening tomorrow night at 7:30p so keep an eye on your email during the day tomorrow for the special link to join us online.

Get some good sleep these next couple of nights, the countdown to the start of the 2025-2026 school year is officially on!

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 September.

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.

August

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

September

9/1: SCHOOL CLOSED

9/2: First Day of School (PreK and Kindergarten)

9/4: 6:00p Pop in for Popsicles at Elm

9/9: Elm Picture Day

9/11: 6:45p School Committee Meeting

9/19 EARLY RELEASE DAY (12:25 dismissal)

9/24 Elm Curriculum Night

9/25 6:45p School Committee Meeting

9/30 3:45p Elm School Council Meeting

We are so excited to welcome all of our new Elm Street School Team Members and know that you all will join us in supporting their transition to our community!

• Jzanev DeLuca: Grade 2
• Adam Wright: Music
• Sarah Clancy: School Psychologist
• Shannon Songin: Guidance Counselor
• Jennifer Carty: Occupational Therapist
• Kaitlyn Brown: Physical Therapist
• Jake O'Brien: Education Support Paraprofessional
• Andrea Kristenson: Kindergarten Aide

To read the staffing updates from July and August please visit our July Summer Update and August Summer Update

We are so eager to get our kindergarteners started on their journey here at Elm! As a reminder the first full day for kindergarten students is Tuesday, September 2nd.

To help get ready we offer sneak peek visits to meet your teachers and see your classrooms on Thursday August 28th. These visits are intended for students and their parents/caregivers.

9:30 - 10:00a Students and Families with Last Names Beginning with A-L

10:15 - 10:45a Students and Families with Last Names Beginning with M-Z

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.

Arrival Procedures

• Students who ride the bus arrive at the first circle parallel to Rt.27. They are supervised by staff as they walk along the sidewalk to enter the main building of the school.

• Students who arrive by vehicle may be dropped off in the Main Arrival Loop ONLY. This is the loop by the main door, near the flagpole. Dropping off students by the Rt. 27 driveway is not safe and is prohibited.
  

• Follow the directions of the staff people “on duty”.
  

• Upon arrival, drivers should turn right and thread through the parking lot. The first car must pull around the loop as far as the stop sign by the preschool playground. This will allow the maximum number of students to disembark onto sidewalks simultaneously.
  

• Instruct child/ren to disembark only from the sidewalk side of vehicle to avoid the danger of crossing between cars in the roadway.
  

• Drivers must prepare students to be ready to exit vehicles immediately upon arrival. If a student is not ready, the driver will be instructed to go around the loop again.
  

• Drivers should be ready to follow a staff member’s signal to exit the loop following the vehicle ahead, once students have disembarked. Do NOT pull around and pass the vehicle in front of you.
  

• Do NOT attempt to park in the loop during arrival. If, for any reason you would like to accompany your child into the building (or help carry materials) please park in the parking lot in one of the visitor spaces.
  

• Do NOT drop off students without pulling into the main arrival loop.
  

• If a child is having difficulty separating at arrival, the driver will be instructed to go around the loop again and pull out onto the service road which leads to the back of the building. Staff there will assist in making the transition.

Departure Procedures

• Students who are attending Extended Day and/or after school enrichment classes will be dismissed from classrooms first and walk to their designated area.

• Students who take a bus home will be dismissed from their classroom when their bus is called over the PA system. All students who take a bus must have a bus pass.

• Students and drivers must always follow the instructions of the staff members on duty.

• Students being picked up by parents/car pools will be dismissed to the main office lobby. They will be grouped according to the order in which parents, caregivers, and other drivers arrive in the line and submit their names to the staff member on duty. Carpoolers should stand with the driver’s child.

• Parents/car pools will thread through the parking lot, then into the loop by the main door.
  

• Anyone picking up students may NOT come into the building.
  

• One staff member with outside duty will use the walkie-talkie. Staff will identify which parent(s)/caregiver(s) are “in line” and communicate those names to the staff member inside. Those students will then be sent outside.
  

• Staff on duty outside will ensure that students enter the correct vehicle.
  

• It is essential to keep traffic flowing. Parents must not engage staff or other parents in conversation during dismissal.
  

• If a parent/caregiver is in the building (for example, as a volunteer) and wants to take their child(ren) with them, they must stop at the office to sign out the child(ren) before exiting the building with their child.
  

• All vehicles must stay in the line until the car in front of them moves. Leaving the line and passing the vehicle ahead of you is PROHIBITED.
  

• If a child is not ready when they are called, the parent/caregiver will be asked to park at the preschool 15 minute parking area and wait. A staff member will accompany the student to the car.
  

• Student safety is our first concern. If you have concerns during dismissal, please get the attention of a staff member on duty to assist you. Please do not get out of your vehicle or move your vehicle out of the line unless instructed to do so by a staff member.

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