Elm Street School
December 2017
Elm Street Eagles S.O.A.R
S - Safe O - On Task A - Always Respectful R - Responsible
Principal's Message
Dear Elm Families,
Thanks to an Elm colleague, I recently read a book post about The Three Rules of Everyday Magic by Amanda Rawson Hill. I haven't read the book yet, so this is not an endorsement. However, the opening line of the post hit home for me: Believe. Give. Trust. These are the three rules of Everyday Magic.
This opening line seems like the perfect fit for what we are all about at Elm Street School. I own my bias about our school with pride- I think that Elm Street School is a pretty magical place. I am impressed by the academic effort and learning that takes place every day; students and teachers alike taking risks to stretch our learning and try new approaches. We practice and praise our school expectations to be safe, on task, always respectful and responsible throughout and beyond the school. We care deeply.
BELIEVE: We believe that every child adds value to our community. We believe that every child is special. We believe that we learn from mistakes as much as we learn from successes.
GIVE: Our staff members give their hearts and soles to supporting our students. We applaud our students for giving their best effort. We are forever grateful for all the time and energy our students and families give of themselves to support our school, our community, and those less fortunate.
TRUST: In her post, Amanda Rawson Hill said it so well: "It’s probably the hardest part for all of us. Because after we believe that good things are possible, that magic can happen, that miracles abound, and after we give and give and give some more — in essence, after we work to put good into the world — we have to wait and hope. We have to trust that, in the words of Anne Frank, “it will all come right.” We have to trust that the little bit of light we tried to kindle actually did its job and brightened someone’s day. We have to trust that many people putting light into the world can create something brilliant and beautiful.
Thank you for putting your trust in Elm Street School every day. It is an honor, privilege, and immense duty to aid in the nurturing and education of our young students.
Most Sincerely,
Principal
- Wednesday, December 20: Papa John's Fundraiser:
Order in at Norwood 111 lenox street 781-440-0280 and give the flyer for school credit
- Monday, December 25- January 1: Winter Recess
- Tuesday, January 2: School resumes
- Tuesday, January 9: School Council; 3:30pm
- Friday, January 12: No School- Professional Development Day
- Monday, January 15: No School- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
- Wednesday, January 17: PAC Meeting; 7:00pm
- Thursday, February 1: Report Cards go home in backpacks
- Tuesday, February 6: School Council Meeting; 3:30pm
- Thursday, February 8: 2nd & 3rd Grade Science Night; 6:30pm-7:30pm
- Friday, February 16: Early Release at 11:55am; Staff Professional Development
Syncing Up!
You can also follow us on Twitter @elmwalpole
School Attendance
It is imperative that the scheduled times for school are maintained, as missing even 5 minutes can be disruptive to a child's schedule. Our school start time is 8:15am which ensures a smooth start to the academic school day which begins promptly at 8:25am. Regular attendance and prompt arrival at school are essential for a child to make progress in school. If a child is absent or tardy, it is necessary that you send a note of explanation upon his/her return to school. Please call the Elm Street School attendance line to leave a message whenever a student is absent. If the school is not notified, the parent will be contacted.
Research indicates that consistent attendance has a strong correlation to a student’s educational progress. Families should plan vacations during school vacation periods to insure the continuity of teaching. It is impossible to replace classroom instruction with worksheets or other materials. Children miss valuable teaching time each day they are not in school. Teachers are not responsible for providing work if students take vacations during school time. If there are unusual circumstances and your child must be absent, make-up work may be given ahead of time. It is the responsibility of the child, with parents' help, to make up the work as quickly as possible.
Reminders:
- If your child is absent due to illness, please call our office 508-660-7374 on the morning of the illness to report your child's name, teacher, absence and reason for the absence.
- If your child is expected to be absent due to travel, please send an e-mail to Principal, Rebecca Brogadir, at rbrogadir@walpole.k12.ma.us stating your child's name, teacher, date(s) of absence and reason. Walpole Public Schools policy requires that travel is an unexcused absence; school work cannot be advanced before travel; and missed school work must be made up upon the student's return. Walpole discourages travel during school times.
Nurse's Notes
Please be sure that your child dresses for the cold weather… hats, coats, mittens, and boots when needed. We go outside everyday! Students should also be wearing their coats to and from the car or bus; many report that it is in their backpack.
Please remember the rules about attendance. Please keep your child at home if he or she has a persistently runny nose, a harsh cough, unusual rash or a fever. (The child should be fever-free without medication for 24 hours). Also, if your child has strep throat, conjunctivitis, or impetigo, they must be on antibiotics for 24 hours before they return. Most importantly, if your child is vomiting or has diarrhea they must remain at home for an additional 24 hours after the last episode.
Also, Please have your child/children pack an extra pair of pants, underwear and socks in their backpack. Students can get very wet and muddy out at recess and the Health Office has a limited supply of clothing.
Thank you for your cooperation. We wish everyone a healthy winter season.
Ellen Newman
Elm Street Nurse
Proper Dress at Recess
Each year at this time, we have students who resist the suggestion to dress for the cold. I have seen an increase of students wearing shorts during the winter months and coming to school without coats. This clothing choice is not warm enough for a 20 minute period of exposure to the cold. Students wearing sweatshirts only, or light fleece, or even shorts sometimes seem anxious for the recess period to end, and teachers are often conflicted about whether or not it is safe to send them out.
Therefore, I ask each of you to have your students dress in layers that allow
for comfort in a warm classroom as well as outside on a cold, winter day. Unless medically excused, all students play outside for at least two 20 minute periods per day when the temperature is 20 degrees or above (with windchill). It is essential that students be prepared with proper layers. When there is snow on the ground, students who are dressed appropriately will be permitted to enjoy the snow, so please send your child to school with boots, snow pants, winter coats, mittens/gloves and a hat for those occasions. As a school community, we value the unstructured free play time that recess represents, so we will go outside whenever it is safe to do so.
Recess Fun
Battle of the Books
Champion Team: The Savage Jeffs with Coach Mrs. Rizzo
The Final Seven
Let the Battle Begin!
Guidance News
This month in guidance we have been talking about empathy in 5th grade. In order to practice that skill we took part in a drive to raise supplies for a school affected by Hurricane Harvey. What a great result we had with students donating paper, pencils, books, small games, and more!
Elm Street Eagles SOAR
Eagles of the Month
Kindergarten- Saniyah C.
First Grade- Laura D.
Second Grade- Brennan H.
Third Grade- Danny K.
Fourth Grade- Sasha F.
Fifth Grade- Logan M.
Eagle Classroom of the Month- Mrs. Rizzo's Class
N.E. Patriots and Cradles to Crayons Coat Drive
The coat drive was a huge success again this year due to your generosity. Many gently used coats, ski pants, hats, gloves and mittens were donated.
Gratitude and Supporting Those in Need Update
Together as families and school, we look to teach our children about compassion and giving. We will continue to support families both within and beyond our community. Our fifth graders ran a Holiday Shoppe to raise money for charity. This service project was very successful, raising over $100. In addition, we have had ongoing toy and food drives over the last month. Our Jam the Van service project was held on November 30th and we literally jammed a full size van with food pantry items that will help many over the holiday season and beyond. The Walpole Food Pantry was so appreciative of the very generous donations. The Project 351 is a food drive that also supports the Walpole Food Pantry. It was so nice to see how many donations continued to come in after our Jam the Van event. Also, Our Toys for Tots toy drive is being extended to December 18th. This is traditionally a very successful toy drive. With your help and generosity, we have filled boxes with fun and very creative toys. Thank you all for your continued support of our service projects and teaching the students of Elm Street School about compassion and giving.
Holiday Shoppe
Excellence at Elm Street School
Holiday Magic Hoedown Raffle Prize
Pajama Day Story Time
Art News
Happy Holidays to all! Cold weather has brought us some snow and grade 4 students in Mr. Wallace's class created these wonderful Stellar snow flakes in the art room. It was a great way to make a connection in science. Students learned that there are many different kinds of snowflakes and that the Stellar ones have six points to them. Students had to pay close attention to the special folds of the paper before they could cut them out. Students worked hard and enthusiastically on this project. Thank you to Niko, Manyank, Victoria, Aubrey, Robert and Brennan who very diligently cleaned up the art room after this fun project. It looked like a blizzard had hit the art room! These helpful students volunteered without being asked to clean the room during their indoor recess time. A big thank you to those who helped and it is nice to recognize students going above and beyond.
Kindergarten students were inspired by the story Albuqurque Turkey when they created these wonderful turkey farm landscapes. Students illustrated the story by drawing with a black crayon and then they colored their pictures using crayon and watercolor paints. It was so fun to see the wax resist the paint. The story was about the compassion that the farmer had for his pet Albuqurque and the trust and bond they had for one another. Nice life lessons on sharing and caring. These are on display by the art room.
Grade 1 students just completed these wonderful, charming, festive Gingerbread House drawings. Students created these playful houses out of shapes and they were challenged to have a limited palette of color. Students loved drawing candy and designs and the highlight was using white oil pastel for the magical snow falling in the sky. They are hanging up on a display board by the cafeteria just in time for this festive season and sing a long.
Grade 2 students are just completing these wonderful textured paper weavings. As a continuation on a previous line lesson students pushed themselves further by adding texture to the mix. Students explored actual and implied texture and watercolor resist painting while creating their own paper strips for weaving. Weaving is a technique that needs practice but each year students are more challenged so they will learn the concept before they leave Elm Street School. Students had extra strips so when they completed their project they made rings out of the painted strips and connected them all as a group paper chain. They were excited and enthusiastic making the chain super long. It will make for a great decoration in their classroom during this festive season.
Grade 3 students are presently working on Planet Symbol collages connecting Science and Art. Inspiration for the art work comes from the famous abstract artist Paul Klee. Students used black paint for the planet symbols and are using oil pastels for the color. Upon completion, their collages will be put on Artsonia and also displayed on a bulletin board here at Elm Street.
Grade 5 students are presently working on designing their own flowering plants. Connecting science to art has reinforced their learning of all the parts of a flower. Students are excited and knowledgeable as they are labeling parts with great ease. They have the choice to design a flower by looking and combining different flowers into their own or they can be a little more abstract and create from their imagination. During this cold season it will be nice to display these flowers on a bulletin board soon. Also, grade five students completed their first lesson on one point perspective changing shapes into forms. Students will do a more challenging lesson in February using the same concept but with more challenges. Stay tuned to see the progression.
Wishing you all a wonderful winter break and looking forward to the New Year!
~Mrs. Robbins
Zentangle Art
Music News
It has been a very busy month in the music room! The Elm Street Singers performed for the first time for friends and family at our Winter Sing-A-Long, and after the performance everyone joined together to sing some winter tunes. In classes, 5th grade has been learning more about the Ukulele, and has been working in small groups to hone their skills and practice, creating, evaluating performances, and performing. In 4th grade we are continuing to build our knowledge on the recorders, and in 3rd grade we are mastering playing Mi, Re and Do. In second grade students have been learning about music and dances from Russia, and have been studying Tchaikovsky's "Peter and the Wolf". In kindergarten and first grade we have been dancing, singing, and creating our own songs all to winter-themed tunes! I hope everyone has a wonderful break, and look forward to sharing more music news with you in the new year!
Sincerely,
Elm Street Music Teacher
Kindergarten
Grade 1 - Holidays Around the World
This month, Grade 1 classes have been learning about the holidays celebrated around the world. Students are sharing different ways that they can help others and brighten the world during this holiday season.
Grade 2 Hosted our Monthly Assembly
The grade 2 teachers and students put on a great assembly about Thanksgiving. They shared facts and fun songs about Thanksgiving. Please click the link below to see the Turkey Disco performed by our second graders.
Grade 2 Assembly VideoGrade 3 Keeping Busy
Grade 4 - Oh, The Places You'll Go!
Fourth graders in Mrs.Drew and Mrs. Cantrell's class practice using latitude and longitude to locate places using world maps and teamwork!
Grade 5 Making Predictions about Mold Growth
Connecting Art and Technology
Elm Street School Parent Advisory Council (PAC)
info@elmstreetpac.org
www.elmstreetpac.org
The next PAC meeting will take place on Wednesday, January 17th at 7:00pm in the Media Center.
Save the date for these special events
International Family Potluck
Wednesday, Mar 14, 2018, 06:30 PM
Elm Street School, 415 Elm Street, Walpole, MA, United States
Elm Street School
Email: rbrogadir@walpole.k12.ma.us
Website: http://walpoleess.ss5.sharpschool.com/
Location: 415 Elm Street, Walpole, MA, United States
Phone: (508) 660-7374
Twitter: @elmwalpole