MMM
12/2/19
Shannon Pierson (4th)
Barb Clark (16th)
Colleen Gazard (19th)
Daphna Malinsky (21st)
Sharon Kenny(23rd)
Sharon Madaglia (23rd)
Kathy Carey (28th)
- The transformation of the Lobby to the "Book Fair" looks awesome! Students were so excited to preview the books!
- A successful half day pick up time! All students were on buses and picked up on time!
- Our amazing team work and comradery helped us survive the many coverage challenges last week. Thank you to everyone who jumped in and helped out!
STAFF MEETING CANCELLED
THURSDAY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
the holiday party is this week!!
When: Tuesday, December 3rd, 4:30
Where: Dave and Buster’s at the Natick Mall
In the spirit of the season, this year we would like to provide gift cards to Dunning families in need. Please consider bringing a gift card to: Target, Walmart, Stop & Shop, Market Basket, etc.
pasta dinner night
Please join us for our annual Pasta Dinner Night!!
This Saturday, December 7th, 4:00 - 7:30pm.
All proceeds go to 5th grade special activities
hour of code
We will be doing an Hour of Code again this year. In meeting with the building STEAM team, we thought it would be a great experience if all students did the hour at the same time. We have scheduled it for Thursday afternoon, December 12th, 1:30 - 2:30. We will make sure that students who are in specials have chromebooks.
I am including a great video that you may want to share (thank you Cheryl) with your students, particularly in the upper grades. Clink on this LINK to access the video.
We will be kicking off the Hour of Code on December 10th at the Community Meeting, as well as hearing from our third graders.
raz kids
student behaviors and the holidays
Holiday Tips!
Here are two things to try to keep in mind this year as you finish out your lesson plans for the end of the year.
- Be cautious asking students about their favorite present/holiday memory/tradition. Not all students get presents or have happy memories or family traditions. Sometimes they are just trying to survive the day. Other students might have really unhappy/triggering memories associated with holidays. Maybe Christmas Eve was the night that their parents got into a fight and split up. Maybe Thanksgiving is when they have to interact with that abusive family member. Maybe they did actually get Christmas presents, but they were sold or returned a week later because someone needed extra cash. These things happen way more often than we realize! We need to keep this in the back of our mind as we incorporate holiday activities into our classrooms.
- Watch for changes in behavior. Obviously most kids get excited around this time of year, which means that they might have trouble sitting still, or they might talk more in class. That’s totally normal. Pay attention to the students who start acting out more – those who seem like they are deliberately misbehaving or the negative behaviors suddenly seem to increase. Those are the students who might be feeling anxious (and not in a good way) about the upcoming holidays. Don’t push them beyond what they can handle because they will probably not rise to meet your expectations. They literally won’t be able to do it because their brains are putting them into survival mode as they anticipate the holidays and whatever stress that might bring into their lives. Any change in schedule, even due to class parties or fun programs, can also be stressful for these students because the safety of their structure and routine was thrown off. This can cause some students’ brains to move into survival mode because they no longer feel safe.
(The Holidays, School, & Trauma)
Monday, 12/2:
- Staff Meeting, 8:15 - 9:00am (CANCELLED)
- Book Fair
Tuesday, 12/3:
- Book Fair
- Staff Holiday Party, 4:30 - 7:30, Dave and Buster's
Wednesday, 12/4:
- Book Fair
- Grade One Math Workshop - 9:00 – 11:30am
- Grade Four Math Workshop - 2:30 – 3:00pm
- Flat Stanley Audition Workshop, 3:30-5:30pm
- Walsh Fifth Grade Open House 5:30 - 7:00pm
Thursday, 12/5:
- Early Release, 1:06pm Dismissal, Lunch IS Served (Building Based PD)
- Book Fair
Friday, 12/6:
- Book Fair
- Grade One Ocean World In House Field Trip
- Flat Stanley Auditions, 3:30-5:30pm
- Pasta Dinner, 4:00 - 7:30pm
care & share
Please remind your students to bring in items for Care & Share. Our monthly food collection makes a huge difference in our community, while teaching our students the importance of giving. As an added incentive, the class that brings in the most each month will earn 15 minutes of extra recess!
Community Meetings
- Tuesday, December 10th at 2:30: Grade 3 (TIME CHANGED)
- Tuesday, February 11th at 1:45: Kindergarten (TIME CHANGED)
- Thursday, March 26th at 2:30: (TIME CHANGED)
- Wednesday, May 13th at 1:45: Grade 4 (TIME CHANGED)
- Friday, June 12th at 9:30: Grade 5
staff breakfast schedule
12/13/19: Holiday Breakfast - Office staff - Donna, Shannon, Michele, Tara, Kathie, Claire, Suzanne
01/10/20: Specialists/Sage/Coach - Kelly, Harry, Nick, Brett, Leigh, Beth
01/24/20: Sped - Sharon, Cara, Tess, Jo, Kevin
02/07/20: Social Emotional Support Staff - Gary, Jen, Daphna, Krystn, Courtney
02/28/20: Grades 4 & 5 Julie, Lissa, Kelsey B., Jae, Mike, Jaimie D.
03/13/20: Grades 2 & 3 Colleen, Kathleen, Elaine, Lisa, Sara, Sally
03/27/20: PDD/BCBA - Jen, Nicole, Keri Ann, Kelsey, Michelle K., Scott
04/09/20: Thursday Breakfast - Grades K &1 Elena, Maura, Lori, Greg, Laura, Sarah, Jaymie, Raquel
05/08/20: Office Staff/Nurse - Donna, Shannon, Michele, Tara, Kathie, Claire, Suzanne
05/22/20: Specialists/Coaches/Sage - Kelly, Harry, Nick, Brett, Leigh, Beth
06/05/20: Staff Pot Luck
Staff Meetings - before school 8:15 - 9:00am
- January 6th
- February 3rd
- March 2nd
- April 6th
- May 4th
- June 1st
Professional Development Schedule
Below you will find the schedule of professional development for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year.
- March 5th: District PD Day (FTA Day)
- May 21st: Building-Based PD
panda paw celebrations
SEL Curriculum
Changes in the SEL Pacing Guide
Please note that we will only be implementing the Second Step SEL program this year and hold off in the implementation of the Bully-Prevention part of the program. Given these changes, new SEL Pacing guides have been updated to reflect this change.
As the pacing guides are only meant to be a rough guide, if teachers need more time to complete the Zones lessons they should take it and plan out Second Step accordingly. There are also links in the documents to other supplementary materials that can be used during the SEL block. We will be asked to share our input and pacing experience this spring to plan for next year's pacing and implementation.
We should be so proud of the great work we have done as a school in introducing the Zones Curriculum! It is clear how much time and effort everyone has done to teach the concepts fully so that students can build upon these skills.
I will be sending out grade level pacing guides through email. Let me know if you have any questions.
Kathie