MHS/WES Newsletter
September 6, 2018
News from the Principal
Watching the pride and joy on parents’ faces as their child walks into school for the very first time, never gets old to me. It reminds me of the significance of what we do everyday. Thank you for all your help and support at home to get this school year off to a great start! It’s hard to believe that we are almost through our second week of school. I love seeing all the smiles and excitement on our children’s faces each morning. We had a few tears from some of our new kindergartners, however, they didn’t last for very long. Actually, there were a lot more tears from parents.
Speaking of kindergarten, with five classes of kindergarten this year we decided to pilot a new special subject called Social Skills/Health. This class will be taught each day by myself, Mr. Deneen, our school adjustment counselors and/or our school resource officers. While our main focus will be on friendship and kindness, we hope to incorporate other topics such as mindfulness, safety, and healthy choices. This week’s theme is “Meet the Principals.” We talked about the role of the principal and visited our office. Next week we will discuss being kind and safe on the school bus.
I’m looking forward to seeing you all at our upcoming school events!
from The Principal and Assistant Principal
From the School offices
Also, packets of paper forms were sent out on the first day of school. These included medical forms for the nurse, free and reduced lunch forms and dental program forms. Again, please fill these forms out and send them back to the office as soon as possible.
Upcoming dates
- Thursday, September 6th: WES Parents' Night 6:00-8:00 PM (Parents only)
- Tuesday, September 11th: WES Picture Day
- Monday, September 10th: Music Enrollment night 6:30 PM in the WES Cafeteria
- Tuesday, September 18th: MHS Picture Day
- Wednesday, September 19th: PTO meeting WES library 6:30 PM
- Wednesday, September 26th: MHS Open House 6:00-7:00 PM
- Thursday, September 27th: Half Day all schools (12:00 Dismissal from MHS and WES)
- Wednesday, October 3rd: Walk to School Day
Meet the School Adjustment Counselors
Mrs. Pinkes
Welcome to WES/MHS! Though I have gotten to know many of you and your children over the years, I wanted to let you all know a little more about myself.
I worked as the full time School Adjustment Counselor at WES from 1999-2001. I then took an extended family leave and at the conclusion I was able to return to the same position in a part time capacity. I am a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker and practiced child and family therapy for about 18 years. My background also includes working for DCF and teaching parenting classes for those going through a divorce. I am also a mother to two teenage girls, the hardest job of them all!
I am so pleased with the addition of another counselor. This will allow us to spend more time with students in need and also be involved in classroom instruction specifically in the area of social emotional learning.
Mrs. K
Greetings! My name is Alexandra Hogan Kosciak I am a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and a part time School Adjustment Counselor here at the Westminster and Meetinghouse Elementary Schools.
I come to Westminster from Needham where I worked for many years counseling and educating students in grades K-12 as part of Needham Youth Services. Prior to that my background includes preschool teaching, ceramics instruction, and counseling teens with severe emotional needs. As a Massachusetts native, I am thrilled to be joining the Ash/West school system in a community that already feels like a home away from home. I have always loved working with elementary school children and have a special connection with kids this age since I have three young boys of my own.
The Counseling Team
We believe that learning is done best when a child feels safe, both physically and emotionally. School is a place where students not only grow academically but also learn problem solving skills, conflict resolution and how to appropriately express emotion. It is our goal to be people your children feel safe and comfortable confiding in if they are having a problem or just need to talk. However, we also believe that families are the most important people in children’s lives and we aim to work in collaboration with you to successfully support our students.
At both Meetinghouse and Westminster we will be working as a team with our teachers, administration, and staff to maintain and strengthen the classroom culture. We will be running a variety of groups as well as providing individual counseling. We are also available to consult with parents regarding any social, emotional, or behavioral concerns.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to us anytime via phone (978-874-2043/0163)or email dpinkes@awrsd.org or akosciak@awrsd.org. Danielle’s office hours are Monday, Tuesday PM, and Wednesday and Alex ‘s are Tuesday AM, Thursday, and Friday.
Sending you all wishes for a happy and successful school year,
Danielle Pinkes
Alex Hogan Kosciak
From the School Adjustment Counselors
First Grade News
First grade teachers were excited to welcome our students to first grade last week. Being the only grade at Meetinghouse, it was a great opportunity to practice new routines and procedures. Teachers were very impressed with students when the grade held its first all pod meeting. Teachers would like to remind parents to have students bring water bottles on these hot days.
-Meet the Gym Teacher
Hello! My name is Olivia Creonte! Becoming a Physical Education Teacher has been a dream of mine since I was in kindergarten. My whole life I have been very involved with physical activity and children. I studied Physical Education at Bridgewater State University where I minored in Health Promotions, and also played soccer. I am very excited about this new school year and am beyond thrilled to start my third teaching year in Westminster.
-Kindergarten and First Grade
Welcome back everyone! I am so excited to begin the new school year and meet all of Meetinghouse’s new students! The month of September is a very busy month! We will be exploring the gym, going over classroom rules, practicing fire drill safety, as well as getting to know one another! The beginning of the year we spend LOTS & LOTS of time focusing on personal and general space. We will play lots of activities where students must stay in their own space without crashing into others! We use lots of imagination pretending to be spaceships and airplanes as well as all different kinds of animals! This is very important for students to learn and practice in the beginning of the year for it will help to prevent injuries/crashing from occurring in the gym. Please be sure to send your children with sneakers on gym day!
-Grades 2 through 5
Grades 2-5 will also be doing lots of review, going over classroom rules, practicing fire drill safety, as well as getting to know one another. The month of September is spent reviewing/demonstrating GOOD SPORTSMANSHIP, playing previous/new tag games, practicing moving around the gym safely and in control, as well as team building activities. Our first unit will be soccer which will begin in a few weeks. Just like last year, every class in grades 2-5 have a class baseball. Every class they have an opportunity to move their baseball by all wearing sneakers, demonstrating great listening and working together. Every 5 homeruns scored earns the class a Free Choice Friday where they either vote on their favorite game to play or explore various stations in the gym. Congrats to Mrs. Kendall’s 3rd grade class last year for coming in first place with the most homeruns!
More Gym News
This year I decided to add something new to the gym which I am super excited about! Each month we will learn about a new muscle. I think it is important for students to learn and understand how certain muscles work, where they are located, and what stretches can help us if a certain muscle is in pain! We will learn about our first muscle the second week of September.
New pages added the WES and MHS websites
What's Happening in Second Grade?
Your second graders have done a wonderful job adjusting to the “big school” and have worked hard to learn many new routines and jobs. We will begin our Superkids block next week and homework will be assigned. Please look for the weekly packet that comes home each Monday. The completed packet is due in the classroom on Friday. We look forward to seeing those of you who are able to attend our annual Parent’s Night this evening. It should be informative! Please contact your child’s teacher with any questions you may have.