DAVIS THAYER NEWS
March 8, 2018
Dear Davis Thayer Families,
I can’t believe that March is here! Daylight savings time begins on Sunday, March 11th and spring begins on Monday, March 20th. I am looking forward to longer hours of daylight and warmer days!
We are very excited to share that the library was painted during February vacation and it looks BEAUTIFUL! The walls look new and the architectural trim pops. Pictures do not do it justice, although we will include some below. We hope that when families are in the building that they will get a chance to stop in and see this incredible space. Students are very thrilled to have an updated library. Many have commented that DT now has a real library space.
We are also pleased to share that Davis Thayer is in the process of creating a community garden. Franklin’s Department of Public Works met with our school team to discuss adding a garden at our school. Through their hard work the base for the garden was completed two days after this meeting. They are currently building the raised bed structures where we will plant our garden. Our science curriculum is very hands on and this will give students the opportunity to use this garden to learn firsthand about plants. Students will be given the opportunity to name the garden. Stay tuned for more information as we move forward with this project.
Davis Thayer has many wonderful parent volunteers who come to school and events to help make our school a very special and collaborative place. We know that work and obligations sometimes keep families from being able to come during the school day. We want to share that parental involvement is more than volunteering at school. In fact, research shows that supporting your child at home is equally important. Having conversations with your child about school will not only keep you informed about what your child is doing, but will give you some special time together in the evening after school. Asking your child what he/she did at school will likely result in the classic response, “Nothing.” Here are some questions/suggestions that will result in a more engaging conversation and opportunities for activities that you can to together.
· Tell me what you learned today that you’d like to know more about. (This could lead to a trip to the library to do some research or a visit to a museum.)
· Describe a book you enjoyed today. (Use this interest to build a daily reading habit. Encourage reading and listening skills by reading aloud and letting your child read to you.)
· What’s the coolest thing that happened? What wasn’t cool?
· What was the most creative thing you did?
Thank you for your continued support and all you do to make Davis Thayer the GREAT school that it is.
Warmly,
Kathleen Gerber
PrincipalJump Rope for Heart Contest Champions
DT Goes Global - Olympic Facts
K and 1st Grade Led Core Value Assembly - Include
Community Reading Day at DT
Funbruary - Crazy Hat Day
DT Goes Global at PCC
Funbruary - Door Decorating Contest
Second Grade Family Fun Friday
1st Grade Art Club
DT's Extraordinary Library!!!
Core Values
The DT community works to live our core values by planning monthly whole-school assemblies. We held our January school wide assembly on February 16th when Davis Thayer's Kindergarten and First Grade talked about the core value of Include. Mrs. Fernandes and the DT Goes Global Club helped us all to about the Olympics and announced the new country that we will travel to - India.
During the year, we will continue to recognize students and staff members who exemplify one or more core values with “scoop tickets,” by reading scoops over the announcements on Fridays, and by partnering with McDonalds to award certificates to randomly-chosen students at our assemblies each month. The bulletin board in the cafeteria which displays many of the scoops that have been awarded has been reset to start the new year. Please take a look if you have an opportunity when you are in the building. It is an awesome sight!
Pennies for Patients
Be Amazing! Collect Change and Save Lives!
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is the world’s largest non-profit health organization dedicated to finding cures for blood cancers. Davis Thayer participated again this year in the Pennies for Patients program which helps raise money to fund research for therapies that save the lives of blood cancer patients.
Our students and families are making a difference in helping save the lives of blood cancer patients! This year we raised over $700 for Pennies for Patients.
Star Staff
All of our staff play an important role in the lives of students, families and the community. This year we will recognize an outstanding staff members at Davis Thayer and highlight their achievements.This recognition is being established to recognize outstanding people for their dedication, professionalism and work. Those receiving these awards will be nominated by administrators and colleagues for excellence in their classroom and/or in the school.
We would like to share with you the staff that have been recognized since our last newsletter.
Mrs. Sullivan- School Secretary
Mrs. Sullivan's colleagues shared, “Besides being a positive, beautiful, and welcoming face to everyone coming in the building, she goes above and beyond her duties every day. Specifically, she has noticed students struggling and needing some positive reinforcement. She reached out and mentioned that she would be happy to have students come down and help her with dismissal announcements at the end of the day as a reward. We are so lucky to have someone in this school so invested in our kids!”
News from the Nurse
Postural Screening Reminder (Grade 5): Postural screening is a state mandated screening to check for scoliosis. This is done yearly in grades 5-9. The 5th graders will be shown a video explaining this condition and the screening. Each screening will be done privately by either the school nurse or the PE/Health teacher. If the nurse has a copy of your child’s current physician’s exam form (since July 1st beginning their 5th grade year) and the physician has specifically written that postural screening was done at that exam, then your child will be excused from the school screening. Postural screening will be done in May. Notices will be sent to parents/guardians of 5th grade students, who have not provided documentation, prior to the screening.
Social Emotional Learning- Core Competency - Self-Awareness Part 2 of 5
The SEL core competency that we are going to talk about this month is Self-Awareness. According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) website self-awareness is the ability to accurately recognize one’s own emotions, thoughts, and values and how they influence behavior. As well as the ability to accurately assess one’s strengths and limitations with a well grounded sense of confidence, optimism and a “growth mindset”. When one has self-awareness they are able to identify emotions, have an accurate self-perception, recognize their strengths, have self-confidence as well as self-efficacy. Self-awareness is something that grows and progresses as we grow and mature.
Self-awareness helps us understand that our thoughts and feelings lead to behaviors. When we are self-aware we are in tune with our feelings and that of others. The Zones curriculum has been a wonderful way to teach our students how to identify their feelings and emotions. Initially students are simply identifying what feelings or emotions that they are experiencing and then they begin to understand others. An example of self-awareness is when a student who is talking loudly in class recognizes that they are being loud adjusts their behavior. We start with the basic identification and understanding of our own feelings and emotions and grow into our understanding of others.
As a school psychologist I have the pleasure of testing many students here at Davis Thayer. One of my goals this year is to work with some of the students in the older grades following the testing process to provide them feedback (with parent permission of course). Since we gain so much information during this process I felt it would be beneficial for students to hear how they did and what we learned about them. My goal is for students to become more self-aware of who they are as learners. When students understand who they are as a learners they can advocate for themselves and be more confident in who they are. I also work at Franklin High School and have found that those students who are academically self-aware, despite some learner challenges, are confident and advocate well for themselves and their needs which leads to academic success. Self-awareness is important in understanding our feelings and emotions but is also essential for understanding who we are as learners.
There is a lot of good information on the CASEL website about all of the core competencies and I urge you to check it out. If you have any question please feel free to contact me Chrishelle A. Leonard, School Psychologist.
Follow Davis Thayer on Instagram
Davis Thayer is now on Instagram! Follow us at davis_thayer. It is a great way for us to share what is happening at school.
About Davis Thayer.......
Mrs. Gerber's contact information:
508-541-5263 ext 3710
Mrs. Wasik's contact information:
508-541-5263 ext 3719
Website: http://thayerelementary.vt-s.net/Pages/index
Location: 137 West Central Street, Franklin, MA, United States
Phone: 508-541-5263
Twitter: @DT_Bobcats