Wentworth Family News
Week of April 25 - April 29, 2022
April 28, 2022
Upcoming Dates
- 4/30: Gym Dandies Community Performance - details below
- 5/4: 6:30 PM PTA Meeting: Zoom Link
- 5/9-5/11: MEA Science Testing for 5th graders
- 5/18: Early Release 1:45 PM
- FY23 Education Budget - See Below
Education Budget
The budget development process for FY23 (the 2022-23 school year) is moving forward quickly, with a number of public events scheduled over the next few weeks:
School Board meeting & public hearing - Thursday, April 28, 7:00 pm
Town Council Finance Committee budget review: School Dept. - Tuesday, May 3, 5:30 pm
Town Council public hearing - Wednesday, May 4, 6:00 pm
School Board second reading & budget vote - Thursday, May 5, 7:00 pm
Town Council second reading & budget vote - Wednesday, May 18, 7:00 pm
SCHOOL BUDGET REFERENDUM - Tuesday, June 14, 7:00 am - 8:00 pm
Budget messages are included in the weekly district-wide newsletter, and information about the FY23 school budget is posted on our website page at www.scarboroughschools.org/board/budget. We encourage our school families to learn about the budget proposal and lend us your support. We understand that there are many competing activities at this time of year, but your voice is important as we advocate for resources for the coming year.
Preparing for the Community Dialog
Dear Scarborough Families,
As you may already be aware, we are preparing for the Community Dialogue on May 11 and have invited you to submit your thoughts via a survey (sent April 15th). We also plan to provide students in grades 3-12 with that same opportunity.
We will be asking for your child to reflect on their own experiences within school via a short online survey which they will be completing during the school day on May 4 . The survey shouldn’t take more than 15-20 minutes to complete.
The survey content will ask students to self-reflect on their perceptions of their school as well as what they believe we are doing well and in what areas we should improve.
We are asking that all of our students participate in the surveys, as their responses will provide invaluable insights into their experiences and how we can improve and adapt our school to their needs. The responses to these surveys will be completely confidential. We are partnering with our third-party vendor to customize the surveys for our purposes. To learn more go to Panorama Education.
If you have any questions about the survey, please don’t hesitate to contact me at kcrosby@scarboroughschools.org or 730-4600. These surveys are optional. If you do not wish your child to take part in the survey, please let your child’s teacher know.
We thank you and your family for being our valued partners as we work together to set a shared direction for Scarborough Public Schools.
Sincerely,
Kelli Crosby
WENTWORTH GARDEN ~ FLOWER POWER FUNDRAISER
SPRING 2022
April 7th- May 7th
Wentworth School Garden is an outdoor classroom! We integrate as many subjects and teaching possibilities into our garden area as possible. This winter we installed a new and larger greenhouse. We have seed for our first crop...spinach! We will create natural habitat by adding native plants that will bring diversity to the bird population we attract. We are also going to continue to donate to food pantries this season. Please help us grow our garden as you grow yours!
Go to this link and order. Plants will be shipped directly to you and we will receive 50% of the cost: http://WentworthSchoolGarden.fpfundraising.com
Last Chance to Help us Make Teacher & Staff Appreciation Week the Best yet!
Wentworth PTA is still looking for a few more donations to help celebrate and give thanks to our wonderful teachers and staff. We would be thankful for gift card donations or general donations that can be sent to our Venmo account @Wentworth-PTA or checks can be made out to Wentworth PTA. We have events and celebrations planned for each day next week so please email us at wentworthpta@gmail.com if you may have time to help volunteer!
Do you know you can donate without even knowing it?!
Visit smile.amazon.com to get started
Login into your Amazon account and a portion of what you buy will be donated back in funds to support the work and efforts done by the PTA. Choose a charity, search for Wentworth PTA location Scarborough Maine. This option does not work through a mobile device
We appreciate your support!
Attention Fifth Grade Families - Three Items Below, Just for You!
MEA Science Testing for Fifth Grade
Dear Families of Students in Fifth Grade:
The purpose of this letter is to inform you about the upcoming puberty education unit planned for your child. Our Puberty Education Instructors are one of our school nurses, Anne Ornstein, and one of our health and physical education teachers, Keith Kitchin. This letter will provide an overview of the schedule, curriculum, and plans for Puberty Classes this year.
Puberty Education takes place as part of the grade 5 PE/Health curriculum. Classes will begin next week and will continue for the first three weeks of May. In the first class, during the week of May 2, students watch the video Always Changing and Growing Up | Co-Ed Puberty Education Video. We have linked it in this letter so you know exactly what your child will see and discuss. If you choose to begin the conversation at home, here are some additional resources you may find helpful. Mrs. Ornstein and Mr. Kitchin will play a fun “Truth or Myth” game with the students, reviewing the important points from the video.
In the second class, which will take place the week of May 9, students will have a lesson from the Safer, Smarter Kids curriculum titled Body Boundaries. We previously held an Information Night about this new curriculum, and you can access the presentation slides and a video from SARSSM here. You will also receive a Home-School connection letter, summarizing the lesson during the second week of Puberty Class.
Finally, in week three, the students split up into two groups based on sex assigned at birth. The female students work with Mrs. Ornstein and the male students work with Mr. Kitchin to discuss topics specific to their anatomy. Mrs. Ornstein introduces (or reviews) feminine hygiene products and Mr. Kitchin reviews key points of the male anatomy and body changes, answers questions and plays a Kahoot game with the males. If your child identifies differently on the gender spectrum, we can create a customized plan - please reach out to us to talk through what will work best for your child.
Thank you for your support as we move into the Puberty Education Unit for our fifth graders. Should you elect to have your child excluded from this three week program, please notify the Health Office at aornstein@scarboroughschools.org in advance so alternative arrangements can be made for your child. We appreciate your partnership in this important work.
Respectfully,
Kelli Crosby
Principal
5th Grade 2022 Language Preference for MS
Due date: May 6th, 2022
Dear 5th Grade Families,
As we begin planning ahead to next year, it is time to have your child indicate his/her Middle School language preference. Now that your child is completing 5th grade World Language we would like to have you complete this survey with your child. With Introductory World Language classes being offered at Wentworth, Middle School World Language study provides students an even deeper experience with one language over 3 years.
At this time, we are asking that you have a conversation with your child about their language preference; French, Spanish or Either. Please complete this form by May 6th. Your indication here is not a guarantee of language placement; at the same time, we will do our best to honor preferences to the degree that scheduling will allow. If feedback is not received by the due date, school staff will move forward with placement decisions.
Use this link to indicate your child's middle school language preference. Thank you!