Green Meadows School Newsletter
January/February 2023
Important January/February Dates
Please click on the link here to view the Green Meadows School Calendar and important dates for the months of January/February.
Reminders:
Early Release Day: Wednesday, February 8
February Break: No School February 20-24
MCAS Testing Dates
Dates have been chosen for this year's MCAS testing. Please read this MCAS Family Letter with testing dates for specific grade levels. Each test is administered over 2 sessions. Testing begins at 9:00 a.m. Please make every effort to not schedule vacations during these testing dates. Thank you!
Curriculum Night
Our HWRSD Curriculum Night held last month was well-attended. Staff did a great job in explaining our two new programs in Literacy and Math. We enjoyed insightful videos of students engaged in the work, as well as teacher interviews on their experience teaching the new curriculum. At the end, many parents came to look at the materials and ask questions of our teacher representatives. I'm sure that many who would have liked to attend could not fit it into their schedule. So, I am attaching the slideshow that was presented. I hope you find it informative.
Winter Recess Gear
Just a reminder to have students dress for the colder weather. Students will still have outdoor recess as long as the temperature is above 10 degrees.
Save the Dates: Green Meadows Drama Club Update
Drama Club is up and running and cast members are doing an excellent job with our show Annie, Jr. Save the dates for March 30th and March 31st; shows beginning at 6:30 pm; same show both nights. The music of Annie, Jr. comes alive in our very own gymnasium. See our cast members sing, act and dance their way through It's a Hard Knock Life, Maybe, I think I'm Gonna Like It Here, Tomorrow and many other popular hits from the show. Tickets available soon. Stay tuned!
Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award
If you would like to nominate a special Green Meadows teacher for the Pioneer Valley Excellence in Teaching Award , please complete the Grinspoon Nomination Form by February 3, 2023. Please see below the Family Letter from Lisa Curtin, the Director of Curriculum, with more detailed information about this special award.
Thank you!
A big thank you to all who participated in our Library Gift Giving Program. Because of your donations, we have added many new books to our library collection for our students to enjoy.
Middle School Spanish: 7th & 8th Grade
On Monday, January 23, Term 3 will begin for middle school students. We are very excited to offer students in 7th & 8th grade, Spanish 1 class. Dr. Kopczynski is our new Spanish teacher. She has a great deal of experience teaching foreign language at multiple grade levels. She is very excited to meet our students and become a part of our school community.
Middle School General Music
Our sixth and seventh grade students have been working to create their own compositions in their General Music class. Students created their own drum songs. This slide presentation includes the PDF copy of their musical score and the audio file. Have fun listening to the creative musical ideas.
Info for 8th Grade Students
A Visit from Principal Hale
Principal Hale from Minnechaug visited with 8th grade students on Thursday, January 18th to talk about the transition to high school.
Career Tech Education Center (CTEC) Information
On February 2, our 8th grade students will have the opportunity to hear from John Michaels, Guidance Counselor from Career Technical Education Center (CTEC). Mr. Michaels will be talking with students about the process to apply and the programs offered at CTEC. On March 14, students who are interested in applying or learning more about CTEC will have the option to visit, on a district field trip. Families who would like more information can visit the CTEC website .
Elementary Art & Music Teacher Mid-Year Switch
On Friday, January 20, we are saying "goodbye" to Mrs. Smith, until next time. We are saying "hello again" to Mr. Lacharite, our elementary music teacher. Elementary students will have music instruction for the remainder of the year. Ms Smith will head to Mile Tree School where she will teach art for the remainder of this year. Here is the art newsletter from Ms. Smith in case you missed it. Welcome back, Mr. Lacharite. We have missed you!
"Coding" Afterschool Enrichment Photos: Take a Look...
Valentine's Day Card Exchange
Students will be able to exchange Valentine's Day cards this year if they would like. Teachers will send home copies of the class lists and any additional information to families. Per the district wellness policy, candy of any kind may not be shared. Please select cards that do not contain candy as this should not be shared at school. Thank you.
No Food or Candy Celebrations
The HWRSD has a Wellness Policy that does not allow food celebrations. This means that no food or candy can be shared at school. If you would like to read the policy, it can be found here. With the increase of life-threatening food allergies, this policy helps to keep our kids safe at school. Thanks so much for understanding!
Climate Corner
The start of the new year is a time for reflection and renewal. It is also a great time to reset routines and revisit expectations for behavior across settings.
At Green Meadows, our behavioral expectations are aligned with our School Rules: Take Care of Our Yourself (Responsibility), Take Care of Others (Respect), Take Care of Our School (Safety). Children are directly taught what following these rules look like in different settings.
Re-setting routines and behavioral expectations at home is important as well:
Create engaging and predictable routines at home
Children crave structure and routine. Knowing what is coming up next helps reduce stress and anxiety. Visuals help create predictability. A visual schedule can display major routines of the day with pictures that are drawn, real photos or cut-outs from magazines.
Define, teach, and routinely acknowledge family expectations
Directly talking to children about behavioral expectations in different settings (e.g., dinner table, bed time, morning routine) and even creating a simple home matrix can also help reduce stress and anxiety.
Identify a couple of “hot spots” to begin. Challenging behaviors often occur within routines. Perhaps mornings or mealtimes create hot spots for the family. After discussing 1-2 ways to take care of ourselves, our home and each other in the morning, teach what each looks like (and does not look like). Have fun with it!
Behaviors that get attention get repeated. Notice when a child does the right thing and say something about each success: “I noticed you stopped to pick up your shoes in the hallway. Thanks for putting them away and keeping the walkway safe for others.” The easiest way to change a behavior is to point out what a person does right!
Remember this catchy phrase, “5:1 gets it done” to ensure five positive interactions for each negative interaction. When the expected behavior becomes routine, the reinforcement can fade away.
Glows, Grows, and Need To Know Feedback Form
You are invited to share some Glows; things we are doing well, Grows; suggestions on where we can improve; and Need to Knows; general questions pertaining to whole school practices. (Email is still best for questions concerning an individual student.) I hope you take a minute to offer your thoughts and ideas on things that are going well at school, and your suggestions and questions that will help us know better and do better. Thank you to the families who have already completed them! Here is the form again if you want to complete it for December.