MMM
12/9/19
Shannon Pierson (4th)
Barb Clark (16th)
Colleen Gazard (19th)
Daphna Malinsky (21st)
Sharon Kenny(23rd)
Sharon Madaglia (23rd)
Kathy Carey (28th)
We had an extended Thanksgiving break!
We had an awesome math PD for first and fourth grade.
It was great to engage in so many student centered conversations at our PD focused on creating student alliances on Thursday!
First grade had a wonderful in house field trip!
The Spaghetti Dinner was great Thank you to staff who attended. Students and their families were so happy to see you!
the holiday party is this week
When: Tuesday, December 10th, 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.
Save the Date and the WRITING
On Thursday January 16th, we will have a family literacy and math night. One part of this night will include students showing some of their writing to their parents. More info to follow but if you have any special writing pieces that you were thinking about sending home before vacation, save them! Don't worry if the students are in the middle of a writing unit and don't have a published piece. Students will be able to share their writing folders, a published piece, and/or the writing on their chromebooks..
We are looking for teacher volunteers for our family math and literacy night on Thursday January 16th. We need teachers to read books aloud and lead math games. If you would like to help, please let Brett, Lauren, or Jaimie know.
report card window
The report card window is officially open. The window will close at the end of the day on January 30th, 2020. Report cards will be sent home on Friday, January 31st, 2020. This link provides resources including blank report cards, a gradebook tutorial and instructions for printing reports for a select group.
As a reminder, if you have any student concerns with academics or behavior, report cards and progress reports should not be the first time parents are hearing about them.
boots, etc. in hallways
Now that the snow is upon us, please try to keep the hallways clear during the day. We understand that it is impossible to keep all boots and snow gear in the small coat areas in your classrooms, however please keep anything left in hallways neat and against the wall. Everything should be cleared at the end of the day so that the custodians are able to clean the floors.
Thanks for your help with this!
winterfest
This year's staff song is one that many of you will recognize from the '80s. If you are interested in participating, there will be several opportunities to rehearse in the music room before and after school. In my experience in the Dunning ukulele club, this will be a similar vibe of connecting with each other, laughing and letting loose with a fun song. There is absolutely no pressure to participate, I know this month there is a lot going on but we would love to have you!
Kelly
Practice opportunities in the music room:
Monday December 9th – After buses
Thursday December 12th – 8:40am
Monday December 16th – After buses
Tuesday December 17th – 8:40am
Thursday December 19th – 8:40am
unblocking websites
If you need to have a website unblocked, please click on the lnk below and complete the form and give it to me (Michele). I wll sign it and send it to technology.
lunch and the bathroom
Thank you for your help with this.
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.
Click on this LINK for resources: thank you Kelsey!
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, 12/9:
Tuesday, 12/10:
- PBIS Tier 1 - 8:15 – 9:00am
- SPED Staff Meeting - 8:15 – 8:45am
- Community Meeting - 2:30 – 3:30pm
- Staff Holiday Party, 4:30 - 7:30, Dave and Buster's
Wednesday, 12/11:
Thursday, 12/12:
Friday, 12/13:
- Holiday Breakfast - Office staff - Donna, Shannon, Michele, Tara, Kathie, Claire, Suzanne
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, 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
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