Heath Brook School...

New Parent Advisory Team for English Learners

Tewksbury Public School’s English Language Education Parent Advisory Team

The English learner Parent Advisory Team is made up of parents and legal guardians of English learners who work together with the ELE staff and the school community to best support English Language Learners.

All Welcome ~ Please Join Us

How can I get involved?

Membership is voluntary and is open to all parents and legal guardians of students who are or have been identified as English learners.

Benefits of the ELE Parent Advisory Team:

Partake and advise the district, school committee, and any invested member/group on matters related to the English learner.

Duties:

Participate in monthly meetings and strengthen the school-family partnership as little or as much as desired.

If you are iinterested: Please contact your child’s EL teacher or an ELE P.A.T. Team Member for more information. ~Everyone is always welcome!!

Team Members:

Ann Gerry, agerry@tewksbury.k12.ma.us

Kathy Henry, khenry@tewksbury.k12.ma.us

Karen Hodgson, khodgson@tewksbury.k12.ma.us

Mission Statement:

Establish relationships based on mutual respect and trust, build bridges and enable EL parents the opportunities to engage in the partnership of their child’s education.

ELE Staff:

Tewksbury Memorial High School: Karen Hodgson khodgson@tewksbury.k12.ma.us

John W. Wynn Middle School: Ann Gerry, agerry@tewksbury.k12.ma.us

John F. Ryan School: Kathy Henry khenry@tewksbury.k12.ma.us

Center Elementary School: Kate Murphy kmurphy@tewksbury.k12.ma.us and

Jessica Bridle jbridle@tewkswbury.k12.ma.us

Heath Brook School: Heidi Bisso hbisso@tewksbury.k12.ma.us

Loella F. Dewing School: Jennifer Espaillat, jespaillat@tewksbury.k12.ma.us

Tewksbury Public Schools Integrated Preschool 2022-2023 Free Preschool Screening

If you have concerns about your child’s development and whether s/he is meeting developmental milestones, this is a great opportunity to receive some feedback.

Tewksbury Public Schools is offering screenings on the following dates:

Oct 28, 2022-Completed
January 27, 2023
April 28, 2023

Tewksbury Public Schools conducts periodic developmental screenings for three-and four-year-old children. This screening is designed to review a child’s development and to assist in identifying children who should be referred for an evaluation to determine eligibility for special education services.

The Tewksbury Integrated Preschool conducts screenings throughout the year and uses the DIAL-4 screening instrument. The screening team is composed of an Early Childhood Specialist, Speech and Language Pathologist and Preschool Teaching Assistants. At the time of the screening, parents receive information about child development and also have the opportunity to speak with specialists regarding any concerns they may have about their child’s development. Children participate in the screening activities within the preschool classroom and have an opportunity to play in a small group to screen communication and social skills.

If you are interested in registering for a screening, please complete the following information:

2223 Preschool Screening Form or contact Jennifer Zniti - jziniti@tewksbury.k12.ma.us

January Notes from the Nurse

Happy New Year!

I hope that everyone is doing well as we turn the calendar to 2023.

I am hopeful that our covid numbers will remain low as we finish up the school year.

Staying healthy by eating the right foods, drinking plenty of water, getting enough

exercise, and getting a good night's rest will add up to feeling our best selves. Here are

some great videos on maintaining ways to be healthy.

5 Minute Yoga: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8QWtCzurkM

You Are What You Eat: https://youtu.be/OMRX_G-rNaY

iHealth Test Expiration Date Extension

The FDA recently extended the expiration date of iHealth COVID-19 at-home tests by an additional 3 months. iHealth COVID-19 at-home tests may be used for up to 15 months from the date of manufacture. Find the new expiration date at https://ihealthlabs.com/pages/news. Please do what you can to share this news with anyone who may have received tests from your organization.

Be well,

Mrs. Rossi


Before school - about 10 minutes We live in New England. We have months of cold weather. We go outside every day we possibly can.	We play outside Make sure children wear appropriate outerwear.	At recess - about 20 minutes Don't forget to label whatever you can - sometimes things get lost.

Before school - about 10 minutes

We live in New England. We have months of cold weather.

We go outside every day we possibly can.

We play outside

Make sure children wear appropriate outerwear.

At recess - about 20 minutes

Don't forget to label whatever you can - sometimes things get lost.

Dear Families,

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself! My name is MacKenzie Hayward and I am the school adjustment counselor at the Heath Brook Elementary School. It is my first year as a school adjustment counselor and I consider myself to be so lucky to have the opportunity to pursue my passion, elementary school counseling. It has been a great couple of months getting to know the Heath Brook students, teachers, and staff and I can’t wait to continue to do so. I am so excited to be a part of this family.

As a school adjustment counselor, my primary responsibility is to promote academic, career, and social/emotional development of all students. I look forward to offering support to the Heath Brook students, staff, and families. I will be meeting with students individually and in small groups, conducting classroom counseling lessons, and collaborating with teachers and staff to help meet the needs of all Heath Brook students.

You may have noticed above that I put in bold and underlined the word, “all” students. Sometimes when the term “counselor” is heard, some may perceive that a counselor may only work with a select few students in a 1:1 counseling capacity, but that is not the case! School counseling programs reach and meet the needs of all students in a school through many various ways, including those listed above. I am here to advocate for all students.

Support provided can be therapeutic, but the role of a school counselor is not to diagnose or provide therapy. I am able to provide temporary/short-term support to help students overcome acute issues having an impact on their school performance. If you ever have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call 978-640-7865 or email me at mhayward@tewksbury.k12.ma.us at any time.

All the best,

MacKenzie Hayward

School Adjustment Counselor

The Courage to be Yourself

When my mother or my grandmother tried to keep me from climbing too high, my grandfather would say, "Let the kid walk on the wall. He's got to learn to do things for himself." I loved my grandfather for trusting me so much. His name was Fred McFeely. No wonder I included a lively, elderly delivery man in our television "neighborhood" who we named "Mr. McFeely." ~ Fred Rogers.