Plympton Family Update
January 5, 2024
From the Plympton Admin Team
Hello, Families!
Happy New Year! We were so excited to see our Penguins this Tuesday!
We are so excited about our whole school field trip to the Wheelock Family Theater
to see Mr. Popper's Penguins! Permission slips were sent home this week. Please make sure your student returned the slip as soon as possible.
ACCESS testing will begin on January 4 and continue through February 16 in Waltham Public Schools for our English language learners. This test gives us information about the progress of students. There are four sections to the test: listening, reading, writing, and speaking.
We will be reviewing attendance and tardiness next week and contacting families as needed. Students are late after 8:42am. Please remember the building does not open until 8:25 for breakfast. There is no staff on duty before then.
Students need to dress for the weather (see images below). It's incredibly helpful if all clothing (and water bottles and lunch boxes) are labeled. Labels on items help us return things to the students rather than having our lost and found continue to grow.
Be kind and go Penguins!
Sincerely,
Adrienne Norris and Amanda Brennan
Dressing for the Weather
Dressing for the Weather
Dressing for the Weather
From the School Nurse
As we are entering the height of cold, flu, RSV and COVID season this is a reminder that these illnesses are currently in our community.
Families, students and school staff can help keep from getting these illnesses in several ways:
Practice good hand washing. Hands should be washed often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing.
Practice respiratory etiquette. The main way these illnesses are spread is from person to person in droplets produced by coughs and sneezes. It is important to cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder - not your hands.
Stay home if you are sick and keep children home if they are sick. If a child has a temperature over 100 F, keep them home. They should stay home until they are fever free for 24 hours and show no signs of fever.
Keep bodies strong by eating well, sleeping well and exercising regularly.
COVID Exposure:
Quarantine is no longer recommended for children or staff.
All exposed individuals may continue to attend work/school if asymptomatic.
Follow the guidance for a Positive Test for Staff and Students:
- Isolate for at least 5 days, with day 0 being the start of symptoms.
- Return after day 5 if symptoms are improving. Mild symptoms are acceptable for return as long as the individual is fever free without fever-reducing medicine for 24 hours.
- Wear a high-quality mask through Day 10 while indoors if able.
- Masks are not necessary following a negative test on day 5 or later.
Please contact the school nurse, Sharon Duquette (sharonduquette@walthampublicschools.org), if you have any questions. Let us know if your child tests positive for flu, RSV or Covid as we are tracking the spread in our schools.
Breakfast Menu Week of January 8, 2023
Monday: Sausage, egg, and cheese croissant with homefries
Tuesday: Confetti pancakes
Wednesday: Sausage, egg, and cheese croissant with tater tots
Thursday: chocolate chip waffle
Friday: Fresh baked & glazed donut
From the PTO
Venmo PTO or send in cash/check to PTO attention: hockey game
The Wizards Are Coming Back!
Join the Declan Hawkstars as they battle the Harlem Wizards on February 2nd in the Kennedy Gym!
This fun-filled game of hoops, tricks and laughs is popular with all ages. Students will get to see some of their favorite staff play against the world famous team. Come out and support our teachers in a great game of basketball.
The Wizards will also be visiting Plympton on February 2nd to get the kids pumped up!
To buy tickets for the Friday night game, please visit: tinyurl.com/DeclanHawkstars. Select your school's name from the drop down as your school of choice so that our PTO receives a portion of the ticket price.
Check out the PTO website: www.plymptonpto.org
Link to PTO meetings: Click here!
PTO Venmo: @plymptonpto
E-Mail: walthamplymptonpto@gmail.com
Upcoming Meetings via Zoom:
2/13 at 7pm
New Fundraiser!
Our school will be participating in the SchoolStore program this year. To shop and support our school, simply go to www.schoolstore.com and select our school. More information will be coming home next week.
Save the Date
No School: January 15
Early Release: January 17 for conferences
Early Release: January 24 for professional development
Plympton Elementary School
When your student's after school dismissal arrangements change, please send a note to your child's homeroom teacher. If you prefer to email, please also include our fabulous secretary, Mrs, Conneely, at meghanconneely@walthampublicschools.org. Mrs. Conneely and Officer Dani double check every bus list every day and cross check with the attendance for the Champion after school program to be certain kids are getting to correct location after school. Please make every effort to communicate any changes as early as possible. Calls after 2:30 slow down our dismissal process.
All student must ride the bus they are assigned. Students may not switch buses.
Email: Adriennenorris@walthampublicschools.org
Website: https://www.walthampublicschools.org/o/plympton
Location: 20 Farnsworth St, Waltham, MA, USA
Phone: (781) 314-5760