DAVIS THAYER NEWS
December 1, 2016
Winter Welcome!
Dear Davis Thayer Families,
It is so hard to believe that December and winter are here! The year is flying by. During the winter months, as long as it is safe to do so, our students will go outside for recess each day. Using guiding information from the “Child Care Weather Watch”, we decide if it is safe for children to play outside. This guide advises us about wind chill’s effect on temperature.
Many students come to school in sweatshirts only. If a child comes to school in a sweatshirt during the winter months, we interpret this as you being ok with your child going outside without a coat, hat and gloves.
We care about your child and family and encourage anyone who may be experiencing a hardship and who could use assistance with purchasing winter gear to contact me directly. Please know that our school community is happy to help and our conversations will remain confidential.
Our first marking period is coming to a close and parent teacher conferences are next week. December 7th and 8th school will close at 11:40. Parent teacher conferences will follow dismissal. These conferences are always an important time to collaborate with your child's teacher. At this time you are able to hear about your child's strengths, progress and areas for growth. It also allows you the time to ask questions that you have so that you know how to best support your child. We look forward to seeing all of you next week!
Again this year, I would like to share my insights about the report card that will be sent home on December 11th. The report card is a progress report. It represents the progress achieved in the first trimester of the year and it informs you and your child about areas of success and areas of growth. Their academic career is a life-long journey. When my children brought home their report cards my husband and I celebrated their accomplishments. We also recognized the importance of continued growth and wanted them to continue their progress. At that time, we set goals for the coming trimester. I encourage you to do the same for your children. In this way you demonstrate your support and motivate your child to continue to strive for excellence and success in school.
I wish you and your family a wonderful winter break. School closes at the end of a full day on December 22nd and reopens on January 2nd. During winter break there will be many opportunities to create a stronger bond with your child and continue to support their academic growth and success. Please remember that students should continue to read, write and practice their math facts over winter vacation! Reading and writing can be about topics they enjoy and shared with parents and siblings alike. Students can also write some resolutions to ring into 2018.
Wishing you the very best this season and a Happy New Year!
Warmly,
Kathleen Gerber
Principal4th Grade Scientists
Harlem Wizards Assembly
3rd Grade Plimoth Plantation Field Trip
Attendance- Everyday Counts!
By attending class regularly, your child is more likely to keep up with the daily lessons and assignments, and take quizzes and tests on time.
In the article "School Attendance the Keys to Success", the following benefit of regular attendance were shared:
- Achievement: Students who attended school regularly are more likely to pass reading and math assessments than students who didn't attend school regularly.
- Exposure to the English language: Regular school attendance can also help students who are learning English by giving them the chance to master the skills and information they need more quickly and accurately.
- Being part of the school community: Just by being present at school, your child is learning how to be a good citizen by participating in the school community, learning valuable social skills, and developing a broader world view.
- The importance of education: Your commitment to school attendance will also send a message to your child that education is a priority for your family, going to school every day is a critical part of educational success, and that it's important to take your responsibilities seriously — including going to school.
The article also shared some tips for how parents can help to improve their children's attendance, some of which include:
- Help your child get to school on time every day. Babysitting, problems with a car or late bus, and the weather are not permissible reasons to miss school. Frequently coming to school late may also be noted on your child's permanent record, and will make it difficult for your child to stay caught up with the first lessons of each morning. Teach your child how to set and use an alarm clock, and keep the television turned off in the morning.
- Follow the school's guidelines and attendance policy, and report excused absences immediately. Please call Mrs. Sullivan or Mrs. Elias if your child is going to be absent.
- Take an active role. Stay involved with your child's daily experiences at school by asking how the school day went, and then listening carefully to what your child shares with you — both the successes and struggles. Make it a point to meet your child's teacher and friends.
- Locate potential sources of anxiety. If your child frequently appears upset or reluctant to go to school and cannot tell you why, schedule an appointment with his or her teacher or school counselor to talk about possible sources of the anxiety.
- Keep updated on school events and announcements. Read the school documents that your child brings home and take note of important announcements and dates, such as parent-teacher conferences.
- Try to limit the amount of time that your child misses school due to medical appointments or illness. If possible, avoid scheduling doctor's appointments during the school day. Allow your child to stay home only in the case of contagious or severe illnesses.
- Schedule family events with your child's school schedule in mind. Plan holiday celebrations or family trips during weekends or school vacations.
- Plan ahead. Encourage your child to prepare for the next school day by laying out clothes the night before and helping to fix lunches.
- Promote good health. Make sure that your child eats a balanced diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables, and has opportunities to exercise every day through a sports team or playtime outside.
- Create a restful environment. Finally, make sure that your child can relax before bedtime by doing something quiet like reading rather than do something stimulating, like watching television. Ensure that your child gets enough quality sleep — ideal amounts range from 8 to 12 hours. Getting enough sleep will helps children get up on time, be refreshed in the morning, and feel ready for a full day of learning ahead!
I want to thank you for partnering with us in having your children arrive at school on time and attend school everyday.
Core Values and DT Goes Global
The DT community works to live our core values by planning monthly whole-school assemblies. We had our third school wide assembly on November 16th when 2nd Grade students shared how to encourage all students at Davis Thayer. Second grade students shared posters that they created and talked about what encourage means to them. The posters are now on display throughout the school helping all of us to live the core value of "encourage". During the year, we will continue to recognize students and staff members who exemplify one or more core values with “scoop tickets,” by reading scoops over the announcements on Fridays, and by partnering with McDonalds to award certificates to randomly-chosen students at our assemblies each month. When you are in the building take some time to look at the bulletin board in the cafeteria which displays many of the scoops that have been awarded. It is an awesome sight!
As a part of our Core Value assemblies this year, we will also learn about a country that is a focus of our school initiative - DT Goes Global. Our new country is Italy. Students traveled to Italy and learned some important facts about the country as well as how to greet friends in Italian.
The Trevi Fountain Comes to DT
While the fountain is at DT students are encouraged to bring in coins. They will be given time to visit the fountain and toss coins in just like in Italy. Money that is in the fountain will be donated to the Franklin Food Pantry to help members of our community who are in need.
Social Emotional Learning
Routines
As a mother of 3 kids, in very different stages of their lives (6, 13 and almost 17), I am not always great about following through on what the daily routine should look like when we all get home from school. In my mind, my 6 year old empties his lunch box and brings his folder to me so that we can go over it together, and the two teenagers get 30 minutes to decompress and then get homework done before the Snapchat, Instagram and Talkie conversations occur. What it really looks like is the teenagers lock their doors and yell through them that they are doing their homework. It takes me 20 minutes to figure out where my 6 year old’s folder actually is. Then dinner, in my head, is all 5 of us sitting at the table discussing our day. Real life- my older girls are running to clubs, a friend’s house, volunteering or going to a job so they grab a plate and leave. My 6 year old complains that my husband and I are ‘boring’ and dinner would be so much better if he could watch the Ipad! Any of this sound familiar to you? I know everyone’s lives are busy, and as our kids get older, the less control we have on their schedule, but to avoid everyone feeling discombobulated, in any area that you can, keep the routine consistent.
Routines are vital for all of us. They embody predictability, which is something we ALL want and need. A predictable routine allows children to feel safe, and to develop a sense of mastery in handling their lives. As this sense of mastery is strengthened, they can tackle larger challenges: sleeping at a friend’s house, chores or independently complete homework. When events happen that are unpredictable for a child, such as divorce, a parent going away on business, or even a substitute teacher, that takes away the safety and confidence and leaves a child feeling nervous/anxious. I often remind adults that anxiety can be invisible, which means you may think your child is fine but inside they are experiencing lots of feelings that are not easy to manage. It has been scientifically proven that our IQ drops 20 points when we are in an anxious state. An unexpected change in routine occurs and causes your child to get nervous but they don’t tell you how they are feeling. You may get upset with him/her because s/he can’t comply with whatever you are asking them to do. So the parent/guardian is frustrated because it seems like the child is being oppositional and the child is nervous and then feels sad because s/he let down the adult.
There are other benefits to routines as well. By going through my son’s folder with him, everyday, it shows him that I am interested and invested in his education and he won’t find himself unprepared one day (no permission slip, or it’s pajama day, etc) because we have read through everything. This is the one part of your child’s day that you should never miss. Many children come to school everyday with nothing removed from their folder. It may not seem like a big deal at home but we often see a fall-out here at school. This routine of going through your child’s folder takes only 5 minutes and may save you and your child from unnecessary stress, and reminds them that they are worth your time.
Routines are an important part of any child's life because they help children develop a sense of stability and order. When things are predictable—when the same things happen in a certain order at a certain time of day—children are reassured that the world is a safe place in which they can learn to make their way. In addition, routines help develop organization skills, increase on-task behaviors and enhance executive functioning skills, which are important in every area of life. That 5 minutes of going through a backpack with your child or the 20 minutes it takes to complete a nighttime routine with a child, or any other routine that is consistently done in the home, will reduce chaos and save you time in the long run.
News from the Nurse
Please review the following information:
Update Contact Information: As the year goes on please remember to keep the contact information current on your child’s emergency card. Many times work and cell numbers change as well as contact people. Please inform the nurse of any changes.
Winter Clothes: Now that winter is coming upon us, please make sure your child is dressed for the cold temperatures. The students do go out to recess every day, unless raining or if temperature and/or wind chill is too low! Please pack an extra pair of socks in your child’s backpack, as students wearing boots often come in from recess with wet socks.
Illnesses: Please help prevent the spread of communicable diseases, such as conjunctivitis, strep infections, and viruses. Student under treatment with antibiotics must stay out of school for the first 24 hours of treatment. A child who has been ill with a fever should not return to school until he/she has been fever-free, without medicine, for 24 hours.
Due to weather issues at this time of year, the students are often required to stay indoors -both at school and at home. Because of this, they may be in closer contact with each other. Please be on the alert for any signs/symptoms in your child of illness, lice and/or contagious diseases. If found, please follow Franklin Public Schools policy regarding attendance and inform the school nurse of any treatment that was begun. Feel free to contact the health office with any questions and/or concerns.
Dismissal Procedures
Daily Dismissal
Walkers (called true-walkers) will line up inside and be checked off by staff as they exit the building to walk home unaccompanied by an adult.
Students (K-5) being picked up by parents (called parent pick-ups) will line up outside, weather permitting. Parents will check in with the staff on duty and students will then be released to go home.
Parents should walk children out of the school blacktop area onto the Union Street sidewalks. For safety reasons, the School Street gate should not be used during dismissal or arrival as there is oncoming traffic through this gate.
Rainy Day Dismissal
This is a change for Parent Pick Up students only. Signs will be posted on the doors to the school indicating in Parent Pick will be indoors on a rainy day. Please enter the building by the Union Street back door only and proceed to the cafeteria. Please stand by the tables to wait for your children so that all other students traveling through the cafeteria to be dismissed are able to do so. When you have been checked off in the cafeteria, please exit again through the Union Street side of the building back door.
Please let the office know if there is a change in your dismissal procedure especially on a rainy day as True Walkers will be dismissed directly out the back door in these instances unless otherwise indicated on dismissal forms generated by the office.
About Davis Thayer.......
Mrs. Gerber's contact information:
508-541-5263 ext 3710
Mrs. Wasik's contact information:
508-541-5263 ext 3719
Website: http://thayerelementary.vt-s.net/Pages/index
Location: 137 West Central Street, Franklin, MA, United States
Phone: 508-541-5263
Twitter: @DT_Bobcats