This message is from Principal Gray. First, I wanted to thank our families for helping make October a great month here at Washburn Elementary School. It was so great seeing many of you at Parent Teacher Conferences and please know that we will have another round of conferences in March. Special thanks to the members of our Parent Teacher Organization (P.T.O.) for taking care of us during conferences by serving dinner, hosting a lemonade stand, and being here. We should all be very proud of our school's attendance rate so far this year. We are routinely at the top of the list for best school attendance rate in the district. Our staff will continue to make our school a safe, caring and welcoming environment for our students. Parents, please continue getting your kids here every day. All of our students completed the fall N.W.E.A. assessments this month and parents will receive a score report when we send home report cards in early December. Lastly, I wanted to say how much that I have enjoyed being a part of this learning community. The students, parents, teachers, ed techs, specialists, custodians- I love working with you all and I feel lucky to be here. Thanks for all you do. Please read on!

• November 2- Early Release Wednesday
• November 3- Virtual PTO Meeting
• November 11- NO SCHOOL- Veterans Day
• November 16- Early Release Wednesday
• November 22- First Trimester Ends
• November 23, 24, 25- NO SCHOOL- Thanksgiving Break
• November 30- Early Release Wednesday

We take attendance very seriously here at Washburn Elementary School. When our students are in class, they achieve. We have set some very high goals for our students this year and our school wide attendance goal this year is 90%. I am very proud to share that from 8/28/22 to 10/28/22, our average school wide our attendance rate is 95.02%. Let's keep this up!

We are so proud of our students. Read about them here!

Mrs. Caruso, Pre-K (morning): Macie Thoits. Macie has consistently followed rules and expectations since day one of school. She is a role model for peers.

Mrs. Caruso, Pre-K (afternoon): Amelia Lin. Mia works hard to follow the school rules. She is kind and compassionate to her peers and is consistently showing a desire to learn new things!

Mrs. Fisher, Kindergarten: Mary-Ann Porter (Annie). Annie comes to school each day ready to learn. I can always count on Annie to be a great role model by consistently following classroom expectations. She is also a good friend to everyone in class. Way to go Annie!

Mrs. Smith, Kindergarten: Layla Mohamud. Layla is a very kind and caring student. She is always willing to help anyone in need and does so with a positive attitude. Layla is also very patient and demonstrates this each and every day. She is an excellent role model to all her peers, following the school code and classroom expectations all the time! She is an excellent friend and a very hard worker! Awesome job Layla!

Mrs. Page, First Grade: Harper Thoits. Harper is a super role model for her classmates. She is always willing to help others and is becoming such a strong, independent learner. I am so proud of her!

Ms. Duym, First Grade: Elsie Thayer. Elsie is SUCH a hard worker! She always puts so much effort into whatever she does. She is kind and helpful to others while also being a respectful listener.

Mrs. Smith, First Grade: Penelope Neujahr. Penelope is a kind and patient classmate, helping friends and modeling the expectations.

Mrs. Jarvis, Second Grade: Henry Barnett. Henry is very responsible, and always focuses on his work. He is kind to his classmates, and really loves to learn! He is extremely persistent when working with challenging math problems and it's wonderful to see the work he puts into his writing. We are so lucky to have Henry in our classroom!

Mrs. Rybeck, Third Grade: Frankie (Francesca) Russell. Frankie is new to Washburn and has been a stand out, role model student. She is always so polite and flexible when needed. We are lucky to have you in our community, Frankie! Keep up the great work!

Mrs. Thayer, Third Grade: Jonathan Greene. Jonathan works his hardest to follow the CODE in all spaces while at school.He also puts a lot of focus and effort into his work and his behavior. He is very helpful and encourages others to make good choices as well. Great job, Jonathan!

Ms. Pratt, Fourth Grade: Hudson Cousineau. Hudson is a role model student. He is always positive and encourages his peers to do their best. He is a hard worker and always completes his work to the best of his ability. He also follows all school and classroom expectations. We are very fortunate to have Hudson with us in our classroom.

Mrs. Renner, Fourth Grade: Casey Bonneford. Casey is always on task and following expectations both in and out of the classroom. She is a go-to student and is always trustworthy. Casey is kind and caring.

Mr. Ramsdell, Fifth Grade: Christiana Laws. Cristiana is very respectful and responsible. She follows directions when given and stays on task. She participates in group discussions and is persistent in her work.

Mrs. Young-Gomes, Fifth Grade: Ariannah Pulsifer. Ari is RESPONSIBLE: I can count on Ari to do exactly what needs to be done without being told. When a peer needs a partner and doesn't have one, she will offer to work with that classmate, even if it means not working with a friend. She asks for help when she needs it and offers to help others when she understands what we are learning in class. She is also always prepared; I can rely on her being among the first students to have her book open and her attention on whoever is teaching, sharing or wondering. Ari makes teaching a pleasure!

Mrs. Gatcomb, Sixth Grade: Zikara Powell. Kara is not only always on task, she is very persistent when it comes to her work. Kara is a role model in class and is willing to do anything I ask of her. She is always following our school expectations and is welcoming to all in our classroom.

Mrs. Cyr, Sixth Grade: Lily Russell. Lily is always on task, following directions and ready to learn!

Mrs. Dean: Serenity Lachapelle. Serenity arrives to school on time and is eager to begin her day. Serenity follows all directions and is willing to help other students or adults when they need help. Serenity tries her best to make all of her classmates feel included.

No School & Late Start

The determination to close Auburn Schools will be made jointly by the Superintendent of Schools and the Transportation/Maintenance Supervisor after consultation with Road Commissioners, the Auburn Police Department and other appropriate agencies. In general, the decision to close school will be based on the partial considerations of the safe transportation of students and accessibility to the schools. The decision will be announced on local radio and TV stations in the early morning. Automated phone calls may be made to families with accurate phone information in our system.

Once in session, schools will remain open the entire day except under circumstances where the Superintendent deems it safer for students to be dismissed early. This is a very rare situation, but one that needs to be planned for. Should an extreme situation cause the Superintendent to dismiss schools early, announcements will be made on local radio and TV stations. Parents are expected to make early dismissal arrangements for their children regarding where they should go in such an emergency if a parent is not at home and provide us with that information on the emergency dismissal information form. Please alert your child about what to do in case of emergency early release.

Delayed Start due to Inclement Weather

Q: What is a delayed start?

A: The start of school will be delayed two hours. If there is a delayed start, morning Pre-K classes will be canceled. On half-day Wednesdays, there will not be a delayed start.

Q: How will my child's bus pick-up time be affected?

A: Your child's bus pick-up time will be delayed two hours. For example, if the bus usually picks up your child at 7:45 a.m., the pickup time will be 9:45 a.m. for a delayed start.

Q: What is the school's schedule when there is a delayed start?

A: Washburn Elementary School morning schedule for a delayed start is as follows:

• 10:00 – 10:25 Student Arrival - Students should not arrive before 10:00.

• 10:00 – 10:25 Breakfast

• 10:25 – Students report to classrooms. The remainder of the day follows our regular schedule.

Please contact the school office with any questions about the delayed start policy.