Jaguar Tracks for Families
March 30, 2021
From the Desk of Mrs. Ippolito
One more week of Cohort learning! We are very excited to welcome our students back on April 5th. We also are appreciative that we are able to offer our 26 remote students live streaming into the classrooms. The teachers will be participating in training on live streaming with our Technology Integration Specialist, Mrs. Santilli. We ask for patience from all of our families, as we embrace this change to instruction. We look forward to this step towards normalcy for all. Please note that demands on learning stamina/focus can be quite difficult in person and your child may experience fatigue once we go back to full-time in-person instruction each week.
Please help us! I often work late and weekends at Eaton and I have noticed crowds of students have a great time on the playground...which I love seeing. I have noticed a trend that students are not wearing masks, which is a migration measure to keep us all in session and safe. Please help us in reminding all students to wear masks when hanging out with their friends, especially on school property.
All my best,
Mrs. Ippolito
Joshua Eaton Reminders:
- Doors open & students begin to sign on @ 8:10
- Morning Work @ 8:10 -8:25
- School starts @ 8:25
- The dismissal bell rings @ 2:45
- Car tags must be hung on car visor or placed on the dash of the car to pick up car riders
- Send a note with your student if changing transportation home
- Students receive a free lunch every day
For families who are walking home via Oak St, please be sure to stay on the sidewalks as you leave JE to help keep everyone safe!!
Joshua Eaton PTO NEWS
5th Grade Yearbook: Art and Poem Contest! *Deadline EXTENDED*
5th graders are invited to participate in a cover contest for the yearbook! Students can draw a picture or write a poem about JE pride and what JE means to them. A student yearbook committee (more on that soon!) will determine the winners whose work will be showcased on the front and inside cover of the yearbook! All submissions will be included in the yearbook.
Please submit your child’s work to Rosanne Guerriero at rosannetg@gmail.com by April 26th. If you cannot scan artwork and send digitally, please email Rosanne to determine an alternative way to submit.
National Teacher Appreciation Week is May 3-7!
What a year it's been! We want to shower our amazing teachers and staff with appreciation, and the PTO has a lot of fun things planned. We've adjusted some of our usual activities (unfortunately, no potluck this year!) but we still need your support to make Appreciation Week a success! Please consider signing up to donate packaged snacks/beverages or gift cards: Sign Up Genius: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0c48aaaf2ca1fac25-jeteacherstaff. Thank you!
*All donations are optional. Snack cart donations can be dropped off between April 29-May 2 in a bin outside at 16 CURTIS STREET. Gift cards can be dropped off or mailed to the same address anytime before May 2. Questions? Call/Text Meredith Yoder: 703-795-4536.
Open PTO Positions for 2021-2022 School Year
Happy Spring, everyone! It's that time of year when we begin to look at the PTO Board positions opening up for next school year. Joining the PTO is a wonderful way to build connections with our school community and I have thoroughly enjoyed serving this year. With that said, here are all of the roles we will need help in filling for next school year:
*President
*Vice President
*Enrichment Coordinator
*Volunteer Coordinator
*Social Coordinator
*Community Service
All positions may be served with a second person, so do not feel as if you need to do it alone. Outgoing members are more than happy to transition new members into roles. You will be fully supported if you decide to step in and help. More details regarding responsibilities will follow in The Tracks. Please email me with any questions or interest you may have: jeptopresident@gmail.com.
Joshua Eaton Dance Fit Program -Fundraiser
Families! We are excited to announce the Joshua Eaton Dance Fit program, coming in about a month! During this 2-week program, students will watch sports-themed character videos and work together to support their school! The program ends with a fun virtual event called the Dance Fit! More information to come!
(This program functions as a fundraiser, but all students will be fully included in the fun, regardless of financial participation.)
Important Dates
- April 5th - K-5 students return to school/Remote student begin live-stream into homeroom classrooms
- May 28th - District PD Day (No School for Students)
- June 18th - Grade 5 Promotion Ceremony - Car Rally - 9 am start more details to follow
- June 21st - LAST day of school
Joshua Eaton News
Morning Arrival Reminder
- Staff supervision at JE begins at 8:10 am. Hybrid students should not arrive unsupervised before 8:10 am. All students must be wearing their masks on school property.
- Please leave dogs at home and off of school property. Some students are allergic to dander or afraid of dogs, and we are also using the entire school grounds for learning spaces where the students will be sitting on the ground.
- Drop-off is from 8:10 – 8:25 am. All students should enter the building following their classroom assignment:
- Kindergarten - Mrs. Cornetta ( Door 4), Ms. Fusco/Mrs. Meagher (Door 6), Mrs. Manna( Modular) - same as the start of the year.
- Grade 1: Cohort A - Ms. Byrnes & Mrs. Varghese, Cohort B - Ms. McQuillin - Door 2 (front of the school -center)
- Grade 2: Cohort A - Mrs. Libby & Ms. Fitch, Cohort B - Ms. Kiley & Mrs. Nazzaro - Door 5 (Library Door, near glass windows)
- Grade 3: Cohort A - Mrs. Emery, Cohort B - Mrs. McGevna & Ms. Lewis - Oak Street St Lawn
- Grade 4 & 5 - Door 7 - ( Deroiser & Callan -right side of stairs), (Tierney, Donlon & Johnston -left side of stairs)
MORNING TRAFFIC & PARKING at JE
Between 7:30 - 8:30 am:
- Oak Street is a right turn only between the hours of 7:30 am – 8:30 am. There is a right turn only sign at the bottom of Oak Street.
- Drop-off cars will be pulling into designated drop-off spaces on Summer Ave. in front of Joshua Eaton only coming from Summer Ave and Oak Street. OR if coming down Oak Street there are 4 drop-off spaces at a time. These are reserved for DROP & GO only. Parents, please pull all the way up to the farthest available space available.
Please be sure your children can exit the vehicle from the right side of the vehicle.
Parents who wish to walk with their children to their entrance door should find parking on nearby side streets. Everyone should be wearing a mask on school property to ensure everyone's safety and maintain social distance.
Our parking lot is closed between the hours of 8:05 -3:10, except for ½ day Kindergarten at 11:30. ∙ A special parking pass is required to use the faculty parking lot for those with a special need.
Our hope is that we can all work together to create a safe drop-off for our community and most of all, for our children.
HDK Arrival and Dismissal
I wanted to clarify the change in arrival and dismissal procedures for the HDK classroom to align with those of the rest of the school. Beginning April 5th, the Joshua Eaton parking lot will be closed for ALL cars from 8:10 - 3:10. This is to support the safety of all of our students who walk to school each day and the outdoor classroom spaces we will be utilizing.
You may park on a side street and walk up to Eaton in the mornings for arrival. For the 11:30 dismissal, we will be using the placard system. Each family was sent a bright orange card to display on their dashboard when picking up their child. Mrs. Meagher and Ms. Downing will be walking the students out of the Oak Street Door to the pickup area on Oak Street. Please pull up and they will assist your child into your car. If you chose to walk to pick up your child that is fine too, just practice social distancing and you must have a mask on.
If you need a new placard, please reach out to Mrs. Greco, amy.greco@reading.k12.ma.us and we will send a new one home.
Dismissal Procedures Reminder
*Kindergarten dismissal remains the same as the start of the year. Please park on the street to pick up your child.
Dismissal begins at 2:45 with walkers first. Walkers exit doors 2 or 7.
At 2:50, Car Riders aka Parent Pick-up begins.
Notes for Walkers:
There will be two locations/doors for your child to be dismissed Door # 2/Summer Ave or Door #7/playground. Please note that walkers will be dismissed at 2:45 and they are required to promptly walk off of school grounds with their masks on. Parents and Caregivers can wait at the "rock" or cross the street on the sidewalk for social distancing!!!
Notes for Car Riders:
You received an orange placard for your vehicle, it is a family number when you pull into a parking space either on Oak St or Summer Ave. Please pull all the way forward in the parking spaces. A staff member will make note of your number on the placard and using our Google Slide system call for your child(ren) to come out to your car.
We will get your child out to you swiftly, please be patient. You must remain in your vehicle this year!
Notes for Bus Riders and Ext. Day:
If your child is taking a bus or attending the Reading Extended Day, he/she will be escorted to that location.
GRADE 5 Transition Night
Save the date! March 29 at 6:30 pm - Middle School Transition Night for Grade 5 Families
The Parker and Coolidge Middle School principals will host informational Zoom meetings for students and their families to hear about the transition and what middle school is like. Zoom links will be sent out prior to March 29. Stay tuned!
MCAS Update
Grades 3-5 MCAS 2021: The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is preparing for MCAS administration this spring and therefore I am starting the work to be prepared here.
The testing dates for Joshua Eaton are:
Tuesday, May 11th - Gr 5 ELA
Thursday, May 13th - Grs 3 & 4 ELA
Math
Wednesday, May 19th - Gr 5 Math
Tuesday, May 25th Grs 3 & 4 Math
Science
Thursday, May 27th - Gr 5
DESE has made the adjustment to one session per grade and content area and a shortened testing window. We do not have information yet on how tests will be administered for fully remote students.
Student Absences - IMPORTANT
There are two ways to do that prior to 7:45 am of the morning the student is absent:
1. Call 781-942-9161, Dial 1 - leave a message
2. Email jeeabsences@reading.k12.ma.us
From the Desk of Mrs. Trevejo, School Nurse
Pool Testing update- Week of 3/26
Number Tested Results
Staff 32 -Negative
Students 107 -Negative
Total 139
We will be testing Cohort B split between Tuesday and Wednesday. Full-day kindergarten and first-grade students will be tested on Tuesday afternoon - 3/30. Grades 2-5 will be tested on Wednesday, March 31st. Please remember that you will not be notified of results UNLESS your child’s pool tests positive and they will need to participate in the follow-up reflux testing. I will be in touch with you directly if that is the case.
If you haven’t signed up for testing and are interested, please fill out this google form. We will not be able to include your child in this week’s testing, but we will be able to include them the next time they will be in person.
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=pLyBa1nNQUOpBOov91j-Khq-qSxcUPJBqh7GozD1HDlUMjcwOU1DWDVCUjFMMldSTkRHSTU3NkFBVC4u
Helpful guidance to support students that are transitioning from remote learning to in-person learning on April 5th. How to Prepare Your Child for School Reopening - Laura Markham
As of Monday, March 22nd, the state has updated its travel guidelines. For more information, please see Mass DPH Travel Guidelines. If you have any questions, please reach out to me directly, elmy.trevejo@reading.k12.ma.us
In good health,
Mrs. Trevejo, RN MPH
elmy.trevejo@reading.k12.ma.us
C: 781-779-4035
O: 781-942-9161 ext. 140
From the Desk of Ms. Cucinotta, PE Teacher
Office of Student Services
If you have any questions regarding Office Hours, please contact Allison Wright, Assistant Director of Student Services @ Allison.Wright@reading.k12.ma.us.
Office Hours for March 2021
- Wednesday 3/31 @ 9:00-10:00 am
Link to the Doodle Poll to sign up for Office Hours:
Best,
Allison Wright
Director of Student Services
Reading Public Schools
Reading, MA 01867
SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council)
The SEPAC Community & Friends welcome your input and help to identify topics of high interest for future Special Education Parent Advisory Council presentations. Our goal is to build a stronger connection to not only the special education community and families, but the wider community as a whole. Learning together and building stronger relationships with all families creates a more accepting and informed community.
Please Email: michelesanphy@yahoo.com with your suggestions for presentation topics by Friday, April 2nd.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Connect with SEPAC by clicking these links:
· Join SEPAC's mailing list by emailing SEPACREADING@gmail.com
· Follow SEPAC on Facebook (please adjust settings so that you are sure to see our posts)
The mission of the Reading Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) is to work for the understanding of, respect for, and support of, all children with special needs in the community.
RPS Food Distribution
Family Support Resources
Please be reminded of these amazing resources, if your family is in need:
- RPS Behavioral Health Resources linked here.
- Town of Reading: compiled resources linked here.
- RCASA and Mental Health Support linked here.
- St. Vincent de Paul linked here.
- Free & Reduced lunch access: sign up here.
- Reading Food Pantry linked here.
- Project Bread link here.
- Residential Financial Assistance (Rent/Mortgage) link here. (New resource! Check it out!)
Mrs. Ippolito, Principal
Mrs. Trevejo, School Nurse
Mrs. Greco, Administrative Assistant
Website: http://reading.k12.ma.us/joshuaeaton
Location: 365 Summer Avenue, Reading, MA, USA
Phone: 781-942-9161
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoshuaEatonSchool/
Twitter: @Mrs_Ippolito