The Buzz at Leeds
December 6, 2021
Message from Principal Wenz
Just a reminder we will have an early release this Wednesday, 12/8 with dismissal at 11:30. We will have session 1 for our preschool students. Our full day preschool students will be dismissed at 11:20. We will not have session 2 for preschool.
Our Picture Retake day is Wednesday, December 15th for students who wish to have their pictures re-taken.
Our teachers are currently completing the new elementary standards-based report cards for our students. Please see the section below about the report cards. Report cards for students in grades 1 - 5 be going home on Friday, December 17th.
Please see our Lost and Found items below.
Stay safe and be well,
Chris Wenz, Principal
Elementary Report Cards
November, 2021
Dear Northampton Public Schools Elementary Caregivers,
Over the past few years, Northampton Public Schools teachers, administrators, specialists, and coaches have been working collaboratively on updating our report cards to reflect the changes to learning standards that periodically occur within the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Curriculum Standards. The current curriculum frameworks can be found here: https://www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html
Our intent with updating the report card has been to create reporting systems for caregivers and their children to assess how students are meeting academic goals/content standards instruction and support students in a timely manner. In the updating of standards, we also focused on adopting a growth mindset towards student development and proficiency.
Please see the letters below for more detailed information.
Leeds Equity & Inclusion Committee - A Subcommittee of our School Council
The next meeting of the Leeds Equity & Inclusion Committee will take place (virtually) this Wednesday, December 8, from 6:30 to 8:00 PM. New folks are always welcome and encouraged to join! Please reach out to leedsequityandinclusioncomm@gmail.com for the meeting link, to join our email listserv, or with your questions/ideas. We plan to meet the second Wednesday of every month throughout the year. E&I participation is always completely flexible–you can choose to commit to as much or as little as you’d like.
This week we’re sharing some info about REAL Talk, a project from REAL (Racial Equity and Learning) that emphasizes experiences, observations, hopes, and ideas of students, caregivers, staff, and teachers on topics of race, racism, and anti-racism in Northampton Public Schools.
REAL Talk launched as a digital exhibit in spring 2021, which has continued into the fall. An interactive in-person exhibit is being planned for the first half of 2022 that will incorporate elements of the digital exhibit and will emphasize allyship–exploring how white community members can act in solidarity with people of color for a school district where everyone thrives. The exhibit will aim to inspire thoughtful, action-oriented conversations and commitments across NPS, with available support from a curriculum guide put together by Northampton’s Collaborative for Educational Services.
Participants will be encouraged to reflect on and respond to prompts like the following, using a variety of media (think words! music! paint!):
What is a suggestion you have that would help create an anti-racist environment in your classroom or school? What could your school administrators, teachers, peers, or you do to move this work forward?
Share something racist that happened and, if you wish the response or outcome had been different, what you wish that response or outcome had looked like.
What is an anti-racist action you’ve seen (or been a part of) at your school?
For now, one impactful way you can support REAL Talk is by responding to one (or more) of the above prompts. The more people who chime in, the more robust this work will be.
Submitting responses is super easy and secure–you can do it right here.
More information, including about the care REAL takes to maintain privacy and confidentiality in story collection and sharing, can be found on the group’s website.
Thanks for reading, and please be in touch with any questions!
Second Step & Bullying Prevention Lessons
Second step program teaches students important skills for getting along with others and doing well in school. It also helps our school be a safe, respectful place where everyone can learn. As a supplement to this curriculum, students in all grades participate in Bully Prevention lessons designed to teach specific skills to help stop bullying. Students learn how to recognize when bullying is happening, report bullying to a caring adult, refuse to let bullying happen to themselves or others and about the role of a bystander who stands up and is part of the solution to bullying. At the conclusion of the lessons, students make anti bullying posters and display them throughout our school. Below are some examples. (Prepared by Ms. Eriksen, Our Tiered Support Specialist)
Leeds Lost and Found
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Caregiver Workshops
Early Bird / Late Bird / LEAP
- Our January Early/Late Bird form is now available. Please sign up by December 17th. If you need assistance, please contact our coordinator, Gabrielle Hollender.
Payments: Pay Online (preferred) or make checks payable to "City of Northampton"
*Note: UniPay seems to have an aversion to Visa cards... so please try another card for payment
Please be sure to choose the dates you need for after school care. We have a limited number of staff and may not always be able to accommodate drop ins.
- Late Bird - 2:10-5:15 (Please send your child with a snack from home.)
Just a reminder that we do not have school on the following dates in January:
- Thursday, January 6th
- Monday, January 17th
- Friday, January 28th
Additionally, we will be having PreK through Grade 5 Caregiver/Teacher conferences on the dates listed below. We will have Early Bird on these dates, but we will not have Late Bird. Teachers will reach out to schedule conferences. Preschool teachers will contact caregivers regarding their schedule.
- Monday, January 24th
- Tuesday, January 25th
- Wednesday, January 26th
- Thursday, January 27th
- Monday, January 31st
LEAP
Be on the look out for the February Early / Late Bird forms and LEAP forms (our enrichment program) will be sent out in early January. If you or you know someone who would like to be a LEAP instructor, please reach out to Gabrielle with more information, (ghollender@northampton-k12.us or 413-587-1530 ext 3659)
Online payments are accepted for Early Bird/Late Bird and the LEAP program.
Online payment instructions: I know some of you had difficulty with our online payment system, so we have created a document with instructions. Here is the link.
BEHAVIOR POLICY: All staff and students will adhere to the Northampton Code of Conduct found at http://www.northamptonschools.org/project/code-of-conduct/
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Calendar of Events
12/7 Covid Testing
12/8 Early Dismissal @11:30 - Teacher Work Day
12/8 Leeds Equity and Inclusion Committee meeting @6:30
12/9 The Magic of Co-Regulation (Caregiver Workshop - register with Laura Frogameni - see above)
12/14 Covid Testing
12/15 Picture Retake Day
12/17 Report Cards and progress reports for grades 1-5 go home
12/21 Leeds School Council meeting @6:15
12/23 - 12/31 Holiday Break
Upcoming Dates
1/3/2022 - School Resumes
1/6 - No School in observance of Three Kings Day
1/17 - No School in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
1/24 - Early Dismissal @11:30 Caregiver / Teacher Conferences No Late Bird
1/25 - Early Dismissal @11:30 Caregiver / Teacher Conferences No Lift Off / No Late Bird
1/26 - Early Dismissal @11:30 Caregiver / Teacher Conferences No Lift Off / No Late Bird
1/27 - Early Dismissal @11:30 Caregiver / Teacher Conferences No Lift Off / No Late Bird
1/28 - No School - Teacher Work Day
1/31 - Early Dismissal @11:30 Caregiver / Teacher Conferences No Late Bird
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Contact us:
(sharondewitt@northampton-k12.us)
Laura Ziomek, Administrative Assistant
Gabrielle Hollender, Early Bird/Late Bird Afterschool Coordinator
(ghollender@northampton-k12.us)
Chris Wenz, Principal
Email: sharondewitt@northampton-k12.us
Website: http://www.northamptonschools.org/project/leeds-elementary-school/
Location: 20 Florence Street, Leeds, MA, USA
Phone: (413) 587-1530