Fisher Family Update
September 16, 2022
Dear Fisher Families,
It was a great (5 day) week at Fisher School! While visiting classrooms this week I observed teachers engaging students in collaborative learning activities and students taking responsibility for class expectations and giving their best effort. There continues to be a very positive feeling throughout the school. The teachers, staff and I will do our best to make sure this continues. As a way to celebrate the students hard work and remind them of our school's core values, we had our first assemblies of the year on Thursday. These assemblies reinforced conversations that have taken place in the classroom about our SWIM expectations. We ask our students, everyday, to Show respect, Work collaboratively, show Integrity and Make good decisions. We also listened to the song "Home" by Phillip Phillips as a way to let the students know that Fisher School is their home away from home and we are a family that needs to respect each other and work together to be successful. Click HERE to view the slideshow that guided our discussion. To end each assembly, the one and only Mr. Holmes led our students in our school song. You can see the lyrics HERE. We are off to a great start and it is going to be a great school year!
Enjoy the weekend
Brian
***Early Release Day Friday September 23rd***
Upcoming Dates and Events
September
23 Early Release - Dismissal at 12:25
October
4 Lifetouch Picture Day
6 Fisher School Open House 6-7:30pm
November
16 Lifetouch Picture Make Up/Retake Day
2022-2023 Walpole Public Schools Calendar
Fisher School Hours
The four elementary schools rotate start and end times every three years. The 2022-2023 School Year represents year one of the next rotation. For the next 3 years, Boyden and Fisher School will start at 8:55 a.m. and end at 3:25 p.m.
Doors open at 8:45am and the doors will be locked at 8:53. If your child arrives after 8:53 they will be marked as tardy. Instruction/learning begins promptly at 8:55am
SWIM Assembly
NOTES FROM THE FRONT OFFICE - ABSENT/TARDY/DISMISSAL PROCEDURES
We are excited to have our students back at Fisher School! Please see below some guidelines for attendance. Any questions can be emailed to fisher-secretaries@walpole.k12.ma.us
If your student will be absent or tardy for any reason, call 508 660 7234 and press 1 and leave a message as to the reason before school begins at 8:55 am. Our automated absence calls go out at 9:30. If we do not have a reason noted for the absence you will receive an automated phone call and email. This is for your student’s safety, to ensure that all are accounted for.
The front doors will be closed at 8:53 as students are expected to be sitting in their seats at 8:55. If your student is arriving tardy, please ring the front doorbell and you will enter the building to sign your student in. A student must be accompanied by a parent/guardian when arriving. There is a sign in sheet with a column to indicate the reason for the tardy arrival.
Please note: We mark all students having school lunch in Aspen with a “L”. This does not mean the student was marked Late. We use T for tardy.
If you are dismissing your student early or changing the way they go home, send a written note on the day of dismissal that includes your student’s first and last name. The teacher will note the dismissal and plan accordingly, and the note goes to the office so we can enter it into our Aspen system. An email sent during the day may be missed by your student’s teacher.
Please avoid calling with an early dismissal change or a change in the way your student goes home. When this happens we need to call the classroom to let the teacher know and this disrupts learning time.
We cannot change the way a student goes home based on them telling the office or their teacher. We need to hear from a parent/guardian via note or phone call to make that change. If they are scheduled for Extended Day and we do not hear otherwise, we will send them to Extended Day.
ART NEWS
Fisher School Council
Arrival/Dismissal Procedures
Walker Dismissal Procedures
If your student is a "walker" at dismissal time.....
- Please do not park in the Fisher parking lot - You could park on Cobb terrace and walk down but the parking lot is not a safe option at dismissal time
- You may walk down to door 18 (by the Fisher Garden) to pick up your student
Fifth Grade - Collaborative Problem Solving
Free Meals for Students 2022-2023
We are pleased to share that Massachusetts will continue to fund free school meals for all students, regardless of household income, under a one-year expansion of a free federal school lunch program. The state’s budgetary commitment will ensure 400,000 students statewide, who would not otherwise qualify for free school meals, continue to have access to free school lunch and breakfast for the next year.
What does this mean?
All Walpole Public School children will receive free school meals while at school.
Important: We still encourage all families to submit a school meal application if they believe they are income eligible to receive free meals. While your child will receive a free meal regardless of their free or reduced-price meal status, the meal application can qualify your family for additional benefits beyond free school meals.
You can access our on-line meal benefit application here: https://www.myschoolapps.com/Application
This on-line application is available in multiple languages via a drop-down menu "Language" on the toolbar.
Online Safety Resource for Families
We are excited to announce that we have partnered up with Linewize by Family Zone, a leading education technology company, to provide our school communities with the highest quality of online safety and digital wellness education. Linewize's global team of experts work together to empower families to navigate the online world with greater ease and confidence. This partnership provides our district with tools, resources, and expert advice on all the latest online safety issues you and your family may be encountering. As members of our school community, you have direct access to our custom-designed Online Safety Hub, where you can access a wide array of research-backed tools and educational materials that will help you implement online safety measures at home.
CLICK HERE to check out the Online Safety Hub
Health Office Updates
Welcome Back! I hope you all had a healthy, safe and relaxing summer. If you have not already, please remember to turn in your child's Epi Pen/inhaler along with a medication order or Anaphylaxis/Asthma Allergy Care Plan for the 22-23 school year.
- Here is a link to the WPS Health Services website. On this site you can find links to forms (ie medication administration, over the counter medication consent forms), medication policies, and information regarding illnesses, concussions and injuries.
- Please pack a reusable water bottle for your student. They will have opportunities to refill at our filtered water fountain. The health office will gladly accept donations of water (i.e. case of disposable water bottles) or reusable water bottles for those students who do not have one in school. Thank you!
- Please pack an extra outfit in your child’s backpack in case of emergencies, (especially for the younger grades as we are getting used to the new schedules. Remember to send a sweatshirt/long sleeve shirt for cooler days. Please be mindful of your child wearing appropriate shoes to minimize injuries at recess and PE.
- The Health Office will gladly accept donations of new or gently used clothes of all sizes and gender. We are in need of kids shorts and pants presently. We really appreciate it!
As always, please feel free to send me an email with any questions or concerns regarding your child.
Please see the COVID update at the bottom of this page for guidelines on quarantine and mask updates from the school nurse leader, Linda Anderson.
GARDEN FUN
Fall COVID Update
PAC Friendship Directory
Attention Fisher Parents and Guardians,
The Fisher School PAC is happy to announce that the Friendship Directory is back for the
2022-2023 school year!
We invite you to visit https://fisherpac.membershiptoolkit.com to access the online
directory. Please create or re-activate your account and pay the $5.00 membership fee to
access the directory.
Here's what you need to do:
1. Go to https://fisherpac.membershiptoolkit.com or
scan the qr code. →
2. Click on the Register/Login button:
- Returning users, use your existing user name and
password
- New users, create a new account and fill out your
name, email, and password information
- You will be prompted to verify your email. The link sent to your email will
expire within 2 hours. Please check your spam or junk folder if you do not
see the email right away.
3. Registration process:
- Complete the Parent/Family and Student Information.
- Complete the Directory/Publish Preferences
- Click on the Friendship Directory Access and follow instructions to
complete payment (payment can be made by credit card or PayPal
account)
Once the primary account is set up, the primary user can "invite" other email addresses to
access their family record. This allows the secondary user to have their own login
information and still have access to their family account.
Not only does this help you to connect to your child’s classmates, it also raises money for
them! If you have any questions, please reach out to fisherschoolpac@gmail.com
Thank you!
Private Lessons through the WPS Music Department
The Walpole Public Schools Music Department is pleased to announce the fall session for our Private Lesson Program for students in grades 4 - 12. If your child is interested in taking private instrument or voice lessons, here is your chance. Lessons are offered in flute, oboe, clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, baritone horn, tuba, piano, percussion, violin, viola, cello, guitar and voice. All lessons are taught by accomplished performers on their respective instruments. Most lessons are currently being taught virtually.
Session 1 will run September 26 to January 27. Registration is open until Monday, September 19th.
For more information, visit:
https://sites.google.com/walpole.k12.ma.us/wpsmusic/private-lesson-program/overview
To register, visit:
https://www.familyid.com/walpole-public-schools/private-music-lessons-2022-2023-session-i
For questions, email:
Tim Fleming (K-12 Music Coordinator) at tfleming@walpole.k12.ma.us
BE INCLUSIVE
Fisher Open House
Schedule:
6:00-6:30 Families with Last Name Beginning with A-L*
6:45-7:15 Families with Last Name Beginning with M-Z*
*If you have more than one child, email the teacher for an exception to the assigned times.