Wood End Wildcat News
September 19, 2021
It's only been 11 school days and our students are really starting to settle into their new routines. Each day they are coming in excited for another day of learning and time with friends. We are really enjoying our time with them!
We have a couple of safety updates for families this week. Several students are wearing mask lanyards around their necks to keep track of masks. Please be sure your child has a break-away lanyard if they are wearing one. This is especially important when playing on the playground so the lanyard will detach if it gets caught rather than cause a choking hazard. We have also had lots of bee stings this week! This is the time of year we find wasps and bees, and they have been particularly noticeable along the woods by the upper playground. We have had this area sprayed, but we are asking staff and families to keep children out of the wooded area to prevent stings.
Monday is picture day! Be sure your child is aware that photos will be taken including an outdoor class photo this year. We look forward to seeing all those smiles!
Enjoy your weekend,
Dr. Joanne King
Picture Day is THIS Monday!
Student Safety Is Our Top Priority
Are You Interested in Working as a Substitute?
Are you looking for a way to support our school? We have a great opportunity. From time to time, teachers attend important trainings during the school day. Usually, we hire substitutes to cover classrooms, but given the current staffing shortage we are having difficulty finding qualified substitutes. We know most parents/guardians are not able to commit to substituting regularly, but we want to offer an option for those who might want to substitute occasionally. Below is some information:
- Pay rate is $75 a day
- Substitutes need to have a CORI and fingerprinting check
- Teachers leave detailed plans for substitutes to follow
- Parents/guardians will not be allowed to substitute in their child's class
If you are interested, please contact Dr. King for more information.
PTO is Looking for Help
Are you someone with tax preparation experience? The PTO is looking to hire someone to provide some guidance and assistance with preparing the tax return for the PTO. If you are a CPA, or have this level of experience and would be willing to help us, please contact our current PTO Treasurer, Kristen Godsoe.
Below is the meeting schedule for the 2021-22 school year. Some of the meetings will be held in person at the school while others will be held virtually via Zoom so we can connect with as many families as possible. Links will be sent to families prior to the meeting times. We encourage everyone to attend!
PTO General Meeting Schedule
- September 29th, 7-8 p.m. via Zoom
- November 10th, 8:30 coffee, 8:45-9:30 meeting in the cafe
- January 12th, 7-8 p.m. via Zoom
- March 16th, 7-8 p.m. via Zoom
- May 4th, 7-8 p.m. via Zoom
- June 8th, 8:30 coffee, 8:45-9:30 meeting in the cafe
PTO Board Members
- Lauren Brandt - VP Events & Fundraising
- Emily McNaughton - VP Room Parent Coordinator
- Dimpee Desai - VP Communications
- Bridget Briere - VP Enrichment
- Amy Croot - Secretary
- Kristen Godsoe - Treasurer
Please feel free to reach out to any board member if you are interested in volunteering, or have any questions! We look forward to a great school year!
Hispanic Heritage Month: September 15-October 15
Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated to honor the independence of several Latin American countries. This celebration runs from September 15th to October 15th. Wood End students can access a digital library created by our library media specialist, Miss Norcross, for Hispanic Heritage Month. In addition, the National Archives Hispanic Heritage website has many resources you can access to learn more as well as take part in various events, performances, literature, and a panel discussion with authors and illustrators who share stories from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. We have lots of resources in our school library as well, so please see Miss Norcross for some book recommendations to share with your students!
COVID Protocols & Procedures
- Testing Consent: As we have emphasized, we will be using COVID-19 testing, particularly the “test and stay” program, to keep our students learning in school. To support us with this, we need families to consent to testing. Here is a link to the consent form. If we do not have family consent for testing, a child who is a close contact will not be eligible to stay in school or extracurricular activities through “test and stay” and instead will need to engage in a traditional quarantine process. While our primary focus is on using the “test and stay” form of testing, the consent form does apply to all three testing types (1. Symptomatic 2. “Test and Stay” 3. Pooled Testing). We will be notifying parents if and when we add pooled testing. Thanks in advance for your testing consent as it is critical in ensuring a safe, in-person, and uninterrupted learning experience for all RPS students.
- COVID-19 Cases: Each Monday afternoon, we will post a dashboard on our website that includes the number of positive cases in each school community from the past week. We will update this dashboard each week in place of sending weekly emails with case data. You can access this dashboard by visiting the “Health Services” link under the “Departments” tab on the Reading Public Schools website. As you will see, it is listed under the “Important Links” option. Here is a direct link to the Health Services page.
Looking for Library Volunteers
As many of you learned at Back to School Night, the library is welcoming back parent and family volunteers. We are very excited and looking forward to having you back in person. Click here to see the slide shared during teacher presentations. Then you can sign up to volunteer by completing this Google Form. Miss Norcross will then reach out to each class to set up a parent volunteer schedule. If you are interested in volunteering, you do need a current CORI completed, so please stop into the office and see Mrs. Finigan if you don’t already have one on file.
Student Google Accounts, K-5
All teachers will be setting up a Google Classroom for this school year, and students will need to be able to access their Google accounts to join their classes. Some of the upper grade teachers have already started to share this information with their classes, while the lower grades will not do so until later this month.
In order for students to be ready, they will all need to know their passwords. Families of students in Grades 1-5, please complete this survey so we can compile a class list of passwords for each teacher and reset any students who may need their password reset. Kindergarten will complete this at a later time. If you have more than one child at Wood End, please complete a different form for each student. If your child is in Mr. Herlihy’s class you do not need to complete the survey, as he has already collected passwords. This will also allow students to be able to access Google Classroom in school if classes decide to do so. If you are a new student to Wood End you should have received an email explaining how to login and set up your password for the first time. If you did not receive this information, or you have any questions, please contact Miss Norcross
Student Literacy Assessments
Each fall, as part of our instructional and assessment routines, we administer literacy screenings to students in kindergarten to grade 5. We use the information from these assessments to ensure we're matching our instruction to every student's unique needs. This year we are excited to add a new assessment tool to our routine - Acadience Reading. Over the next several weeks we will be administering Acadience Reading to all students in grades 1, 2, and 3. Acadience Reading assesses foundational literacy skills and takes approximately six minutes per student. While this is not a 'test for dyslexia', it does provide information that helps us identify students who may be at risk for reading difficulties. Acadience Reading is recommended by the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and meets their guidelines for Universal Screening.
Should you have questions about the assessment please contact Dr. Sarah Hardy, Assistant Superintendent for Learning and Teaching or Allison Straker, Humanities Coordinator.
Please Update Your Information
The 2021-22 Forms are now available in the portal for parents to view and update pupil and contact information. Here is a link for parent/guardian directions: How To Access and Fill out Portal Forms
Pupil Information Form -sent to the primary contact only to update any student information, including medical information, student permissions - including photos, Acceptable Use Policy, emergency childcare, and Connect Ed emergency notification information.
Contact Update Form – each contact associated with a student will see this form. It includes name, address, home/mobile/office phone, primary and alternate email address. Contacts are instructed to call the office with any changes to primary email addresses because this will affect portal login. Primary emails are not able to be changed this on the form, it is read only. Each contact will need to log into the portal to see this form.
Reminders:
Primary Contact will see both forms in the portal to update pupil information and update their own contact information.
All other contacts will only see the Contact Update form to update their own contact information.
Please contact Mrs. Finigan in the Main Office with any questions.
Job Opportunities at RPS - We're Hiring!
Crossing Guards Needed!
About These Services...
The Town of Reading contracts with William James College to offer a special service for our residents. The William James INTERFACE Referral Service maintains a mental health and wellness referral help line Monday through Friday, 9 am-5 pm, at 888-244-6843 (toll free). This is a free, confidential referral service for individuals across the lifespan living in Reading. Callers are matched with licensed mental health providers from our extensive database. Each referral meets the location, insurance, and specialty needs of the caller. Click here to learn more!
Upcoming Events:
20: Picture Day
28: RISE @ Wood End Open House, 6-7 PM, Virtual via ZOOM
About Us
Email: joanne.king@reading.k12.ma.us
Website: http://www.reading.k12.ma.us/woodend/
Location: 85 Sunset Rock Lane, Reading, MA, United States
Phone: 781-942-5420
Twitter: @WoodEndSch