Fitzy's Flyer
October 20, 2023
Principal Update
Greetings FitzGerald Families!
Thank you for your support of Walking Wednesdays this month! This week, there were four classes with 100% participation who won the Golden Shoe: Mrs. Zises, Mrs. Frost, Ms. Sherman and Ms. Venuto! We have one more Walking Wednesday coming up next week. Please make sure to fill out a ticket if you'd like for your child to participate.
Trunk or Treat- THANK YOU!- Thank you to the PTO organizers, volunteers, and those that donated, to help make the Trunk or Treat event last Friday evening a wonderful experience! It was a fantastic time!
Coming Up Next Week:
- Scholastic Book Fair: All Week (see section below with more information)
- Wednesday October 25th- Walking Wednesday and Early Release Dismissal at 1:00pm (lunch will be served)
Please check out the updates from Ms. Bernard, FitzGerald School Adjustment Counselor, and Ms. Kelly, FitzGerald Drama Teacher, in the update sections below.
We look forward to seeing everyone again on Monday!
Have a great weekend!
Mrs. Santillo, Principal- jennifersantillo@walthampublicschools.org
Mrs. Lamoly, Assistant Principal- julielamoly@walthampublicschools.org
Lunch Monitor Position Available at FitzGerald!
We are looking for a part time Lunch/Recess Monitor for the lunch and recess periods at FitzGerald!
The daily shift is from 11:00am-1:45pm. The opening is for 5 days a week, but we can discuss availability during the interview process. If you are interested in learning more about this opening, please contact Mrs. Lamoly at julielamoly@walthampublicschools.org or 781-314-5681.
Coffee and Conversation with Mrs. Santillo and Mrs. Lamoly
Mrs. Santillo and Mrs. Lamoly will be hosting a Coffee Talk for parents/guardians in the FitzGerald cafeteria from 8:45-9:15am on Friday November 3rd.
Spanish and Portuguese translation will be available!
Come with questions, or just come enjoy a cup of coffee and/or a breakfast pastry on us! We would love to see you!
School Adjustment Counseling Update
Greetings FitzGerald Families!
We hope you are enjoying the crisp fall weather we have been having!
I write to share some of the amazing things we have been doing here at school during our Community Circle and Leader In Me time throughout the month. Additionally, we are also excited to share a new Leadership Award that our Fifth graders will have the opportunity to earn monthly.
During the month of October we have been focusing on our Core Value of Respect which means being polite and courteous to others at all times. We have also been discussing one of the Habits of Leaders by seeking to understand others while showing respect before sharing our own point or side. Students have been hearing this definition daily in addition to examples from classrooms highlighting how they seek to understand others in various ways. Students have been engaged in robust conversations about ways to demonstrate respect and focus on listening to others to understand how they may be feeling. Students also have been working hard at supporting each other while working cooperatively to ensure a positive learning environment and school experience for all.
Lastly, we have begun to highlight Fifth Grade Student Leaders by selecting students from each homeroom who have earned a “Leadership Award”. These students were celebrated during lunch today where they also showed our second graders what excellent leaders and role models they are! They will also have a certificate with their picture displayed on a bulletin board in the lobby area. Congratulations to our October students, you have done an outstanding job showing off your Panther Pride by demonstrating so many leadership qualities this month!
Stay tuned for an update later this month about our Fourth Grade Council and Panther Partners which will begin soon!
As always, we appreciate the home-school partnership and collaboration with your family! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to the SAC office if you have any questions or would like additional resources. I can be reached at jessebernard@walthampublicschools.org or 781-314-5689
In health,
Ms. Bernard
SPECIALIST CLASS FEATURED THIS WEEK: Drama!
Hello Fitzy Family!
It was amazing to meet so many of you on Back to School night and have you visit our Drama classroom! Hopefully you got a sense of the joy your children bring to our learning space each week!
We are already working on our first performances at each grade level. Starting in Kindergarten, we develop skills that we build upon each year to expand our performance and COMMUNICATION skills!
As of this week, Kindergarteners have acted out their first play in class - THE LITTLE OLD LADY WHO WAS NOT AFRAID OF ANYTHING by Linda Williams and first graders have revisited the story as narrators! Hopefully you have seen the scripts come home in their folders.
Second graders are exploring settings and are re-telling Eric Carle’s A HOUSE FOR HERMIT CRAB with their own scripts, while third graders are working as teams to write and perform sequels to a story about a mysterious creature called THE OOBLIGOODLE.
Fourth graders have completed their unit learning the parts of the stage and have written and performed stage directions of their own. There are many emerging directors in the bunch!
Fifth graders are rehearsing their first monologues in class, scripts taken directly from their ELA curriculum and based on characters from ESPERANZA RISING by Pam Munoz Ryan. Using this dramatic text, we are beginning to explore the skills needed to act in front of a camera, skills we will be developing during the year so that we will be ready to create our annual 5th grade movie!
As always, I welcome you to reach out at any time. I can be reached at KateKelly@WalthamPublicSchools.org
My best,
Kate Kelly
Drama Specialist
The Scholastic Book Fair is Coming- October 23rd-27th!
Hi Fitzy families,
I am happy to announce the return of the annual FitzGerald Book Fair.
When: October 23- 27.
Parents are invited to shop with their children at the Book Fair after school on Thursday, October 26th, 3:00-4:00pm
Where: The FitzGerald Library
What: The book fair is a week-long event that gets kids excited about reading and helps support our school library.
During your child’s scheduled Book Fair time, they will browse the Fair and choose books for their at-home library. In addition, there will also be novelty items available for purchase, such as pencils, journals, and posters. The average cost of a book is between $7 and $15. Novelty items are under $5, and posters are less than $6.
If you are interested in volunteering during the book fair, click here.
How to Prepare:
The easiest payment option for students is to use Scholastic’s online payment system called eWallet. It is simple to use, can be done in advance, and there is no need to print anything on your end. If you decide not to use eWallet, please send your child to school with a check or cash on the day that they visit the Fair.
We are aware that not every family wants to or can make purchases during the fair, but every student will receive a new book.
If you would like to contribute to the fund that helps purchase books for students in need, please click here or email Mrs. McKeever at elizabethmckeever@walthampublicschools.org
For more information: https://bit.ly/Fitzgeraldbookfair
Fall Reading Challenge!
Fall Reading Challenge
To inspire your students to read widely and often, we are excited to announce our school-wide reading challenge, which will continue throughout the season.
K-2 Fall Reading Challenge(English)
K-2 Fall Reading Challenge(Spanish)
WPS Attendance Policy Information- From 2023-2024 Handbook (One More Week)
With so much information included in the handbook, we want to highlight one additional policy, which is the attendance policy. More information on this policy can be found on pages 33 and 34.
ATTENDANCE POLICY INFORMATION (pgs 33 and 34 in the handbook):
ATTENDANCE
"The Waltham School Committee believes that school attendance greatly influences student
success in school. The importance of punctuality is also essential to a child’s development of
responsibility. We ask that parents/guardians help instill this value in their child by helping him/her to be punctual for school. The School Committee strongly urges parents/guardians of students not to schedule vacations or family business during periods of time when students are in school. Long-term absences are disruptive to the teaching/learning process. It is now essential that no student miss school when it can be avoided. It is the responsibility of both parents/guardians and school personnel to communicate with each other about a child’s absence from school."
Some other items to keep in mind:
- Parents/guardians will be notified if a student has missed 5 or more school days
unexcused in a school year.
- Parents will be asked to develop an action plan for student’s attendance with the
Principal or Assistant Principal
Excused absences include:
o Student illness with a doctor’s note
o Student medical appointment with a doctor’s note
o Observance of Religious holiday
o Student attends a funeral
o Authorized school field trip
o Student is required to appear in court
While some absences are considered excused, it is important to know about the Chronic Absenteeism regulation in the state of Massachusetts:
"Massachusetts defines Chronically Absent as missing at least 10% of days enrolled (e.g., 18 days absent if enrolled for 180) regardless of whether the absences are considered excused, unexcused and/or for disciplinary reasons. Being chronically absent can have a significant impact on a student's ability to read at grade level, perform academically, and graduate on time."
It is important for students to not be identified as Chronically Absent for a variety of reasons, with the most important being the significant impact that missing that much time away from school can have on student learning.
Mrs. Santillo and Mrs. Lamoly will be monitoring attendance patterns and contacting families each term whose child's absenteeism rate may be indicating a possible path towards being identified as "chronically absent." We will be asking to meet to work together on ways in which we can collaborate to ensure we create a successful plan for the school year. Letters will be sent home each term to any families whose child's absences exceed 5 for the term, to help parents monitor the number of absences their child has and consider ways to help avoid reaching the point of Chronic Absenteeism for this school year.
Additionally, please also see the policy on vacations and work for completion:
"Teachers at all grade levels are not responsible for preparing long-term work or assignments prior to students leaving for a vacation trip. If a family vacation or family business causes a student to miss school, teachers are also under no obligation upon the student’s return to prepare or assess missed work. In such cases of avoidable absences from school, students are not relieved of their responsibility to keep up with the material covered while they were missing school. The loss of real- time instruction with teacher and classmates cannot be replicated and may impair the absent student’s academic progress. Therefore, parents/guardians and students should make every effort to prevent any and all intentional absences from school."
We look forward to working collaboratively this year to support any questions or concerns regarding a child's attendance this school year. Please feel free to reach out to Mrs. Santillo or Mrs. Lamoly with any questions that you may have.
PTO News
Dear Families,
THANK YOU all for joining us at our 2023 Trunk or Treat! We had 15 trunks bring their spookiest, interactive fun yet! Congratulations to all of our Raffle, Costume and Trunk prize winners and an immense Thank You to all of our volunteers, donors and local restaurants for their time and donations for our event!
Ghosts have been seen BOOING! around the neighborhood! Don’t worry, they are friendly, but should only be handled by our highly skilled removal technicians. (Last Boo date: 10/30)
Check out more details on our events page here!
SOCCER SHACK: Join us on Saturday, October 21, 2023, where the Fitzgerald PTO will be selling concessions at the Soccer Shack located at Veteran’s Memorial park from 9am- 4pm. The PTO is in search of small snack donations as well as volunteers to help throughout the day!
FALL NEWSLETTER: Click HERE to read our September/October highlights!
ENRICHMENT: The Enrichment Committee has been working hard to bring some exciting content for our students this year! This week, they coordinated with the National Theatre to bring Grades K-5 for a performance of Energy Academy: The Power Squad. Ask your child(ren) about it!
PUMPKIN DROP! In a few weeks, all FitzGerald classes will take part in the annual “Pumpkin Drop!” As part of this project, students will work together to build contraptions designed to protect their pumpkin as it plunges from extreme heights! Please save any recyclables that might help protect your pumpkin. Items should be brought into school Monday October 30-November 1st.
BLOOD DRIVE: The FitzGerald PTO is sponsoring a Blood Drive on Wednesday November 15th in Memory of Kim Strafford and Tina Pulselli, Two amazing women from the FitzGerald Community who passed away in 2023. More information and registration details to follow.
These amazing events and more would not be possible without the assistance of volunteers! Please consider signing up for one of our many subcommittees below:
⬝ Enrichment ⬝ Fitzy Wear ⬝ Holiday Shopping ⬝ Valentines Day Party ⬝ Field Day ⬝ Fun Run ⬝ Garden ⬝
Send us an email @ FitzgeraldPTO@gmail.com to obtain more information!
*ONGOING AND UPCOMING FUNDRAISERS/EVENTS*
Catalog Sale: Holiday Catalogs are back! The Catalog Sale will be from 10/23-11/6 so that all orders will arrive before the Holidays!
Pizzi Pies: Let us take the baking off your hands this holiday season. More info next week!
Upcoming 5th Grade Fundraising events:
5th Grade Bake Sale: The 5th grade will be hosting a Bake Sale on Election Day, 11/7/23. Sign up form for donations of baked goods will come out soon! Donations can be dropped off at FitzGerald on Monday and Tuesday Morning (11/6-11/7).
We look forward to meeting you and working alongside you to make this the best school year yet!
FitzGerald School PTO
Ongoing FUNDRAISING through BOX TOPS, RAISE RIGHT, MABELS LABELS, FITZY WEAR – Order online 24/7. Delivery takes 10 - 15 business days from date of purchase.
Stay in touch! PTO website – Facebook – Instagram
School Lunch Information
LUNCH CHANGES FOR NEXT WEEK:
10/24- Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese
10/26- Chicken Nachos
*Breakfast and Lunch are available for free again for all students this school year!
** All students should bring one snack and a water bottle to school each day.
Healthy Waltham Food Pantry Dates- October
"Fitzy Fridays" at FitzGerald!
Every Friday is "Fitzy Friday" at FitzGerald! Everyone is invited to wear Fitzy Spirit Wear or the colors blue and/or yellow to school, if they would like to!
2023-2024 District Calendars
Upcoming Dates
10/25- Walking Wednesday
10/25- Early Release Day, 1:00pm Dismissal, Lunch Served
11/7- No School
11/8- Schedule Change, Friday Schedule
11/10- No School
11/15- Early Release Day, 1:00pm Dismissal, Lunch Served
11/22- VERY Early Release Day, 11:45am Dismissal, Lunch Served
11/23-11/24- No School, Thanksgiving Recess
12/6- Early Release Day, 1:00pm Dismissal, Lunch Served
12/25-1/1- No School, December Vacation
1/2- School Resumes
1/4- Schedule Change- Monday Schedule
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Sign Up Information for the Waltham Public Schools App
2023-2024 WPS Elementary Student Handbooks
Please see below for electronic copies of the student handbooks for this school year. We appreciate your support in reviewing the handbook contents at home with your child.
Weekly Notices
James FitzGerald Elementary School
Email: jennifersantillo@walthampublicschools.org
Website: https://www.walthampublicschools.org/fitzgerald/
Location: 138 Beal Road, Waltham, MA, USA
Phone: 781-314-5680