Dear Families,
I can’t believe summer is almost ending and the new school
year is beginning. I have heard from so many students via postcards. Although I
did not travel this summer, I feel like I did when viewing and reading all
those post cards from Greece to Disney! Please feel free to check out the Post
Card to the Principal bulletin board when you visit the Shawsheen this year.
We have so many wonderful things to look forward to this
upcoming school year including some new staff members, the introduction of
reader’s workshop in grades one and three and Fundations program in grade 2. Our
theme this year will continue on with growth mindset vs. fixed mindset meaning
that we can do it or we can’t do it,
yet! To help with this message is the book Giraffes Can’t Dance by Andrea and Guy Parker Reese. Each year a
book is selected and the message within that book is celebrated throughout the
school year. Along with the ongoing theme of growth mindset we will be
establishing and continuing on with school wide norms and expectations. We have
a team of teachers and staff that will help to work on establishing and
finalizing these along with assistance from our students of course. More
information on this will be filtered out as we proceed through the Principals
Blog and or other forms of communication. In addition, we will continue on with
the Collaborative Problem Solving Approach when working with students on any
unsolved problems. Some staff were very fortunate last year to be trained by a
co-worker of Ross Greene who wrote Lost at School and The Explosive Child. This
year we are going to continue with this approach to problem solving and teach
more staff about this. For more information on the CPS or PBIS, please see the
blog http://shawsheenschool.blogspot.com/.
You can also follow the school on Twitter @shawsheenschool.
I am thrilled to add to our staff a new adjustment
counselor, a behavior interventionist, a long-term reading teacher, part time
general tutor and a new nurse to the Shawsheen School. Please see the attached
staffing updates for more information on them.
As part of our tradition in the elementary schools we
welcome students and families to visit the school the evening before to view
their classroom. We find that this helps to alleviate stress or anxiety of
where their desk is or how to get to their classrooms. This will take place on
August 29th from 5:00-6:00. Teachers are not required to be here,
but you will have an opportunity to meet them during Open House scheduled for
September 15th. More information will be sent out once the date gets
closer. We hope to see families on
August 29th.
Please note that bus routes are normally posted one week
before school begins on the district website. Also, if your child is going home
by a different means of transportation for the first day we will need a note.
As always we look forward to a fantastic year and to see all
the students entering into their new grade. If anyone needs any assistance
prior to school beginning or during the year please feel free to contact the
school or myself.
Enjoy the rest of your summer,
Mrs. King
