Read A Thon and weekly news 1/27/21

 Good Afternoon,

We have some exciting things happening starting next week. On Monday and Tuesday depending on your cohort days students will be receiving a brand new book and information about the read a thon sponsored by our PAC in collaboration with the school. It is a way to celebrate Read Across America Month starting on Feb 2nd and through March 2nd. ALL students can participate regardless if they raise funds for the PAC. We have information below on how students log minutes in at the end of each week. It will be on their Google classroom and I will be checking it weekly. For every 100 minutes students will earn a small prize, name on the t.v screen in the lobby and some fun shout outs! Just a reminder that our REMOTE learners can pick up there books today between 12:30 and 1:30 outside of B-Level door. The flyer goes over how to share out information to raise funds for the PAC. Families and friends can sponsor the PAC through their PayPal account which is listed. We have a suggestion on how you can write the email to friends and family or share the information. We are excited about this fundraiser as the PAC has had to take a cut this year due to not being able to run their biggest fundraisers last spring and likely this year as well. On Wednesday we will be having our All School Meeting where it will all be explained to the students. We are also going offer to have students do a flip grid where they talk about their favorite books and I will make a video at the end of the month to celebrate. If you have any questions about PayPal or the fund raising portion of the read a thon please contact the PAC. If you have any questions about other portions feel free to contact me for support. We hope that all students enjoy their new book as a kick off to the event and feel motivated to read maybe a little bit more and explore new books! Any type of reading counts. Reading to your child counts, listening to ebooks or whatever works at home.

Here is the flyer so you can copy and paste into emails if you wish. It is also listed below for easy cut and paste method. A hard copy will also be sent home. Feel free to start the process of sending out emails for the fundraisers portion. You do not need to wait until Feb 2nd.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1gYIHkKPVE_xwy3JpBJ3CxwVrmGmqR5-b3ykzvdSKZA4/edit

Just a few other reminders: 

* 1/2 day today so no asynchronous work

* Please remember to follow the car rider procedures daily. You MUST stay in your car and follow the line of cars. It is unsafe for families to get out of the car and the teachers are monitoring cars and students so it is difficult for them to pull a student and speak with parents. If you ever have an emergency situation you should call the office and will find a way to assist you. Thank you for helping with this. It has been going very well and our timing is still earlier than our regular dismissal time. 

Thank you all for all you do and have a great rest of the week.

Mrs. King

3 EASY STEPS

1.  STUDENTS: LOG INTO YOUR GOOGLE CLASSROOM AND
             LOG YOUR READING MINUTES BY FRIDAY OF EACH WEEK

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScm_I7nbbWVcNRaCqGNhe48AOLxKvC2SDFI6v4D9ZiOuO2Sag/viewform

2.  FAMILIES: SEND OUT EMAILS TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS
            TO DONATE USING THE PAC’S WEBSITE BELOW

(Please see reverse side for an email script to send out)     
https://shawsheen-west-pac.square.site/

3. HOW IT WORKS: STUDENTS READ & EARN REWARDS
            All students will get a free book from the PAC to kickoff the  
            Read-A-Thon 

• For every 100 minutes read, students will earn a reward

• Shout outs will be given for most minutes read in grade
  level totals, classroom totals & individuals!

Sample email to send out to family and friends:

Dear Family & Friends,

_________will be participating in his/her school's Read-A-Thon beginning Feb.2 through March 2. He/She is collecting donations to kickoff the month of reading. Would you like to sponsor ________ in reaching his goal of reading __________minutes a week? All the money raised will go to Shawsheen/West PAC to cover the cost of this year’s enrichment assemblies and much more. Donations can be made using the PAC’s square website https://shawsheen-west-pac.square.site/ but please be sure to put _________name in the comment field when checking out. Help us reach our goal of $8,000 with a $20 dollar donation. Any denomination is appreciated. Thank you for your support!

weekly news-shawsheen 1/22/21

 

Good Morning Families,

Another week down! Thank you to all our families for your continued support and communication. A lot of information has been going out about the adaptation of some learning times. Please refer to the email sent out by Christine Elliot on specifics or you can review the school committee meeting from Weds. 

Here are the highlights:

* Only effects Cohorts A and B

* On the days your student is at home they will now log into their classroom for a morning check in for 30 minutes and for reader’s workshop time for 45 minutes.

* Teachers will be sending out the exact log in times for this to occur and the links. 

We are excited to be able to add these extra check in times even virtually a few days a week. Please be patient with staff as we navigate through this first week.

Also a quick reminder that on Weds, January 27th is an early release day so there will be no asynchronous work in the afternoon. 

Thank you all and have a great weekend,

Mrs. King

Weekly Updates - Shawsheen 1/15/21

 Good Afternoon,

Thank you so much for all that you do to keep our students going each and everyday. I know these last few weeks have been challenging, but the students are coming in happy and engaged and ready to work.

Just a few reminders that there is no school on Monday, January 18th in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. day. Also on January 27th the students have an early release day due to staff curriculum day. Coming up in February we have report cards going out on  February 10th virtually and an email will be forwarded when those are ready and how to access them.  On February 2nd grades will close. Also on February 10th is parent/teacher conferences virtually and an early release day for students with no aychnernous in the afternoon. Please note that due to covid restrictions this year the district will not be allowing Valentines to come into school. Teachers are all planning on still making the day special with crafts and activities. Thank you for understanding. 

In case you missed it here is a nice article from the Wilmington Apple on the Shawsheen being awarded the Safe and Supportive School Grant.

Article

Also, here is a copy of our dates outlined!

Have a great week,

Mrs. King

Weekly News and Updates Shawsheen Elementary School 1/7/21

 Good Morning Families,

Thank you all for returning from vacation with your positive spirit even with all that is going on. You have all been helping in supporting students in so many ways. It has not gone unnoticed. SO, thank you.

We have some great things happening at the Shawsheen. The PAC has booked Rob Surette and he is going to do a virtual presentation on Feb 10th at 10:00 a.m. All staff and students should log onto this. It will be great! Here is a link to some of his performances. 

Rob Surette

In addition to the PAC supporting this enrichment program they are going to help to support read across america month starting on Feb 2-March 2nd. We have signed up for an online program where all students can log in their reading minutes and can earn small rewards as they go. In addition, it acts as a fundraiser as well if families or friends can sponsor students the school can earn funds. Since we were not able to do the birthday book club this year we will be purchasing one book per student to kick off the Read Across America month. I hope everyone participates. This is a fun way to encourage reading, give shout outs, and raise some funds for more enrichment programs for the students. As families may be aware the PAC is struggling this year because they have had to cancel so many typical fundraisers so we have had to cut back. 

Also, Mrs. Patterson will be sending out information soon about a grade 3 book club that she will allow students to sign up for virtually. More information on that to come.

Relationship mapping has been a success. We do this each year where we take a look at all students from a social/emotional perspective. It could be students who are shy, new move ins, or would benefit from a connection with a mentor/adult. Shawsheen Elementary school received a grant for this program to continue this year due to the success from last year. If your child is selected if will be virtually and it is about 20 minutes per week with the same mentor. We usually do 6-8 weeks and then rotate students.  There will be a very simple survey that your child will fill out at the end about their experience. We can' t select everyone in the first round, but we are going to be starting this in a few weeks. I will be sending out schedules for our mentor volunteers and families will receive a letter if selected. This is an amazing thing for both students and staff.

Update on safe and supportive school grant. We are in the process of providing Professional development for the staff on responsive classroom and morning meeting. We are also looking to bring in PD for families and students on equity and diversity. In addition, we will be forming a small group at the school of staff and possibly a parent for an equity and diversity group. We are also continuing with our consultants for PBIS through this recent grant. More to come on this! If parents have any PD that you would recommend on this topic or have heard about please feel free to email me.

Please continue to keep the school informed if your child is a close contact or needs to be in quarantine. The school nurse Katherine.peters@wpsk12.com should be cc: on any email. You are also welcome to email Doreen.crowe@wpsk12.com if you have any questions. 

Just a reminder that Report Cards go out on Feb 10th and that is when we have an early release for parent/teacher conferences. 

Lastly, I know that you have received several emails about how to help your child process events that have occured. Please note that if you do need anything do not hesitate to reach out.

Thank you for all you do working with the school, staff and our students. It is so appreciated.

Mrs. King

12/18/20

Good Morning Families,

We have some great news to announce. The Shawsheen Elementary School has been the recipient of the safe and supportive school grant. This is a 10,000 dollar grant that we will utilize for PD opportunities on Equity and diversity, Responsive classroom, PBIS initiatives, and much more. We will keep families up to date on our action plan and status as we go along. This is a very exciting opportunity for the school and the district to be part of. I would like to thank all the staff who helped out to write this grant: Mrs. Gibbs, Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Patterson, Ms. Mcdougal, Mrs. Gallo-Dunn, and Lauren Cameron.

Thank you to families for continuing to keep the school nurse, district and teacher informed of any change in status with your students health. We understand it can be stressful but we are here to help in guide you in anyway. Reminder that if you have any questions it is much better to ask than not. We will also get back to you and in a timely manner. If it is on a weekend or evening, please feel free to email myself at lisa.king@wpsk12.com and/or doreen.crowe@wpsk12.com. Also, below is the link on the website that has helpful information. Covid Resources

As stated in Dr. Brands email earlier this a.m we will be remote tomorrow through weds. On Monday and Tuesday students can still wear their holiday best. This could be funny socks, sweater, really anything to show spirit. On Wednesday, we will keep with our tradition with Pajama day.

Lastly, please enjoy this special video for December displaying student work. Wishing everyone a safe and wonderful New Year. 

December Student Work Video!

Mrs. King

weekly news 12/4/20 Shawsheen

 Dear Families,

Thank you all for your support over this week & the week before. The students have transitioned back to school again after the short break seamlessly including our remote learners. We had our All School Meeting on Wednesday virtually & I have added the link below if you wish to watch it. Our PBIS team has been continuing to meet & temporarily instead of handing out PAWS for respect, resilience & responsibility we are trying a new approach with certificates within each classroom for students at the end of the week. We also keep data on this information so if students are not displaying the 3 R’s we can see what we can do to help support them. Classrooms are also still earning Golden Awards from specialists weekly for showing the 3 R’s in specialist class. They get acknowledged on a bulletin board in the lobby & have the golden award in their classroom for the week. We also send out a video to the school to watch. Our remote learners are also included in all of this. We will continue to work with students on the PBIS lessons. Along with PBIS initiatives we are going to do relationship mapping in a few weeks. We do this every year where every staff member reviews the names of all students & follows a protocol to help identify if students are not making connections with staff in the building. We then take that data & try to do interventions with a percentage of students including matching them up with a mentor staff. More information to come on mentor matching after the 1st of the year. All School Meeting Link

Some families have inquired about picture day. The district is not allowing anyone from outside the district into the schools right now. We are going to look into this for the spring.

Next week we have an early release day on wednesday for professional development for teachers. This is a scheduled day on the calendar. There will be no asynchronous work in the afternoon on this day. 

Please remember to keep the school nurse informed, teacher or myself if you suspect that your child has to quarantine or have any questions about that. You can also check our district website for information on close contacts. In addition, Doreen Crowe, is our nurse leader for the district & you can email her at doreen.crowe@wpsk12.com with any questions as well. 

Please note that if your child is in quarantine & is remote, no changes needed to be made to the delivery of instruction. If you are in a cohort for in person learning, your child would miss 4 in person days of instruction. Your child’s teacher will put together packets or missed work within a few days of getting notice of this. Your child will log into google as they would on a ayschnerous day & therefore be considered present. You can request the work to be emailed to you or you can have someone who is not in quarantine pick it up at the school. 

Also, a quick thank you to everyone who sent in donations for the Festival of Trees for the Shawsheen Tree. This year it is truly unique & therefore we made a unique tree filled with care packages to Take Care of Yourself. The boxes are stacked like a christmas tree. A special thank you to Jen Sirois, Lisa Gibbs, & Cheryl Cazeau for helping to make this happen. The WOW foundation gives back to our community, families at our school & I can always count on them to support students in a pinch. Please consider checking out the online festival this year. It ends tonight & here is the link.  Festival of Trees Link

Thanks again for all you do & please do not hesitate to reach out if you need anything especially around this time of year. 

Mrs. King

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