Happy New Year and Updates

Dear Families,

I hope you all enjoyed your winter break even though it was a cold one! I wanted to remind everyone that school will resume on Tuesday, January 2^nd after the New Year. I am sure it will be an adjustment week for the students coming off of the holiday break, but we will greet them here with smiling faces.

Some of you may be aware that we are collecting books for the month of January. We are doing a January Book Drive and looking for all types of books that are gently used. We only want books that you would like to recycle back into a classroom. If you are cleaning out your children’s books please consider donating. We will go through all the books donated and level and sort them for the classrooms. Any books that we do not end up using we will donate to the Book Store Next Store.

With the cold weather approaching we ask that all students come to school with a hat, gloves and appropriate winter wear. We really want the students to have their recess outdoors as much as possible. We do however go by the weather advisories and keep the students in on days that fall in the warning zone including the wind chill factor. If any families need extra coats, hats or gloves please feel free to let me know confidentially. I also have extra in the office if students stop by for any hats or gloves. Also, teachers are always looking for indoor recess games if you cleaning out old games, Legos, cards, etc.

Lastly, just a few reminders with cold season approaching to make sure if your child is out sick that you call the main office. Please do not resort to only email in case we do not have access or check it prior to the start of the day. Also, please be sure to provide a note if your child has seen a doctor so that we may excuse the absence. This becomes very important if your child reaches over 5 absences. In addition, when you call into the school it is helpful to leave a message on what the symptoms are so that nurse can track any illnesses.

Thank you all and Happy New Year,

Mrs. King

Counselor's Corner

https://sites.google.com/wpsk12.com/counselors-corner/home

Check out the new website called Counselor's Corner!

Shawsheen Book Drive

Shawsheen Book Drive for the month of January

In case you are cleaning out…..

We are looking for gently used books that families are no longer utilizing to donate to the school. No book is off limits, if we can’t use it we will donate the book or books to the Book Store Next Door in Wilmington. Poetry, different genres, series, picture books, etc. We will be developing a system to sort through the books, level them and distribute them to classrooms. We will send something out when we are looking for volunteers to help us with this.

December Updates and Happy Holidays

Good Afternoon,

We had a terrific December with lots of fun events happening in the school including enrichment programs such as Star Lab, author visit by Marty Kelley and our first grade concert. In addition, the students have contributed to the community by participating in the Festival of Trees by making kindness chains and donating books. Also, the collection of amazing toys for Wilmington children was spectacular. The generosity of so many families and students has not gone unnoticed here at the Shawsheen. Thank you again for all your efforts with community outreach and support.

Next week we will be having our Alice Practice Drill. Many of you recall that it had to be rescheduled. I will send out an update to families on how the drill goes. Students are well prepared and have gone through the practice with their class along with the review of the Alice Curriculum book.

On Monday, we will be having an all school meeting and discussing Resilience. Please have students wear their Shawsheen T-shirts for Monday. In addition, we will be acknowledging, Mrs. Darlene Duggan, our special education assistant who has worked at the the Shawsheen for over 20 years. She is retiring at the end of the month. We have hired a replacement for this position. I am pleased to announce that we have hired Mrs. Stephanie Donohue to replace Ms. Duggan after the Holiday break. Stephanie comes to us with an education background and she is certified in special education in NH. She has worked in a variety of environments and is an extremely positive energetic person.

On Friday, we are doing a school wide pajama day before the break. As you are aware, Friday the 22nd will be an early dismissal day and no lunches will be served. No afternoon CARES as well. If your child is going home from a different means of transportation for Friday, please send in a note.

Lastly, we are in the process of increasing our classroom libraries and we are going to do a book drive in January. More information will be sent out,  but in case families are cleaning out over the break, we are looking for gently used books from all different genres on all levels. The School Council will be working on a system for parents to come in and volunteer over a few days to sort all the books. For now, we are just looking to begin the collection process and more information will be sent out in January.

I want to wish each and everyone of you a wonderful vacation week where you can enjoy your children and your families. I look forward to greeting them all again next year!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year,

Mrs. King

Toys For Wilmington Children

Please Consider Donating To Toys for Wilmington Children

Organized By the Wilmington Firefighters

We will have a box at the Shawsheen School.
Donations accepted until December 15th

December Updates

Good Morning Families,

Thank you to everyone for all your donations for the Shawsheen Tree this year. The Festival of Trees will be this weekend and if you go you can look for your child's kindness chain on our Fill Your Bucket Tree.  We will also be collecting toys for Wilmington Children through the Wilmington Fire Department. The notice will be sent home shortly. Please consider contributing. We have many exciting things happening in the upcoming weeks prior to the Holiday break.

Next week we will be having an early dismissal due to parent teacher conferences. Please be sure that if your child is going home by a different means of transportation that they have a note. Also, no lunches will be served. On Friday, December 8th, the author Marty Kelley will be coming to do a presentation for all grade levels. A form will go home the day of the author visit if any parents want to order a signed book. The books will not be in until after the break.

Lastly we will be having an All School Meeting on Monday, December 18th to discuss Resilience so please have students wear their Shawsheen shirts. Also, we will be having an ALL school pajama day on Friday, December 22nd!

If you have not had a chance to review the information on the superintendent screening committee please see the attached information. Also, families may contribute through a survey which is listed below.

The Superintendent Search Survey is now available on the district website. 

To access the survey:

1)      Go to the district website: https://www.wpsk12.com/Page/1

2)      Click on the “Superintendent Search” link

3)      Click on the “Superintendent Search Survey” link

You can also access the survey directly by clicking this link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JTRKWCY.  

The survey will be active until Friday, December 1^st at 12pm.  Please consider taking a few minutes to complete the survey.  The data that is collected will be used to develop a profile for the new Superintendent that the School Committee will use when vetting candidates.  If you attended one of the focus groups you are still welcome to take the survey. 

Below are December Dates

Thursday, December 07, 2017	Early Dismissal - Parent Teacher Conferences
Friday, December 8th, 2017	Author Visit-Welcome Marty Kelley
Tuesday, December 12, 2017	Gr. 1 Dress Rehearsal for Concert
Wednesday, December 13, 2017	Grade 1 Concert @ Shawsheen
Thursday, December 14, 2017	Picture RETAKES @ Shawsheen
Wednesday, December 20, 2017	Snow Date if Needed for Gr.1 Concert
Friday, December 22, 2017	Early Dismissal 12:00 ALL SCHOOL PJ DAY
Dec. 25, 2017 - Jan. 1, 2018	No School - Winter Break

November Updates Continued!

Good Morning,

Thank you to parents and families for all your continued dedication with our students. It is great that with the change of weather comes a change of outdoor clothing. It is nice to see students with their coats, hats and gloves for those chilly days. Also, thank you to those families who have donated a book to the Shawsheen Tree for the festival of trees this year. The books are adorable and some lucky winner is going to be very happy! We will be collecting books for this up until November 30th.

We were going to do the Alice practice drill today, however it has been rescheduled. We will be doing it sometime after the Thanksgiving break. The students have practiced and read through the curriculum with the teachers.

Next week the second graders will be going on their Plimoth Plantation field trip on Monday. This has been a tradition for many years and I am hoping for nice weather. On Tuesday, grade 3 will be having an enrichment program called Eyes on Owls. This has also been a tradition here and the students and staff really enjoy it. Lastly, Wednesday is a 1/2 day and there is no afternoon cares. Please be sure to make arrangements, dismissal is at noon. No school on Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving Holiday.

Also, we have been very fortunate to secure Marty Kelley, author and illustrator for our Author Visit. This will be on December 8th and will include one show for each grade level. We are very excited to have him come and do a presentation. Below is a link to his website and books.
http://www.martykelley.com/

Upcoming Dates:

Monday, November 20, 2017	Grade 2 Field Trip to Plimoth Plantation
Tuesday, November 21, 2017	Eyes on Owls for Grade 3 Classes
Wednesday, November 22, 2017	Early Dismissal 12:00
Thursday, November 23, 2017	No School - Holiday
Friday, November 24, 2017	No School - Holiday
Thursday, November 30, 2017	Gr. 1 Starlab Enrichment Program
Thursday, December 07, 2017	Early Dismissal - Parent Teacher Conferences
Friday, December 8th, 2017	Author Visit-Welcome Marty Kelley
Tuesday, December 12, 2017	Gr. 1 Dress Rehearsal for Concert
Wednesday, December 13, 2017	Grade 1 Concert @ Shawsheen
Thursday, December 14, 2017	Picture RETAKES @ Shawsheen
Wednesday, December 20, 2017	Snow Date if Needed for Gr.1 Concert
Friday, December 22, 2017	Early Dismissal 12:00
Dec. 25, 2017 - Jan. 1, 2018	No School - Winter Break

‘TWAS THE NIGHT OF THANKSGIVING

Twas the night of Thanksgiving, but I just couldn’t sleep.

I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep.

The leftovers beckoned–the dark meat and white,

but I fought the temptation with all of my might.

Tossing and turning with anticipation,

the thought of a snack became infatuation.

So, I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door

and gazed at the fridge, full of goodies galore.

I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,

pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.

I felt myself swelling so plump and so round,

till all of a sudden, I rose off the ground.

I crashed through the ceiling, floating into the sky

With a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie.

But, I managed to yell as I soared past the trees…

happy eating to all—pass the cranberries, please!

By anonymous

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy next week,

Mrs. King 

Festival of Trees Dec 2nd and 3rd

Shawsheen Elementary School

Will be participating for the

4^th year donating to the WOW Festival of Trees

We will be creating a Kindness Tree to go along with our school theme this year “How to Fill Your Bucket”. Under the tree will be buckets filled with books and messages from each student, staff or family who donates. Please have your message written in the book. This could be a note on why you chose that book or just a kind message and first name.  Decorating the tree will be words of kindness that the students wrote during our Anti-Bullying week.

Please consider donating a book. Books can be a classic, chapter books, drawing books, books for any age or level. The more of the variety the better! Some lucky winner, hopefully another student will be very happy!

We will have a bucket at the main office and will be taking donations up until November 27^th.

Thank you very much,

Mrs. King

2016 Dr. Seuss Tree                      2015 Favorite Books         2014 Books/bookmarks

November Updates

Good Afternoon,

Thank you to all the families and students who contributed to the Joanne Benton WEF walk. We raised over 1000 dollars just for the school. I will keep parents posted on what we spend the funds on but we are looking toward adding more books to our classroom libraries! Thank you to the Tewksbury/Wilmington Elks for your grade 3 dictionary donations. The students will carry those with them through life and it is a much appreciated tradition. November is a busy month with the Thanksgiving Holiday. Next week we will be having our ALICE practice drill. The teachers will be discussing the ALICE book and practicing the drill. I will send out an email after the drill to let families know how it went. As you are aware, on the principal blog is information on the ALICE protocol and the book that staff utilize to go over with the students. Also, this month teachers are finishing up some benchmark assessments in reading and continuing on pace with envisions math topics.

We are continuing on with our PBIS vision of Respect, Responsibility and Resilience. We had another successful all school meeting where we discussed what respect looks like. We had some amazing examples of student work that was presented. The students all wore there Shawsheen T-shirt and participating in showing respect! We will have another all school meeting toward the end of November to discuss Responsibility.

Lastly, we are still collecting books for the Shawsheen Tree for Festival of Trees. Students are contributing with the them of Fill Your Bucket. We will have buckets under the tree filled with books. If you donate a book, please have you, your family or child write a message in it. The tree will have a chain of kindness that the students had created during kindness week.

Below are some pictures from the last month and upcoming dates:

Friday, November 10, 2017	No School - Holiday
Monday, November 20, 2017	Grade 2 Field Trip to Plimoth Plantation
Tuesday, November 21, 2017	Eyes on Owls for Grade 3 Classes
Wednesday, November 22, 2017	Early Dismissal 12:00
Thursday, November 23, 2017	No School - Holiday
Friday, November 24, 2017	No School - Holiday
Thursday, November 30, 2017	Gr. 1 Starlab Enrichment Program
Thursday, December 07, 2017	Early Dismissal - Parent Teacher Conferences
Tuesday, December 12, 2017	Gr. 1 Dress Rehearsal for Concert
Wednesday, December 13, 2017	Grade 1 Concert @ Shawsheen
Thursday, December 14, 2017	Picture RETAKES @ Shawsheen
Wednesday, December 20, 2017	Snow Date if Needed for Gr.1 Concert
Friday, December 22, 2017	Early Dismissal 12:00
Dec. 25, 2017 - Jan. 1, 2018	No School - Winter Break

Thank you and have a great long weekend,

Mrs. King

Picture Day Tomorrow

Picture Day Tomorrow!

Wear Your Smiles

WOW Shawsheen Festival of Trees

Good Afternoon,

Each year the Shawsheen donates a tree to the WOW's festival of trees. The students take part in the decorations based on the theme and many teachers donate books for under the tree. This year we are using our kindness chain that the students made to wrap around the tree and the theme is How To Fill Your Bucket. Under the tree will be buckets full of books. This year we are giving students an opportunity to also donate a book. When they donate, they can write a special message inside and sign their name. All the books donated will be in Buckets under the tree. The lucky winner will receive the tree, kind messages on the outside of the tree and kind messages from within the books. The books can be a favorite or for any age level and the messages can be unique to why your child chose that book. We will be collecting donations in the office until the last week in November. 

Thank you all and have a wonderful week!

Mrs. King

October Updates

Good Morning Families,

We have had a another great week and have some exciting events coming up. This week we received a certificate for participating in the Ella's Way program in recognition of our efforts in stomp out bullying week. Although, the official week ended we are continuing on with the message of respect, resilience and responsibility.

We are also going to reuse our kindness chains for the Shawsheen WEF tree for Festival of Trees. We will be donating a tree as we have traditionally and the theme is Fill Your Bucket. Under the tree will be buckets full of books. We are extending the donations this year to include students if any families would like to donate a book. This is completely voluntary. Please have your child or a member of your family write a note on the inside cover for the lucky recipient. We will be collecting these through the month of November.

Next week we have the Eyes on Owls presentation coming in for grade 3. This coordinates with the science curriculum and it has been a tradition for years to have this program come. In addition, we will be having the Fire Safety program for all students next week in the cafeteria. Lastly, we will be scheduling our practice ALICE drill for sometime in early November.

Some amazing news is that we ordered through the PAC a weather station! It is now located on our roof and Mr. McInerney is our official weather reporter.

You can click the link below to see current temps, wind speeds and most importantly, the real-feel temp for recess!  Please add the link to your bookmarks for future reference.

https://www.wunderground.com/weather/us/ma/pattenville/KMAWILMI23?cm_ven=pwsdash_cityforecast

You may wonder why it brings you to Pattenville, MA... We are not 100% sure.  Apparently the East Billerica/RT 129 Wilmington area and a small part of Tewksbury are referred to the "Pattenville" neighborhood.  I've yet to find an exact reason why but this "neighborhood" includes our Shawsheen School.  If anyone discovers anything about this, please let us know as this will be a fun fact to share with the students. 

Also, coming up is Picture day on November 2nd and on November 4th is the Shawsheen/West PAC Winter Festival being held at the Shawsheen. The PAC is still looking for volunteers for bake sales, set up and much more. Please consider helping out and below is a sign up link that will go directly to the PAC representatives.

http://signup.com/go/ZfQBRfO

Lastly, I just want to thank and acknowledge all of our parent volunteers. This past month we have had parents come in and support the Stomp Out Bullying efforts, Vision and Screening, Mystery readers, Read for the Record, Field Trips, PAC support and much more. WE truly appreciate it, so thank you.

Below is an updated list of dates:

Monday, October 23, 2017	Make-up Day for Vision and Hearing Screening
Tuesday, October 24, 2017	Fire Safety Program
Wednesday, October 25, 2017	Grade 3 Eyes on Owls Presentation
Tuesday, October 31, 2017	Benton WEF Walk 2:00-2:20 @ Shawsheen Elem.
Thursday, November 02, 2017	Shawsheen Picture Day
Tuesday, November 7, 2017	Students No School - Teacher Prof. Development Day
Friday, November 10, 2017	No School - Holiday
Monday, November 20, 2017	Grade 2 Field Trip to Plimoth Plantation
Wednesday, November 22, 2017	Early Dismissal 12:00
Thursday, November 23, 2017	No School - Holiday
Friday, November 24, 2017	No School - Holiday
Thursday, November 30, 2017	Gr. 1 Starlab Enrichment Program
Thursday, December 07, 2017	Early Dismissal - Parent Teacher Conferences
Tuesday, December 12, 2017	Gr. 1 Dress Rehearsal for Concert
Wednesday, December 13, 2017	Grade 1 Concert @ Shawsheen
Wednesday, December 20, 2017	Snow Date if Needed for Gr.1 Concert
Friday, December 22, 2017	Early Dismissal 12:00
Dec. 25, 2017 - Jan. 1, 2018	No School - Winter Break

An IEP for My Child

An IEP for My Child

A Workshop for Parents and Professionals

An IEP for My Child: Explains the Individual Education Program (IEP)

document, its development, how to articulate a vision, write

measurable annual goals, monitor a child’ progress and understand how

the document will support a student

This workshop will be presented by the Federation for Children with

Special Needs

Date: Monday October 23, 2017

Location: Wilmington High School Large Media Room

Time: 6:30-8:00PM

Contact: SEPAC@wpsk12.com

Sponsored by the Wilmington Special Education Parent Advisory Council

The Wilmington Special Education Parent Advisory Council (Wilmington SEPAC) provides education and support to parents, school personnel and the broader

community on special education issues and services. The Wilmington SEPAC works towards creating an environment of respect, support and appropriate education for

all children with special needs in our community and to ensure that student needs under Chapter 766 and other applicable laws are being met. The Wilmington

SEPAC’s mission is to promote and support an innovative educational environment where children with special education needs have equal access to opportunities and

are encouraged to reach their full potential.

Vision and Hearing Sign Ups-Volunteers Needed

Vision and Hearing Sign Ups-Volunteers Needed

Joanne Benton WEF WALK

The Joanne Benton

WEF Walk 

In honor of the late Joanne Benton, former Superintendent of Schools, we have decided to officially rename the WEF Walk after Mrs. Benton. She created this fundraising event which has become a tradition in our schools. The walk reinforces the Wilmington Public School’s belief in physical activity, healthy eating, nutrition and physical education for all students’ academic success.

What is WEF? The Wilmington Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization committed to supporting innovation and excellence in the Wilmington Public Schools. Our goal is to enhance and increase educational opportunities for all Wilmington students by providing funds for innovative programs that are not otherwise funded through the school budget.

This K- 5 fitness walk has become the largest fundraiser supporting WEF and the many grant programs WEF offers every year. One half of the funds raised at each school will be given back to the school in the form of a School Grant in order to fulfill the needs and wishes of the school.

Students are encouraged to ask family and friends to sponsor them in this walk.  They are invited to wear Halloween costumes, favorite sports team shirts, or orange and black colors for the walk.  Each school will conduct the walk on Tuesday, October 31st.

The fitness walk rain date will be Friday November 3, 2017.

On the reverse side of this form is the sponsor sheet each student should use and return with funds prior to the Walk on Monday, October 30^th. You can also make an online donation here: http://www.wilmingtonedfoundation.org/volunteerdonate.html.

For more information, please visit the Wilmington Educational Foundation’s site: http://www.wilmingtonedfoundation.org.

Joanne Benton WEF Walk

Student Name: _________________________________________________________

School: ________________________________________________Room # ________

Sponsor’s Name	Sponsor Donation
Total	$__________________________

Checks can be made payable to Wilmington Educational Foundation.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!

Notice of Non-Discrimination

All educational and non-academic programs, activities and employment opportunities at Wilmington Public Schools are offered without regard to race, color, sex, religion,  national origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, homelessness, age and/or disability, and any other class or characteristic protected by law.