Staffing Updates

Good Evening,

I just wanted to introduce Alena Krystofolski as our new Health teacher at the Shawsheen! Alena has her Master’s in Education from Merrimack College. She also has a minor in sport management and a minor in coaching. She has been teaching in different roles for about 4-5 years and has recently pursued and received her Health license which is her passion. She is licensed in Phys Ed Prek-12, health/family consumer sciences, Elementary Education 1-6 and Mild and Moderate disabilities PreK-8. She is excited about the field of health and pursuing this area in an Elementary School.

Lauren Clooney

I wanted to let you know that we have hired a long term sub for when Lauren goes out on Maternity leave. Her is name is Lauren Clooney and she has covered maternity leaves over the past year in a variety of places. She has experience coming into a classroom at the middle of a year and/or at the beginning. She has her masters in elementary education and a BA in English. She is also certified in elementary education and is SEI endorsed. She has experience in reader’s workshop and grade 3. I think she has a very positive attitude and will be able to adjust well to taking over a grade 3 classroom.

Leah has her Masters in Communication Sciences and Disorders and a BA with a minor in Deaf and hard of Hearing from the University of New Hampshire. She has experience in the field of speech and language particularly with early childhood and elementary aged children. She currently works at Thom Mystic Valley Early Intervention where she services children, writes goals, completes evaluations, communicates with families and much more. She has a nice personality and is eager to work for a school system. She has her DOE license in speech and language pathology.

Mrs. King

Mrs. King's Summer Office Hours

Draft of Summer Hours

Please feel free to drop by, call or email. 

July 3,5,10, 11,12, 13,17,19,20,24,25,26,27

August-AWAY from 4th-15th

August 16, 22,23,24

Of course I will make myself available if necessary and I check email daily except for the August vacation week.

Thank you all,

Mrs. King

lisa.king@wpsk12.com

978-694-6030

Cops For Cancer

Good Afternoon,

Today we had a very special treat from the Wilmington Police Department and the charity Cops for Cancer. Some of you may be aware that one of our students was fighting cancer last year. In addition to this, his classroom teacher was also. Throughout that year, his teacher visited him and tutored him to keep him on grade level in order to go onto the next grade. The student and teacher are both doing great and today was an amazing celebration of two courageous and wonderful people. Thank you to the Wilmington Police Department for organizing this and helping our kids. The students were all outside today during a motorcycle and police car tribute. They sat for the beautiful dedication and speech ceremony. I think this will be a memory that they all hold close to their hearts. One of the essentials of pulling this off is of course the surprise. I hope you all understand.


Thank you and have a great day!

Mrs. King

Island Day!

Good Afternoon,

I wanted to remind families that tomorrow is Hawaiian Day and the Kona Ice truck with be here to serve snow cones after each lunch. Please feel free to have your child wear Hawaiian gear or Island wear for the day. It is always such a fun day!

Also, the last day of school is Friday, June 16th. Please remember that this is an early release day and students will be dismissed at 12 noon. NO lunches will be served and there is no after school CARES.

Thank you for a great year,

Mrs. King

Last Week of School Approaching!

Good Afternoon,

The last week of school is next week! Students will receive their report cards and student placement for next year on the last day. We have a busy last week as students are finishing up end of the year assessments along with special classroom activities.

I also want to inform families that we have a few staffing changes approaching for next year. Mr. Bullers our current Health teacher is moving up to the Middle School. It has been a passion for Mr. Bullers to also work as a PE teacher and continue with coaching students at that age. It has been a pleasure having Mr. Bullers here for the past two years. We have posted the position and have some great candidates. In addition, we have added a program called Stepping Stones to the school. Ms. Paula Bartalamia who is currently our behavior interventionist will be the lead teacher in this program. We will also be adding some additional educational assistants to the school.

This summer we will continue with Post Cards To The Principal. This has been so much fun each year receiving and sending back postcards to everyone who sends one in. Students do not need to travel far, I love receiving handwritten letters about summer. We create a post card wall that stays up all year long. Students always enjoy getting a handwritten post card back in the mail, so please consider participating.

Lastly, I want to thank all the families for your two way communication to improve the school and success of our students this year. My assistant principal, Mrs. Burke, myself and Mrs. O'Reilly our school administrative assistant will be available throughout the summer and on certain days throughout. However, any family may reach out to me via email and I will make myself accessible. I will also post my days for office hours and am happy to take drop in visits!

Next Weeks Schedule

Monday-Field Day grade 1
Tuesday-Move up day grade 3, Volunteer Breakfast hosted by Shawsheen
Wednesday-
Thursday-Kona Ice comes and Hawaiian Day
Friday- Last Day of School. It is a 1/2 day and students are dismissed at 12 noon. There is no afternoon CARES and no lunches will be served.

* I am seeking volunteers to help serve kona ice on Thursday from 11:55-1:30. Please email me if you are interested for any amount of time. 

Thank you and have a great weekend,

Mrs. King

Survey Results 2017

Dear Families,

Thank you for taking the time to fill out the survey that was sent out last week. I truly appreciate all the feedback that was provided. We had 104 people respond to the survey! I want to personally thank my School Council Members, which is made up of parents, teachers and a community member to help in the creation of the survey and analysis of the results.

Please see below a small summary of the findings:

* Email was by far one of the preferred means of communication from the school to home. As a result, we will continue to use that method for information to travel to and from school.
* 86% of families were satisfied or very satisfied with the frequency and quality of communication that goes home.
* Many families appreciated monthly communication but do want communication on all the topics such as curriculum, events, parental resources and district information.
* Approximately 50% of parents felt that students were reading more at home than in the past.
* The minutes of homework was analyzed and will continue to be a discussion at open house with parents from different grade levels.
* 97 % of parents said that they felt their child was safe at school and 91.3% of parents felt as though if they had an issue with the school it was resolved or they have not had an issue.

The School Council Members and myself also went through the written feedback and we highlighted a few common trends with in it.

Please see the below summary of findings:

Positive Notes
* Readers workshop
* Enrichment programs
* Field Trips
* Projects
* Climate of school
* Kindness initiatives
* Communication

Things to Work on
* Car rider procedures
*Updating and revisiting anti-bullying programs
* Homework time and concerns
* Recess

As a result of this survey, I am looking for any interested parents to meet with me to take a look at car rider procedures prior to the fall. If any parents are interested, please send me an email. I will continue to keep parents informed via email and other methods that meet all needs. We will be launching more of a PBIS approach with lesson planning for a social curriculum next year so that will help to carry on with the kindness and respect initiatives. I will work with teachers at the beginning of the year and families to better track amount of homework and encourage families to reach out if it is longer than the allotted amount. Many parents want more recess time or outside time. This is always an issue to have the students be more active. The teachers and I will explore some physical activities for the days when indoor recess occurs such as the gonoodle website.

Thank you again for taking the time to complete this survey. It is very much appreciated.

Mrs. King