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

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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