Spring Street Link

May 18, 2020

 

Believe it or not, we have approximately 4 weeks of school prior to our summer vacation.  In the coming weeks, plans are being finalized for a number of practices and routines that are customarily related to the end of our school year except this year, modifying to accommodate our remote learning environment.

Some of the planning we have underway is a report card process to convey student participation and completion of assignments during our remote learning as well conveying comments teachers would like to share for each student related to their overall learning and growth this year, a way to celebrate and recognize our Grade 4 students as they transition from elementary school to middle school, and the always much anticipated ‘field day’!

As plans are finalized, we’ll be sure to share with families.  We’re looking forward to celebrating having a bit of fun with our students and families!

 

Save the dates:

Monday, May 25        Memorial Day-No School

June 1-5            Virtual Field Days-details coming soon

Friday, June 12            Grade 4 Drive-Thru Celebration, 4-4:45pm

Tuesday, June 16        Last Day of School-Zoom All School Meeting!

 

Thankful Thursdays

Our Thankful Thursdays continue and are sponsored by the Student Council! Notes, pictures, and videos of how Spring Street School families are helping and appreciating those in our community are posted on the Padlet.  Check it out! Be sure to send your contributions to SSS Thankful Thursday’s email at sssthankfulthursdays@gmail.com! In fact, why wait until Thursday? Share your thoughtful messages any day of the week and show others how much we care!!  Thankful Thursdays Flyer

 

Mental Health Supports from Mrs. Braun-Lush and Ms. Richardson

Mental health is as important as healthy eating or physical fitness. There are many different types of breaks you can take to help you handle stress, worry, or feeling upset. Sarah E. Williams PhD and Nicole E. Zahka, PhD suggests that you can try the following steps to help:

Take a moment to check up on your well-being and take a deep breath. How do you feel? Can you identify a problem? It can be hard to manage our emotions until we know what is bothering us.   

Think about the four tools listed below. They recommend starting with the Distraction Tool. Then take some time to learn about each tool.

Then think about which tool you think will help you feel better right now. Remember, the tool might vary day to day. 

Now, pick one and give it a try. If it works, great. If not, you can always try another tool. 

Here are the possible breaks: 

Distraction Tool- This is doing a distracting or fun activity to focus your attention in a helpful way. When we do this break we cannot think about what is bothering us. This can include playing a game, making a craft, talking with a friend/family, or spending time with a pet. 

Action Tool- We do this by keeping a regular schedule and doing activities to keep both our body and mind healthy. This can include keeping a regular sleep schedule, exercising, eating healthy foods, and drinking plenty of water. 

Thinking Tool - This includes changing our mindset to focus on the positive aspects of our day or situation. When we have positive thoughts, this makes us feel better. During the day try to find some positive parts of the day. If you have negative thoughts remember these are not helpful. 

Relaxation Tool - These are activities that relax and calm our brain and body down. These can include taking deep breaths, imagining you are at the beach, and tightening and loosening your muscles. 

Remember, “Tough times never last, but tough people do!” — Robert Schuller. Please note this resource is from Dream Map Play. You can get more information by clicking on this link 

Resources: 

Lynn Lyons podcast = https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a-moms-retreat-with-lynn-lyons-licsw/id1506503059

Parent Support Groups = BRYT

https://drive.google.com/file/d/15AW5vnAlZAJaH1c0alhpmmzSefhYxXd6/view

Child Mind Institute Daily Tips and talks to support families 

https://childmind.org/coping-during-covid-19-resources-for-parents/

 

Join Us on LinkedIn

Now, more than ever, we see the value of staying connected to our community.  With so many changes happening in our workplace, it’s also a critical time to grow our professional networks. One easy way to be connected with our community is join the Shrewsbury Public School Community on LinkedIn. We established this group as a place for everyone with ties to Shrewsbury Public Schools - alumni, staff, students, caregivers and town residents - to come together to share information and opportunities. We already have members from far and wide, including California, New York, Texas, Michigan, Georgia, and, of course, from right here in Shrewsbury and throughout New England - we’re waiting for you and hope you will join us too! "Networking is not about just connecting people. It's about connecting people with people, people with ideas, and people with opportunities." -- Michele Jennae 

 

Heroes Don’t Wear Capes

Beginning on May 6th, Governor Baker ordered all residents over the age of two to use a face covering or mask in public places where maintaining proper social distancing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 are not possible. Please take a moment to review the following attachment which includes helpful information pertaining to face masks. 

 

From previous links:

 

Logging Into Zoom Using Your Child’s SPS Google Account

To verify that you can log into Zoom using your child's SPS Google account, starting on Wednesday, April 22, please visit https://www.google.com and click the "Sign In" button in the top right corner. (If you are already logged in to a different Google account, click on your account picture, select "Add another account" and log in using your child's SPS Google account information.) 

Once you have successfully logged into Google, visit https://shrewsburyps.zoom.us and click the “Sign In” button to be sure you can sign in successfully using your child's SPS Google account. If you have difficulty, please email parenttechsupport@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us for help. 

If you do not know your child's SPS Google login information, please follow these instructions to find this information:

Finding Your Child’s SPS Google Login Information

Parents can see their child’s SPS Google login information in the PowerSchool Parent Portal by clicking on the Shrewsbury Accounts/Account Information link on their Parent Portal page.

 

I hope you and your family stay healthy and well.  Please do not hesitate to reach out to any of us here at Spring Street School for any support, we’d be happy to help in any way we can.

 

Bryan Mabie