Spring Street Link

November 4, 2019

 

Amazing was just one of the words students and staff shared about our Crocodile River Music African dance workshops and concert!  Thank you to Mass Cultural Council, Shrewsbury Schools Music/Theatre Association, and our always generous PTO for providing support to bring this learning experience to our school.  Our Grades 1-4 students learned about African music through an interactive musical journey demonstrating tribal and ritual drumming, traditional West African dance, and culture. We are so very appreciative of this enriching experience, thank you!

 

Coat and Gift Drives

Each year a member of our local fire department donates winter coats to children in our community. The coats are free. If your child is in need of a winter coat, please contact our School Nurse (rcarle@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us).  Also, a tradition here at Spring Street Elementary School is our Holiday Gift Drive. The Gift Drive helps our Spring families who may benefit from our support during the holidays. Every year, Spring staff members donate gifts. We match the donated gifts with the requests from families who have decided to participate. The process is confidential. Your child/children’s names are only known to the School Nurse. Please contact our School Nurse (rcarle@shrewsbury.k12.ma.us) if you are in need of assistance.

 

Survey on Communications from Shrewsbury Public Schools 

The School Committee and Dr. Sawyer invite parents, community members, and staff to participate in a brief survey to get your feedback on communications from the Shrewsbury Public Schools.  This survey is taking an average of 3.5 minutes to complete, and your participation will provide us with valuable insights into how we can strengthen our communication with you. Please click here to take the survey.  Thank you!

 

District-Wide Homework Discussion with Cathy Vatterott 

On Thursday, November 14 at 7:00pm at Shrewsbury High School Cathy Vatterott (aka The Homework Lady) will be discussing "Rethinking Homework: Best Practices that Support Diverse Needs".  This presentation continues the work we started last spring when caregivers, educators and students used Thoughtexchange to answer questions and share opinions about homework. Dr. Vatterott will present current research on the topic of homework in grades K-12. She will share her own beliefs, informed by research, her own experiences, and over 20 years of work in the field. She will also field questions. Shrewsbury Public Schools’ current homework policy was established in 2002. Our goal is to update that policy this school year as part of our commitment to the district's strategic priority of “Connected Learning For A Complex World”.  For more information, click here to visit the Colonial Fund website.  Dr. Vatterott’s presentation is the first in a three-part speaker series sponsored by the Colonial Fund this school year.  

 

SCAPE Presents Dr. Ruth Potee 

Shrewsbury Coalition for Addiction Prevention and Education (SCAPE) Presents:

Under Construction! What Every Parent Must Know About Your Tween/Teens Brain Development.  On Thursday, November 21st at 6:30 pm to 8 pm, Dr. Ruth Potee, nationally renowned speaker and expert, will discuss brain development and teen risk-taking, including alcohol, vaping and substance use.  The event will be held at Shrewsbury High School. Free and open to all community members, parents, middle and high school students. 

 

 

From previous links:

 

John P. Collins Awards for Excellence

Please note that Shrewsbury Education Foundation (SEF) is accepting nominations for this year's John P. Collins Awards for Excellence.  The awards honor the exemplary efforts of those whose work brings to life the mission of the Shrewsbury Public Schools, and are named for the late John P. Collins, PhD, former Superintendent of Shrewsbury Public Schools.

Multiple awards will be given in the following categories:

• Professional Educator

• Paraprofessional

• Support Staff

• Leadership

• Unsung Hero (volunteers, PTO, boosters, supporters, fans, helpers)

Anyone who currently works or volunteers in the Shrewsbury Public Schools can be nominated. This includes any staff member or volunteer who you or your child either works with now or has worked with in the past.  Just about everyone who’s been touched by the Shrewsbury Public Schools at any level and to any degree can nominate someone. All nominees receive a copy of the nomination letter and an appreciation note from SEF. It is easy to nominate online  here!  Nominations are being accepted until 5pm on Wednesday, November 20, 2019.

 

St. Anne’s Halloween Candy Donations

Spring Street School is hoping to collect 8 boxes of Halloween candy to help St. Anne’s fill their Thanksgiving and holiday baskets to local neighbors in need! As always your kindness is appreciated! Check out the attached link for more information:  St. Anne's Halloween Candy Donation Flyer

 

Spring Street Scholastic Book Fair Volunteers Still Needed

Calling all volunteers! This year's Spring Street Scholastic Book Fair will be held 11/4- 11/12 in the Media Center. Each day the students will have the opportunity during Media class to see a video with Mrs. Morgan about this year's top offerings, then make wish lists of their favorite books. Books can be purchased during class, online, or at the Family Book Fair Day, which is during parent/teacher conferences on 11/12. Volunteers are essential to making this important fundraiser a success! Please consider helping with set up, making wish lists with your child's class, or running a register on Book Fair Day! Details can be found here.

2019 Spring Street Scholastic Book Fair

Andy’s Attic Clothing Drive

The SSS PTO and Student Council are teaming up to collect clothing donations for Andy's Attic.  Starting today, there will be a donation box located in the lobby of SSS. Any donations of children's clothes are welcome. Andy’s Attic is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help those in need by providing new socks, new underwear and a seasons worth of gently used clothing.  Andy’s Attic is situated in South High in Worcester and run solely by student volunteers. https://www.facebook.com/AndysAtticOrganization/

 

PRICE CHOPPER and STOP & SHOP REWARDS Programs

It is a new school year and the time to sign up for our fundraising programs using your Price Chopper and Stop and Shop Advantage cards. Thank you for all the families that signed up last school year!  PTO received a check for over $700 from Stop and Shop and supplies for art worth more than $250 just for shopping! We appreciate the many families that helped make this program such a success just by registering your advantage cards and earning money for our school every time you shopped!  If you would like to sign up for this program this year, it is very simple. You will just need to have your advantage cards handy and then follow the instructions below. For those already signed up, your registration just rolls over to this new school year!

PRICE CHOPPER:

http://www.pricechopper.com/savings/tools-for-schools

(school code 14264).

STOP and SHOP:

http://www.stopandshop.com/aplus  

(school code 06342).   

Feel free to email me with any questions  (Jennifer Daley: jmndaley@yahoo.com).  Thank you in advance for all of your support

 

Volunteering Requirement-CORI Checks

Anyone volunteering at our school must participate in the Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) check before volunteering.  Volunteering includes classroom volunteering, field trips, field day, etc. Once a CORI check has been completed, your ‘CORI’ is valid for 3 years.  CORI checks are applicable to any volunteering in the Shrewsbury Public Schools. Unfortunately, CORIs completed elsewhere are not valid for Shrewsbury Public Schools.  This link can be used to access the form.  Please return the completed form in person to Mrs. Judith Adair, our secretary, with your license for the CORI to begin being processed.  Please allow for at least 2 weeks for CORI checks to be completed before participating in any volunteer activities at our school. Volunteers without a completed and processed CORI will be unable to volunteer until the process is complete.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation.  

Important Dates

Thursday, November 7th, Dine and Donate at Casa Villarta

Monday, November 11, No School, Veterans Day observed

Tuesday, November 12, No School, Parent/Teacher Conferences

Friday, November 15th, Family Bingo Night, 6:30-8:00pm

Tuesday, November 19th, PTO Meeting, 8:00-8:30am  

November 27-29, Thanksgiving Vacation

Tuesday, December 3, Early-Release Day, 12:15 Dismissal, Professional Development

December 23-January 1, December Vacation/New Year’s Day

Tuesday, January 14, PTO Meeting, 6:30-7:30pm

Thursday, January 16, Grade 4 Chorus Concert, 6:00pm

Monday, January 20, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, No School

Wednesday, January 22nd, Science Night, 6-8:00pm

Wednesday, January 29th, Gift of Knowledge Celebration, 8:30-9:00am

 

Have a good week.
Bryan Mabie