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Growing by . . . . . .
Leaps & Bounds
Issue Number 19 | February 4, 2011
Westwood Public Schools does notdiscriminate on the basis of age,
race, color, sex, religion, disability,national origin or sexual orientation
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Message from the principal
Dear Parents:
We like to think that teaching and caring are inextricably bound at Martha Jones. Throughout the day everyone from the secretary to the faculty to the custodians promotes an environment in which children are known, challenged, and encouraged to excel - as friends and as students. In short, our goal is to create a safe and happy environment for learning. But in order to realize this goal we also need specific structures in place. The Behavior Committee, comprised of a cross-section of faculty, was created last spring to further our work in this area and try to do an even better job keeping our students safe and teaching them to make responsible choices. Following is a brief update of a few of the many steps taken since last spring's Site Council survey on bullying and in response to the recent State legislation.
- Established reporting protocol, behavior rubric, and consequences utilized by all faculty and staff
- Communicated protocols to all students and families through Handbook and Leaps and Bounds; 100% of families signed form sent home in September
- Kristal Corbin, School psychologist, spoke at PTO meetings to share school behavior & safety initiatives and to clarify distinction between bullying and normal peer conflict
- Increased supervision at recess and in common spaces
- Student Council updates (skits, signs around school, announcements)
- Expanded Open Circle, social competency program, with pilots in grades 4 and 5
- Received WEF grant to develop and implement bibliography for use by teachers, children, and families on range of friendship subjects (teasing, including, bullying, cooperating, accepting differences)
- Instituted worry boxes for children to privately voice concerns
Made resources available to families through psychologist
As always, we try to keep you informed so you can support and reinforce our work from home. Behind these safety efforts is the goal for children to learn to take responsibility for their actions and to become more thoughtful about their choices - in and out of the classroom. Please stay in touch with your child's teacher and with me on suggestions for ways to promote teaching and caring and responsible behavior at Martha Jones.
Thank you to one and all for your cooperation and on-going patience with the challenges of arrival and dismissal under these wintry conditions. Keep your fingers crossed for a snow-day free week!
Peggy Scott
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February 2011 Calendar
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Early Release/No School Days
February 9 - early release dismissal at 11:50 (no lunch)
February 21-25 - Winter break, no school
Meetings
February 8 - Grade 5 PARENTS meeting "Our Changing Bodies"
February 17 - School Committee meeting 7:30 pm @ High School
Events
February 7-11 - Scholastic Book Fair - in the library during the day
February 7-18 - MJ Read-a-thon
February 8 - Kindergarten trip to Discovery Museum
February 11 - Grades 4 & 5 - author visit from Debbie Miller
February 17 - Grade 2 - Discovery Museum: Sound presentation
Deadlines
February 14 - Kindergarten registration packets available for pick-up
February 18 - Read-A-Thon Sponsorship Forms due
Looking Ahead
March 2 - Thurston PTO presents a discussion with Michael Thompson, Author of The Pressured Child
March 17-27 WESC On-line auction
March 25 - PTO meeting 9:00 am
March 25 - Save the date for Martha Jones Bingo Night! Friday March 25th from 6:30pm-8:00pm
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Book Fair Starts MONDAY
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The PTO will hold its annual Scholastic BOOK FAIR, February 7-11, 2011. The students will attend the book fair during their regularly schedule library class time. There will also be an opportunity for families to shop on Wednesday, [Image]February 9th from 4-6 p.m. This is a really fun event for the children and the parents.
This year we will once again be asking for donations to to continue our book partnership with the Russell School in Dorchester.
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Read-A-Thon
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Monday, February 7th will mark the start of the 4 th Annual Martha Jones School Read-A-Thon! This activity is intended to promote the fun in reading. Students will log hours they've read and the class that logs the most hours of reading will be awarded a pizza party. There will be one winning class for grades K-2 and one winning class for grades 3-5. Sponsorship forms and reading certificates were sent home in backpacks this week. Additional forms can be downloaded here from the Martha Jones School website. All reading certificates and sponsorship forms are due by Friday, February 18th.
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WESC Annual Appeal
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The annual appeal letter was mailed to all families. All dollars raised through the annual WESC appeal will go directly to the Martha Jones School PTO and will be used to fund many important curriculum enrichment programs. Although the suggested donation amount is $60/child, any amount is appreciated and no donation is too small. Our goal is to increase family participation. To date, 20 families have donated. Please forward your tax deductible donation to school in an envelope marked WESC. All checks should be made payable to WESC. Thank you!
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WESC Auction Items - We Need Your Help!
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The Westwood Elementary Schools Coalition (WESC) will be hosting their annual on-line auction from March 17th through March 27th. This auction has always been very successful with many great items to bid on. The auction's past success has been due to the generosity of our Westwood families and businesses. Each elementary school receives one-fifth of all the monies received from the auction. Therefore, we need your help by making donations of an item(s), a service, sports or theater tickets, restaurant gift certificates, sports memorabilia, family vacation homes, golf outings, time spent with teachers, or anything you think would make a great auction item. Be creative! This is a great way to advertise, promote your business, and gain new clients. Our items must be presented to WESC by Thursday, February 24th. Please contact Michelle Ganson at ganson_m@hotmail.com or Nancy Deehan at nedeehan@comcast.netif you have any questions or would like to donate. Thank you!!!
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Beatnik Café
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Students in Grade 5 held their annual Beatnik Café on Monday morning. The Dining Room was transformed into a hip 1950s coffee house complete with lanterns and red-checked tablecloths. The Jazz Band added to the atmosphere as students in each classroom recited poetry to the snapping of appreciative fingers from the Mommy-os & Daddy-os. Way cool!
Thank you to the Fifth Grade gift Committee (Anna Riley, Patricia Kingsbury-Moore, Marcia Stankard, & Karina Adourian) for coordinating the refreshments and to all who contributed generously to the gift fund.
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Lost Item - Please HELP!!!
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We are looking for a pair of Black, Rugged Bear, size 12, ski-style snowpants. Linehan is written in marker on the label inside. Can parents please check their childs Black snowpants to see if they have picked up a pair by mistake.
THANK YOU!
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Save the Date for Guest Speaker
Michael Thompson
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Please join the Thurston Middle School PTO in welcoming Michael Thompson
to Westwood on March 2, 2011 from 7:00 to 8:30. A consultant, author and psychologist specializing in children and families, Dr. Thompson will meet with parents to discuss his book The Pressured Child: Helping Your Child Find Success in School and Life. Please mark your calendars to attend this exciting presentation! All Westwood community members are welcome.
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