A Note from the Principal
Dear Esten Community,
We are coming down to the wire. Spring is a busy season for us at Esten. Our third and fourth graders are taking MCAS in April and May. Some of our grades are planning field trips and our PAC is busy planning Spirit Week and Field Day. Students are working with their teachers and paraprofessionals on reading and math and have shown growth in their learning. What a difference being in school all year has made! I am very proud of their accomplishments.
On Friday we reinstated students using their PIN numbers at lunch. A letter with your child's 4 digit pin number was sent home earlier this month and it is available on Aspen. The cafeteria ladies do have access to them if they don't have them memorized. They can also use their pin to get ice cream if they have money on their accounts.
I know that spring means that children are outside and want to play with their classmates. Please be aware that we can not honor requests to have your children take different buses home from school. Our buses are quite full and seating is limited on all of the buses.
Regards,
Marilyn Smith
From the Nurse
Spring is upon us and so are seasonal allergies! Many children have itchy eyes, runny noses, sore throats and coughs this time of year. If your child is one of them, please make your child's teacher and myself aware so that we don't think they are sick and contagious to others. We don't want to be sending children home unnecessarily.
Although COVID seems to be in our rearview mirror, people are still concerned when they hear a cough or a sneeze, especially when we are no longer wearing masks. As a reminder, masks are still required in the nurse's office by the government mandate for all healthcare facilities. If your child tells you they had to wear a mask at the nurse, that is why. They do not need to have their own, they are provided by the school.
If your child has a documented food or milk protein allergy, gluten sensitivity or lactose intolerance please let me know. We can get other options for them in the cafeteria but we need to know about them. I have many children come to the nurses office after lunch because they have a belly ache from drinking milk that they aren't supposed to have. Unfortunately, without a letter from the doctors office we can't justify ordering options that may or may not be used.
We will be planning a hygiene class for the 4th graders in early spring as the weather is getting warmer. I will just be discussing tooth brushing, hair washing, bathing and deodorant use, cutting nails, washing their faces and changing their clothes regularly. Nothing too personal, we will save that for Bernie at the Middle School next year.
Please remember to send in updated physicals for 2022. The 4th graders will need them in their file for moving up to the Middle School. Any new medication orders and replacement of expired inhalers and epi pens are also needed. Please feel free to call me if you are unsure if you have sent them in.
Lastly, can you please return any follow up letters regarding hearing and vision screenings that were sent home last month.
Take care,
Amy Kemp RN
Esten School Nurse
781-871-8439
R. Stewart Esten Elementary School
Email: msmith@rocklandschools.org
Website: rocklandschools.org
Location: 733 Summer Street, Rockland, MA, USA
Phone: 781-878-8336
Facebook: facebook.com/EstenElementarySchool
Twitter: @MSmithMarilyn
