Palmer River Elementary School

Dear Families,

Thank you so much to families who attended Parent/Teacher Conferences this week. I also wish to celebrate our teachers and staff for their efforts in preparing to meet with you. Research from The Education Hub highlights the following positive outcomes for students when parents are active participants in their child's education:

• Improved student outcomes/achievement
• Higher homework completion rates, more time spent on homework, and more effective learning through homework
• Improved self-regulation, social skills, better behavior and discipline
• Lower dropout rates and better attendance
• Positive engagement with peers and adults, and enhanced relationships between parents, teachers and students
• Increased feelings of competence or capability, positive engagement with learning and motivation to learn, persistence, and mastery goal orientations in which students seek challenging tasks and persist with academic challenges
• High student aspirations with regard to education, and a greater likelihood of enrolling in higher education

Thank you for all that you do to help your child at home with their academics and learning. We appreciate your efforts immensely. Please reach out anytime if you require assistance. We are happy to help.

Sincerely,

Mrs. Kristine Kefor, Principal

email: kkefor@drregional.org

Dr. Cheryl Leandro, Assistant Principal

email: cleandro@drregional.org

phone: 508-252-5100

#WeAreDR!

• Report Cards Distributed: December 16th (Friday)
• 4th Grade Percussion Performance at Seekonk Home Depot: December 18th (Sunday)
• Whole School Sing-Along: December 23rd (Friday) with 2 programs (for staff and students)
• Early Release/No PM Preschool: December 23rd (Friday)
• Winter Recess/Holiday Break: December 26th -January 2nd (Monday)
• School Resumes in 2023: January 3rd (Tuesday)

Next Week is SPIRIT WEEK!!!

• Monday, December 19th: PJ Day
• Tuesday, December 20th: Twin/Triplet Day
• Wednesday, December 21st: Favorite Color Day
• Thursday, December 22nd: #WeAreDR Spirit Day-Wear your Green and Gold
• Friday, December 23rd: Wacky Winter Wear Day

This spring, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) will hold spring MCAS testing for PRES students in grades 3 and 4. In case you are unfamiliar with the Commonwealth’s testing system, MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) are standardized tests that are taken by all students in Massachusetts who attend public schools. MCAS tests are administered in English Language Arts and Mathematics for students in Grade 3 and 4.

We are sharing the MCAS testing dates with you since student attendance during testing sessions is extremely important. We thank you in advance for making every effort to limit time out of school during the MCAS testing window. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me.

The season for bundling up is here! Please make sure your child attends school daily with winter weather gear. If your child does not have a winter coat or gear for outside play, and the school can assist with this, please contact Mrs. Kefor, Principal at kkefor@drregional.org or by phone at 508-252-5100.

Greetings from your local school psychologist! I hope that you are all taking time for yourselves this holiday season as we can often get caught up in the hustle and bustle that is the holidays. It is easy to forget why we make those long "to-do" lists for ourselves at this time of year.

In preparation for meeting and talking with many of you later in the school year, I am sending this short, 5-10 minute survey out to parents and families in the hopes that your answers will help me develop some topics for presentation and discussion. Your feedback is critical in helping us plan these sessions! So if and when you have 5-10 minutes to spare, click on this PRES Parent Survey and answer the questions. Thank you in advance and have a happy holiday season!

About 70 of our students in grade 4 will be giving a percussion/bucket drumming performance at the Seekonk Home Depot on Sunday morning. Performance times are at 9:30am, 10:00am, 10:30am, 11:00am, and 11:30am. If you are in the area, stop in and check out our star performers!

If you plan to pick up your child who typically rides the bus, please email the teacher and also

CC: Mrs. Saxon lsaxon@drregional.org and Mrs. Rupp prupp@drregional.org. To help ensure dismissal goes smoothly, please ensure all dismissal notes are sent in by 10:00 am. Please park by 3:05 and walk to the gym blacktop area. Have your ID ready and wait in line for Mrs. Saxon or a staff member to verify and send student/students out to you.

Hello, Palmer River Families and Friends:

Before we initiate our annual screenings, I wanted to share some information on vision. Vision is complex and changes quickly during the elementary years. It is not uncommon for children to contend with nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), lazy eye (amblyopia), and crossed eye (strabismus):

• Nearsightedness is a condition where a child can see objects close up; however, objects far away will appear blurry.

• Farsightedness is a condition where a child will see objects far away, but items close up will seem blurry.

• A lazy eye is reduced vision in one eye and is the leading cause of reduced vision in children (mayoclinic.org).

• Crossed eyes focus in different directions at different times. This disorder can be challenging to detect without an exam by a pediatric eye doctor.

Vision problems with behavior struggles are another area I encourage parents to consider. When we think of vision, we think of the eye primarily. However, vision issues have social-emotional outcomes due to specific links within the brain. It is important to note that processing often starts with what a child sees. The American Academy of Ophthalmology recommends that children be seen for a comprehensive eye exam if:

• They have failed a screening

• They have been referred by their pediatrician or school nurse

• They have a learning disability, developmental delay, neuropsychological condition, or behavioral issue.

If your child is displaying a behavioral issue, not achieving their true potential in school, struggling to pay attention, or not enjoying learning, a pediatric eye exam might be of value.

What signs might I see if my child has problems seeing even if they pass a screening?

• Headaches, eyestrain, fatigue, itchy and watery eyes, double vision, words or letters that float off the page, poor hand-eye coordination, dizziness or motion sickness, poor concentration-memory-comprehension, frustration with reading and writing, head cocking while focusing, constant squinting, holding reading materials close to their face, symptoms consistent with ADHD or executive function deficit.

The symptoms mentioned above are indicative that your child may need to be referred for additional consultation. How we interpret what we see does not depend entirely on the clarity of our sight. A field known as behavioral optometry takes a deeper look at the child’s vision. Corrective lenses are one step to facilitating learning. Some of our students may additionally qualify for vision therapy, teaching them visual skills to improve learning. In its simplest terms, critical brain-eye communication is developed or sometimes re-trained. Prescribed eye exercises as an adjunct treatment is often therapeutic.

For more information, visit behavioral optometry. Ask your pediatrician or eye specialist if an evaluation by a behavioral optometrist for your child might be appropriate.

Nurse Alyson Bellora Palmer River Elementary School abellora@drregional.org

The Dighton-Rehoboth Regional School District

Website: https://pres.drregional.org/

Location: 326 Winthrop Street, Rehoboth, MA 02769

Phone: 508-252-5100/Fax: 508-252-5110

Dighton Rehoboth Regional School District does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other legally protected group.