News from the Nest

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends,

What a busy action packed week we have had here at the Nest!

Grade levels and classes held Winter Crafts and we are so grateful to all the families who were able to take time out of their busy schedules this time of year to volunteer and come into the building to lead crafts with all our students. We also held our Grade 5 Student Council Elections on Tuesday with 36 students running for 9 spots. Each student did a phenomenal job preparing and delivering their speeches that were full of passion and persuasion. We announced our 9 elected representatives on Wednesday morning and congratulate all students who participated in the election process.

Our Winter Holiday Maker's Market was the highlight of the week on Wednesday after being postponed from Monday due to weather and safety concerns. What a talented group of Eagles we have here!! The crafts on display showed a lot of hard work, creativity, and dedication.

In this week's News from the Nest you will find additional information about:

• Upcoming Dates/Events: January
• January Counseling Newsletter
• Essentialist Weekly Newsletter: Music
• We Can Brighten the World: Soaring Speakers Podcast w/ Mrs. Oberacker's Class
• January Assembly Preview
• Daniel Feeney Preschool Application
• Math Update
• Elm 180 Fundraiser

I hope that you all have a restful and safe Winter Break and we will see everyone back in school on Tuesday, January 2nd.

Jen

• 1/1 New Year’s Day
  
• 1/2 School Reopens from Winter Break
  
• 1/5 8:45a/2:00p January Assembly
• 1/9 6:00p Public Budget Hearing
• 1/11 6:45p School Committee Meeting
  
• 1/12 EdCamp (School Closed)
  
• 1/15 Martin Luther King Jr. Day (School Closed)
• 1/25 6:00p School Committee Meeting
  
• 1/27 International Holocaust Remembrance Day

When we return from the Winter Break we will gather again for our monthly Elm Assembly. Our January assembly will follow the same format as our previous November and December assemblies and you can find our plan below.

• Review Group Plan
• Greeting
• Share (Reflecting on our December themes of Conflict Resolution and Celebrating Winter Holidays)
• Announcements and Celebrations
• Preview January themes of Goal Setting/Growth Mindset and Celebrating MLK Jr. Day

As a reminder our Elm Assembly is for students and Elm staff only.

The Daniel Feeney Preschool peer applications for the 2024-2025 school year is available on our website from December 1-22. Once the application window closes on 12/22 a lottery system will be employed to select peers.

Please click on the link below and navigate to "Application" for all information. Please read all information carefully and if you have any questions please contact Julie Martin, Director: jmartin@walpole.k12.ma.us

https://www.walpole.k12.ma.us/o/dfpc

With Winter Break a week away, we thought it would be the perfect time to share some fun math games that can be played at home. Math games have many positive benefits that go beyond just math skills and concepts. It is wonderful that they help children reinforce and practice math skills, but they also can help reduce the fear of making mistakes, help foster communication and social emotional skills, build a love of math, and develop strategic thinking skills. “Children learn to solve problems together, think strategically about what moves to make, and how to be successful in playing the game. Throughout a math game, children make a lot of strategic decisions as they problem solve and plan their next move.” - 10 Benefits of Using Math Games with Students.

Our Family Math Site is full of games and activities that your children can do with a grown up, a friend, a sibling, or any willing participant! Many only need a deck of cards or a set of dice. Most board games involve some type of math and definitely involve critical thinking skills around problem solving and decision making. Play is an important part of learning at all levels, in the words of Mr. Rogers, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning.But for children, play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

Email: jbuller@walpole.k12.ma.us
Website: https://www.walpole.k12.ma.us/o/ess
Location: 415 Elm Street, Walpole, MA, USA
Phone: 508.660.7374