North Scituate Elementary School

Welcome back from February break and happy March! I hope everyone had a fun and restful February break. Students came back ready to learn and transitioned back into their school routines nicely. Looking forward to a productive, engaging, and warmer March.

Reminder, food items are discouraged from being sent into school due to multiple severe food allergies. Any food items brought into school must be approved by Mrs. McCann one full week prior. You can email Mrs. McCann at Colleen.McCann@scituateschoolsri.net.

As a reminder, if your child is going to be absent please send a note, call the Front Office or email our Secretary at jennifer.foster@scituateschoolsri.net.

Kaitlin M. Soccio, Principal

Kaitlin.Soccio@ScituateSchoolsRI.net

• As a reminder, if your child is going to be absent please send a note, call the Front Office or email our new Secretary at jennifer.foster@scituateschoolsri.net.
  

• If you have a change in dismissal for your child, please alert the Front Office before 2:00pm, if possible. This allows us time to inform the teacher and student of the change.
  

• Please date notes that are sent to school with students. If you are writing a note about dismissal, please write the full name of the person picking up your child.
• Clearly mark water bottles, lunch boxes, etc. with student's name.

As the cooler temperatures arrive, it is important that your child is dressed appropriately for school. Students will be going outside for recess with temperatures 28 degrees or above. Please ensure your children are dressed for these conditions, and have a sweatshirt or jacket in their backpacks.

The National Education Association annually sponsors Read Across America. This year's theme is Celebrating a Nation of Diverse Readers. The focus is how diverse stories provide kids with different perspectives and help them see how others think and feel.

The nationwide reading celebration takes place each year on or near March 2nd, the birthday of children's author Dr. Seuss. Thousands of schools, libraries and community centers participate by bringing together kids and books. You can too!

We will be reading and celebrating all week with our themed days. See photo below for more details.

For more information about Read Across America, visit: https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/read-across-america

Congratulations to Hope Elementary's Elliana Pagliarini for winning our District Spelling Bee on February 15th. The runner up was Scituate Middle School's, Talea Lewis. Best of luck in the State Bee this month.

Congratulations to Trent Testa and Jaxon Renzi, who represented North Scituate Elementary in the district bee. Your North Scituate Community is very proud!

Guess how many students completed our Winter Break Challenge? 113!!! WOW! Students that completed the WINTER BREAK READING AND MATH CHALLENGE enjoyed their extra recess this month. Some students received a homework pass instead (their choice)! These students completed 24 steps (15 minutes per step) and math problems over winter break. We are looking forward to celebrating our February Challenge finishers this month.

Scituate was awarded grant funding for the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program (FFVP). This program began this past Tuesday (all grant $ must be spent by 09/30/2024). Click the button below to view a fact sheet about the program. The program's goal is to introduce children to new and different varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables, and to increase overall acceptance and consumption of fresh, unprocessed produce among children. This is not part of the breakfast or lunch program, it is required to be served outside of breakfast and lunch times. Our student council members are response for delivering the fresh produce Tuesday-Friday to classrooms. We plan to offer it as an afternoon “snack”. Students have thoroughly enjoyed trying new fruits and vegetables this week.

Please ensure our school nurse, Mrs.McCann, has the most update to date allergy list if your child has any fruit or vegetable allergy. If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Soccio at Kaitlin.Soccio@scituateschoolsri.net

On Monday, March 4th, North Scituate Elementary will begin composting during all lunches. Mrs. Soccio will be down at lunch to educate students on what items are considered compostable. The visual below will be on display for students. Mrs. Soccio will explain the importance of adhering to sign when composting to ensure little to no cross contamination. Our compost will be given as food to pigs owned by a local pig farmer, Lou. Look back at last month's letter for more information about our initiative and work with the Scituate Sustainability Committee.

• You can take the survey now through March 31st.
• SurveyWorks is a statewide survey sent out annually to students, families, and teachers to hear from Rhode Islanders directly about their experiences in our state's public schools.
• SurveyWorks will be given to all students in grades 3-12, parents, teachers, support professionals and building administrators.
  
• The Rhode Island Family Survey is for all parents to complete. Parents of students receiving special education services will receive a single survey that combines the Rhode Island Family Survey and the Special Education Survey.
• If your child returned the completed slip to be entered into the raffle, winners will be picked at the end of the month for a Moose Trackers Giftcard. Thank you for your feedback!

Take the survey here: bit.ly/ridefamily

Yearbooks are now on sale through April 21st! Click the button below or visit ybpay.com to order your today. Use Yearbook ID Code: 1980524 to purchase.

Yearbooks ads are available for purchase online until April 14th. Hard copies were sent home already!

Any questions, please email ybook847@gmail.com.

Students can receive these awards given by a faculty or staff member for EXEMPLARY behavior in the following categories: Growth Mindset, Problem Solving, Managing Emotions, Effort, Kindness, and Goal Setting. These categories align with our Social Emotional Curriculum- Second Step.

Kindergarteners had a great time celebrating the 100th day of school. Students dressed up as if they were 100 years old, did a 100 themed workout, and completed activities such as "What can you building out of 100 objects?".

On Valentine's Day students in Ms. Robinson's class completed a sink or float science experiment!

Students in Mrs. Dupre's class enjoy working on ordering and comparing length measurements as numbers with centimeter cubes in Module 3 of Eureka. Keep it up 1st grade!

Recently our SRO coordinated a program that brought high school students who created lesson plans in Ms. Morton's Working with Children Class to our school. The high school students taught and read to our first grade students. Thank you to Ms. Dupre and Ms. Robinson for collaborating with the high school!

Look at these proud faces! Students pictured below are the newest members of the 500 Reading Steps Club in Mrs. O'Grady's class. These students have read for 125 hours so far this year at school and at home. Well done!

Students below read the play "Abraham Lincoln" during Readers Theatre.

Below, grade 3 students worked on essays that compare and contrast two traditional tales. Also picture below, grade 3 students have made kindness priority everyday.

Students in Ms. Cuttle's class are busy measuring angles in their math unit this month. Great job working together and using math tools to complete the activity.

In STEAM, 5th graders worked very hard on their Shark Tank inventions and presented to their peers and judges this past week. I am so proud of all their hard work and creativity.

Students in grade 2 worked on bucket drumming this month. They did a great job following along to the beat. Students in grade 4 are excited to use their recorders. Below, students are practicing their recorder skills during music time.

To wrap up the month of February, students played games to reinforce following game rules, PE rules, and PE expectations.

Coming out of vacation, we will focus on reinforcing expectations. During the month of March students in grades 3-5 will play hockey, among other activities. Students in grades K-2 will play games related to manipulative skills. (Throwing, catching, kicking, rolling)

Check out our school nurse's page for updates, information, and more. Please call 647-4110 or email Colleen.McCann@ScituateSchoolsRI.net with any questions or concerns.

Social Media has many benefits, such as making friendships and connecting with fun and educational content.

Social media also has drawbacks which can impact a child’s development, sleep, emotions and behavior, when used for long periods of time.

The age we start using social media is of concern, according to psychologist, Mitch Prinstein, PhD. According to Dr. Prinstein, around the age of puberty, children begin to seek visibility, attention and positive feedback from peers. They also struggle with resisting temptation and controlling their behavior.

This means that even older children may not have the ability to regulate the amount of social media that they use. Some adults even have a hard time with this.

Children may also compare themselves to others on social media, and seek “likes” over healthy friendships. They may also be exposed to negative peer influence, adult content or unhealthy behaviors.

Lengthy social media use (and technology in general) can also interfere with a child’s sleep schedule and sleep quality, especially when used at night and without limits.

Research has shown that not getting enough sleep is associated with poor school performance, difficulty with attention and with regulating stress. Inconsistent sleep schedules are also shown to negatively impact the brain development of children, even affecting the size of their brain.

Social media has its benefits but like everything, it’s helpful to be used in moderation.

• Remember to monitor the content your child is exposed to and who they interact with.

• Talk to your children about healthy social media use and how to use it and the internet safely.

• Try to set a daily limit for internet use and limit use of screens at nighttime. Use of a schedule or timers can be helpful.

• Try to maintain a regular sleep schedule to support your child’s learning, attention and self-regulation skills.

• Try to help your child join recreational and social activities outside of the internet, to help build healthy friendships and participation in enjoyable activities

(https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2023/02/harms-benefits-social-media-kids)

Girls Event slips were sent home this week. Boys event information will be sent home in the coming weeks.

If you have any questions, please email Lynn Francazio at northscituatepto@gmail.com.

Next Meeting: Wednesday, March 20th @ 7:30pm

• 03/05: School Committee Meeting
• 03/13: Dentist Visits
• 03/19: Hearing Screenings
• 03/21: School Improvement Team Meeting 3:20pm (conference room)
• 03/25: Listen to your Art- Family Paint Party 6-7:30pm (pre registration required)
• 03/29: Good Friday- No School
• 03/31: Surveyworks Window Closes
• 04/02: No School- PD Day for Faculty & Staff
• 04/05: Girls Event at Cranston Country Club 6pm
• 04/15-19: Spring Recess- No School
• 04/22: No School- PD Day for Faculty & Staff
• 04/21: Yearbook Orders Due
• 05/05: Boys Event- Place TBD
• 05/20-23: Spring Scholastic Book Fair
• 05/22: Arts Night 6:00-7:30pm
• 05/27: No School- Memorial Day
• 06/04: Field Day (rain date 06/06)
• 06/11: Kindergarten Celebration 9:30am
• 06/12: Grade 5 Celebration 9:30am
• 06/17: Last Day of School (Tentative)

Email: kaitlin.soccio@scituateschoolri.net
Website: https://nses.scituateschoolsri.net/
Location: 46 Institute Lane, Scituate, RI, USA
Phone: 401-647-4110
Twitter: @NScituateSchool