Caregiver Update

It's Scholastic Book Fair week! I know the students and teachers get excited to shop for books during library time. I did tell the students today during announcements that I will be selecting a few students to give free books to from the book fair. All they have to do is write me a letter giving good reasons for why they deserve to be given a chance to shop for books to put on my tab. I am accepting letters until Wednesday, March 20.

Speaking of Wednesday, hope to see many families Wednesday morning for our Spring into a Good Book Breakfast! Check out the link below to sign up and give us a head count for breakfast. Come have breakfast, read together as a family, and if you want, you can shop together at the book fair from 7:45 to 8:15am. We will also open up the book fair from 4:30 to 5:30 pm in case anyone wants to shop after enrichments. If your child can't find the book they want at the fair, you are able to shop online from March 18-March 31: https://www.scholastic.com/bf/henrycloughelementaryschool

I wanted to put out some reminders about drop off and pick up. If you are driving your child to school, please make sure to park in a spot in the main parking lot. We have had people parking in the front loop. In order to make drop off run smoothly, we have the front loop reserved for those families who are dropping off their preschoolers. That is the only group allowed to park in the loop. The same thing applies for pick up at dismissal time. I want to give a shout out to the Clough staff who are super efficient and help us to have a fairly quick dismissal of walkers. Please make sure to park in the main parking lot and join the line on the sidewalk to get your child.

Unless there is a major emergency, you are not allowed to dismiss your child after 2:45. We have had several caregivers coming or calling between 3:00 and 3:10 to dismiss their child early. It is very difficult to start the dismissal process while having lots of caregivers call for last minute changes to pick up. Thank you for your understanding with this process.

Report cards will be available to families in PowerSchool this Wednesday. Please reach out to the office if you need help accessing them.

Sincerely,

Liz Garden

Principal

P.S. Check out the order form below! Paper copies will be coming home soon. The PTO is selling Mendon Upton Clough socks! I can't wait to get several pairs!

The Book Fair will be open in the library for families to shop from 7:45-8:15 on March 20. We will also open up the Book Fair for shopping from 4:30-5:30pm on that same day. If you are not able to attend the breakfast, you will have another shopping opportunity at the end of enrichment sessions on the same day.

Paper Order Forms will be coming home in backpacks soon!

We have two community service projects happening during the month of March. The first one is a result of our recent Inspired Learning Day. The group of students who focused on being Global Citizens on our recent Inspired Learning Day had a chance to meet with and learn from representatives from the Mendon Food Bank. We are assisting the Food Bank with a collection drive during the month of March. Students made posters to advertise throughout the school. The food pantry is looking for donations of individually packaged snacks, juice boxes, cereal, toothpaste, shampoo, and conditioner. We have a big collection box in the main lobby where students can drop off items.

The student council has organized a "coin war" that will be taking place the last two weeks of March, beginning on March 18. We will be raising money to donate to One Mission, a charity focused on pediatric cancer support. Each grade will have a bucket in the lobby. Students are encouraged to donate coins to their grade level bucket (PK and K will be together in one bucket). If a student brings in dollar bills, those bills subtract from that grade's bucket. For example, a 1st grade might bring in some coins and place them in their grade level bucket. But then they might bring in a $5 bill and put it in the 4th grade bucket. That $5 will subtract from the 4th grade total. (Student council members get to help count and solve the money totals at the end. Doing good AND working on math skills...a win-win!) The winning grade with the highest total at the end of two weeks will win a chance to pick a reward for their grade. They might win an extra recess, a pajama day, a dance party...or something else!

Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) is pleased to announce its new, free MPY Parenting Solutions Library. To date, over 2,200 videos have been borrowed. MPY is offering the MPY Parenting Solutions Library in partnership with Peace At Home Parenting Solutions, a non-profit located in Mansfield, Connecticut. Peace At Home Parenting Solutions is a dynamic hub of trusted knowledge and compassionate support that inspires parents to create positive change for their children, their families and themselves. Through this new partnership, MPY is pleased to offer proven resources to help students’ families thrive.

Peace At Home Parenting Solutions specializes in empowering parents with evidence-based strategies to foster nurturing connections that safeguard their children's mental well-being. When parents grasp the interconnection between the brain, body, and behavior, they experience reduced stress levels, resulting in less stress for their children.

The Peace At Home Parenting Solutions team, comprised of experts with advanced degrees, stays abreast of the latest advancements in child development. With more than 30 specialists focused on child and adolescent development, including specific issues such as difficulties in school, mental health challenges, neurodiversity, LGBTQ+ identity formation, handling racism, navigating grief, and other matters parents and our partners identify. These experts present easy-to-use strategies for long-lasting change.

Parents can watch or just listen to experts who get right to the point solving big and small challenges. The 24 library presentations focus on the topics below. Each presentation includes a 10-minute videos and handouts.

· Inspire School Success for Elementary, Middle and High School Students

· Parenting Principles for Progress Not Perfection

· Mental Health Knowledge and Skills

· Support Your Anxious Child Library

· ADHD and Autism: How to Help Your Child Thrive

The Home Parenting Library may easily be accessed using the link on MPY’s home page (www.mpyinc.org). No log in or passcode is needed.

We will be talking to students throughout the year about different core values such as kindness, respect, teamwork, acceptance, patience and several other important values. We are utilizing the Choose To Be Nice program for resources and activities. They have resources for families that can be found here:

https://choosetobenice.com/home-community-resources/

Here's a home banner of our Choose To Be Nice pledge. Families can take the pledge together and sign their own banner!

They also have a spot on their website where you can order Choose To Be Nice gear: https://choosetobenice.com/the-shop/

March/April

Mar 18 - Budget Hearing @ Nipmuc Auditorium 7:00pm

Mar. 18-Mar. 22 - Spring Book Fair! More info coming

Mar. 20 - Spring Into a Good Book Breakfast @ 7:45, also Book Fair shopping in the library from 7:45-8:15 and 4:30-5:30

April 3 and 5 - MCAS ELA sessions for 3rd and 4th graders

Henry P. Clough Elementary School now has a Facebook page, Twitter account and Instagram page! Instagram: cloughelem

Email: lgarden@mursd.org
Website: https://www.mursd.org/o/henry-p-clough-elementary
Location: 10 North Avenue, Mendon, MA, USA
Phone: 508-634-1580
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HPClough-Elementary-School-102887309160164
Twitter: @HPClough