News from the Nest

Hello Elm Street School Families and Friends,

We are so excited to welcome you all back to the 2023-2024 school year! Many of our staff have already been back in the building and were busy this past week getting our spaces ready, finalizing schedules, participating in new educator orientations, and making preparations for this to be the best school year yet! I am thrilled to have our whole team together and back in the building starting on Monday for our first two staff days of the new school year. We can’t wait to see you next week for the start of the school year and want to share a few reminders and information to help get you fully prepared including:

• Kindergarten Sneak Peek Information
• Arrival and Departure procedures
• Reminders from our school nurse
• Night Before School read aloud
• Welcoming new Elm Street School Staff

The first days of school are some of my favorite moments in the arc of the school year. The excitement, nervous anticipation, and enthusiasm for the promise of all the potential growth, success, and connection come bursting through our doors. It is absolutely expected for some students to also have nervous or worried feelings as they begin a new journey within our school whether that is transitioning grades or being new to the community. Know that our staff of kind, committed, compassionate individuals will all be here each day to meet every student where they are and help them make forward progress towards their goals.

I look forward to seeing everyone next week and getting this school year started. As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me directly.

Enjoy this last weekend of summer and see you soon!

Jen

At Elm Street School, students who ride the bus arrive at the first circle parallel to Rt.27. They are supervised by staff as they walk along the sidewalk to enter the main building of the school. The procedures for arrival and dismissal as listed below pertain to parents and other private drivers who transport children to school.

• Students may be dropped off in the Main Arrival Loop ONLY. This is the loop by the main door, near the flagpole. Dropping off students by the Rt. 27 driveway is not safe and is prohibited.
  

• Follow the directions of the staff people “on duty”.
  

• Upon arrival, drivers should turn right and thread through the parking lot. The first car must pull around the loop as far as the stop sign by the preschool playground. This will allow the maximum number of students to disembark onto sidewalks simultaneously.
  

• Instruct child/ren to disembark only from the sidewalk side of vehicle to avoid the danger of crossing between cars in the roadway.
  

• Drivers must prepare students to be ready to exit vehicles immediately upon arrival. If a student is not ready, the driver will be instructed to go around the loop again.
  

• Drivers should be ready to follow a staff member’s signal to exit the loop following the vehicle ahead, once students have disembarked. Do NOT pull around and pass the vehicle in front of you.
  

• Do NOT attempt to park in the loop during arrival. If, for any reason you would like to accompany your child into the building (or help carry materials) please park in the 15 minute parking area near the Preschool Playground.
  

• Do NOT drop off students without pulling into the main arrival loop.
  

• If a child is having difficulty separating at arrival, the driver will be instructed to go around the loop again and pull out onto the service road which leads to the back of the building. Staff there will assist in making the transition.

  
  

• Students being picked up by parents/car pools will be dismissed to the main office lobby. They will be grouped alphabetically throughout the lobby.

  Carpoolers should stand with the driver’s child.
  

• Parents/car pools will thread through the parking lot, then into the loop by the main door.
  

• Anyone picking up students may NOT come into the building.
  

• One staff member with outside duty will use the walkie-talkie. Staff will identify which parents are “in line” and communicate those names to the staff member inside. Those students will then be sent outside.
  

• Staff on duty outside will ensure that students enter the correct vehicle.
  

• It is essential to keep traffic flowing. Parents must not engage staff or other parents in conversation during dismissal.
  

• If a parent is in the building (for example, as a volunteer) and wants to take their child with them, they must stop at the office before exiting the building with their child.
  

• All vehicles must stay in the line until the car in front of them moves. Pulling out and passing the vehicle ahead of you is PROHIBITED.
  

• If a child is not ready when they are called, the parent will be asked to park at the preschool 15 minute parking area and wait. A staff member will accompany the student to the car.
  

• Student safety is our first concern. If you have concerns during dismissal, please get the attention of a staff member on duty to assist you. Please do not get out of your vehicle or move your vehicle out of the line unless instructed to do so by a staff member.
  

• Students who take a bus home will be dismissed from their classroom when their bus is called over the PA system.
  

• All students who take a bus must have a bus pass.
  

• Students and drivers must always follow the instructions of the staff members on duty.

Anytime you need to drive to Elm, please make sure you are driving through the parking lot to the right of the driveway and not straight up the driveway to get to the main front loop. This helps keep all our students and staff safe.

When there are big events, especially ones that cross grade levels and/or overlap with pre-school events, please leave yourself ample time to find parking and be patient with drivers and aware of pedestrians moving about the parking lots and driveways.

If your child has medication (Epinephrine, Albuterol Inhalers, Antihistamines, daily medications to be distributed at school, etc), please plan on dropping off your medication at school prior to the first day. Medications are not allowed to be sent in a child's backpack.

• Please make sure you have updated medication orders (ie Allergy Action Plan, Anaphylaxis Action Plan, Asthma Action Plan) for this school year (dated after 6/30/23) signed by the parent/guardian as well as the prescribing MD/NP. You may also email me with a pdf version of the medical orders and are electronically signed by the prescriber. If you can fill out the attached form ahead of time, this will be helpful.

• All medication needs to be unexpired and in the original prescription labeled box.

Medication can be dropped off for your student to Old Post Road School on the following dates:

• Monday, August 29th between 2:00-4:30 pm

• Tuesday, August 30th from 10:00-12am

The first day of school for our students in grades 1-5 is Wednesday August 30th. On Thursday August 31st we invite our kindergarteners and their families to come in for a sneak peek to meet our kindergarten educators and see their kindergarten classroom before officially starting on Tuesday September 5th. The schedule for this sneak peek is below:

Thursday August 31st 9:00 - 9:30a Kindergarteners with Last Names beginning with A - L

Thursday August 31st 9:45 - 10:15a Kindergarteners with Last Names beginning with M - Z

Join me at 7:30p on Zoom on the night before school (Tuesday August 29th) to listen to a read aloud, see old and new friends, and have a shared experience as we all get ready for our first day of the new school year together. Come in your pajamas, with your family, while eating dinner or brushing your teeth, whatever makes you most comfortable. Hope to see you all there!

(a link to the Zoom will be emailed to all Elm families on Monday August 28th)

Please join me in welcoming our newest members of the Elm Street School team! Our amazing educators will be engaged in new staff orientation for three full days next week as they get acclimated to Walpole Public Schools and the Elm community before they join up with the rest of our team on August 28th. We are still in the hiring process with a few other positions and I hope to share an update about those positions in my next newsletter.

• Lauren Morton: Grade 5 educator

• Samantha Fundinger: Art educator

• Natasha Kelty: English for Multilingual Learners educator

• Tina DiCicco: Nurse

• Alyssa Burke: Partnership Educator (new position!)

• Beth Green: Kindergarten Aide

• Stephanie Richard: Kindergarten Aide

• Tina Mueller: Education Support Paraprofessional

• Jackie Todd: Partnership Education Support Paraprofessional

Don’t miss this historic event! Sign-up now for the 5K, 10K, or highly-popular Youth Mile. All proceeds support the 200+ athletes in the Walpole High School Cross Country and Track & Field programs. Each race participant will receive a finisher’s medal. Can’t join us live? No problem. We have virtual editions for both the 5K and 10K races. For additional information and to register online, please visit www.walpoleroadrace.org.

I'll be out running the 10K and hope to see some Elm families on the course racing or cheering on the sidelines!

Our picture day will be on Monday, September 18th. We will be sending more information home with your child(ren) after the start of the school year.

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