Welcome to 2023!

As we ring in the new year it is an exciting time to reflect on our accomplishments and continue to work on the goals we set to achieve for this school year.

Of course, one of our main goals here at Lura A. White Elementary School, is to educate our students. At the beginning of the school year we assessed our students in order to provide proper supports using targeted information from the assessment results. This information was crucial in determining the needs of each of our students in order for them to be successful. Students who needed more were carefully monitored throughout the first trimester and adjustments were made based on continuous progress monitoring. As the mid-year point arrives at the end of January, we will be assessing our students again. This information will demonstrate if the initial support provided, moved our students toward or on grade level. We will use this mid-year assessment information to continue providing our students with the support they need to be successful in school. We have already noticed amazing gains in many of our students.

I would like to commend our teachers for putting in the extra mile, applying added support, administering more frequent assessments and using the results to stay on top of each students' needs. Thank you for your continued support at home as well.

In addition to, encouraging good attendance and good work habits are integral to the success for each of our students. Please make sure your child is attending school when they are not ill. Make vacation plans when school is not in session to avoid loss of learning and instruction, as well as doctor's appointments when you are able. Please make every effort to get your child to school on time. School begins at 8:45 a.m.

Responsibility is a key characteristic in promoting future success for your child. One way to ensure your child demonstrates responsibility is making sure your child completes and returns homework assignments to school on time. Older students should be more self-reliant but may need an occasional reminder. Finally, please encourage your child(ren) to put in their best effort whenever they are working on a school assignment or any project they may undertake.

We thank you for your support at home with your child's school work and fostering good attendance habits.

Finally, we know it is important to cultivate all aspects of the child. Social emotional well-being is number one before your child can feel successful in all other areas. Teacher-student relationships are key to making our students acquire a sense of belonging. We have caring, loving teachers and staff members here at LAW who understand that this aspect of their job is vital to getting your child to give their best. Opportunities such as the Panther Leadership Team, the First Lego League, after school activities, music, art, technology, and physical activities also attribute to fostering the well-balanced child. We will continue to make sure your child has a variety of opportunities to feel success in other areas that support their learning success. The new year is a good time to encourage good work habits and putting our best efforts forward whenever we set out to do something!

We would like to thank Mrs. Swenson for her efforts in providing musical direction for our "Winter Solstice Stroll"! It was a fun afternoon, the mood was festive and most importantly it was great to have our families in the building enjoying the festivities!

I would also like to thank Mrs. Noll and her PBIS team members for an extremely fun and rewarding PBIS Rally to end our first trimester. I am sure your children probably shared some of the highlights of this event! Our students were reminded of the importance of our behavior expectations during the rally. Congratulations to our students for earning enough "Golden PAWs" to "silly string" Mrs. Noll and myself at the end the rally. We all had so much fun!

We have so many exciting opportunities happening in the next coming weeks. Please read the school January Calendar below so you don’t miss a thing. We are definitely moving full steam ahead for the last half of this year!

With each new year brings hope and opportunity for a brighter future!

Happy New Year,

Mrs. Lewis, Principal

Mrs. Noll, Assistant Principal

Jan 2 - No School

Jan 3 - Welcome Back from Winter Break!

Jan 3 - School Committee Meeting HS @ 6:30 p.m.

Jan 6 - ASPTO Sponsored event - SkyDome - takes place during school hours

Jan 10 - ASPTO Meeting 7:00 p.m. MS or Zoom

Jan 11 - 90 minute release day 1:45 p.m.

Jan 13 - Spirit Day - Dress like your teacher

Jan 16 - No school - Martin Lurther King Holiday

Jan 17 - Panther Leadership Team Meeting 3:30- 4:15 p.m.

Jan 18 - School Comm. Meeting MS 6:30 p.m. @ 9:30- 10:00

Jan 19 - Coffee with the Principal

Jan 20 - Great Kindness Week Assembly Kick-off

Jan 23-27 - Great Kindness Week Events

Jan 24 - Personal artwork submitted to Mrs. Lewis (see below for details)

Jan 25 - SEPAC Meeting 6:30- 7:30 virtual

Jan 27 - ASPTO Family Dance Party

I am sure you are wondering what the SkyDome Event entails, please read on. On January 6th, our students will embark on a 45-minute journey through the universe from the comfort and security of our own school. The SkyDome is a portable, inflatable planetarium that will be set up in our gymnasium. Students will be dazzled as they are taken on a tour of the solar system.

They will enter the dome and be introduced to a "star filled" sky. The navigator will use a digital planetarium projector and a laser pointer to guide students through the stars of the Northern Hemisphere exactly as they appear on the day of the presentation.

Students will learn how to identify every planet in our solar system in dramatic "flights" towards each world. They will be introduced to Greek mythological characters and see how these heroes of the past can be found in the stars. Students will witness the night sky in different seasons and from different global perspectives.

Here is a link with more details:

https://www.mobileedproductions.com/sky-dome-portable-planetarium-school-assemblies

Students used technology to make it look like they captured one of their classmates in a snow globe. Then they had to write about it. This student is still in the process of editing their writing. What an engaging project and a wonderful way to mix technology with writing. Way to go Mrs. Hemenway!

I apologize in advance for some of the confusion around PPU. We are in a transition period and will be changing the procedures some time in mid-January. I am awaiting feedback from the SPD and the Shirley Traffic Advisory Committee . Once they approve the plan I will be sharing it with you.

Until you hear about the official change, you will proceed as stated in the last change we made in December - with some parents coming earlier and some later according to the last initial of your name (this seems to have lessen traffic build up). Although there are "no parking signs" posted on the side of Lancaster St. you may pull over before turning into the parking lot. This is temporary and will be changed once the new plan is in place. You do not have to go up the hill and turn down on the right hand side to enter the parking lot.

We are hoping to have changes in place by mid-January. I will send out a separate notification to inform you of the structure of the plan and the exact date it will begin.

As we begin a new year, it is a great time to review our behavior expectations across our school day. One of the areas we are focusing on is our school bus. During January, students will be participating in a bus safety review in health class.

Our first priority with our school bus is always safety. Students are expected to stay in one seat, face forward, and keep their voices to a quiet talking level. We remind our students that bus drivers are responsible for many students at once, all while driving and keeping their eyes on the road.

Please review these behavior expectations with your child(ren) at home.

Respect

Responsibility

Safety

Communication

Panther Pride

Students who follow our expectations are able to earn green paws from the bus driver following our PBIS program. Students who do not follow the behavior expectations have consequences that might include written bus incident forms, assigned seating, restorative practices, and or suspension from the bus for an assigned period.

Our Panther Leadership Team has been busy these last few months. Recently, they were key players in making the PBIS rally run smoothly. Members were responsible for reminding our students about our behavior expectations and our core values. In addition to, they were extremely helpful during the rally; running prizes to students and helping with clean up after each event. They also made and helped put up decorations for our Winter Solstice Stroll. Thanks to Mrs. Noll and Ms. Groulx for helping guide our PLT.

We will meet on Jan. 17th after school to plan the Kindness Week events. During the month of January, PLT members will be able to sign up to assist in grades K, 1, and 2 during their recess time.

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." - John F. Kennedy

The Great Kindness Challenge is an organization that promotes world kindness and provides an abundance of resources to help promote kindness. Our K-5 students are the future and we want to foster their creativity and passion for helping others and to make the world a better place by being kind and showing concern for a fair and just world.

As educators, we are in the unique position to empower our students to both acquire the skills they need to become leaders and identify their personal strengths that make them such a unique asset to each other and future communities. During Kindness week we want to extend the act of being kind by showing students what it means to exist peacefully with others and to promote kindness and fairness through their actions.

Kindness Assemblies

The Kindness Week events will be introduced to our students through an assembly held in our gym on Jan. 20th. Students will attend the assembly to learn about all the wonderful things they will participate in during Kindness Week. There will be videos of inspiration showing acts of kindness and motivational kindness activities our students can participate in during the assembly to get them pumped about being "kind"! The assemblies will begin at 9:15 a.m.

More details to follow about the special events as we get closer to "Kindness Week" in a separate newsletter.

We did this last year and it was a huge success. Students were so proud of their artwork.

January 31st is National Art Day. Students will submit their favorite piece of art. It will be uploaded into a slideshow and played at lunch on Jan.31st for all to see! I will share the slideshow in the February Newsletter so you will have a chance to enjoy it as well. We will also display their favorite piece of art on the walls in the cafeteria. The art piece can be done at home or in school. All art pieces will need to be submitted in-person or email to Mrs. Lewis by Jan. 24th. elewis@asrsd.org

LAW Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Mission Statement:

At the Lura A. White Elementary School we value diversity, equity, and inclusion. We celebrate the uniqueness of each individual, embrace diverse backgrounds and respect differing points of view to build a strong inclusive community. As we learn together, we draw on the differences in who we are.