Willett Whaler

We have reached out to the picture company. Due to high volume and lab delays, the pictures will be dropped off to us on Monday of next week. We will do our best to put them in student backpacks prior to leaving on Tuesday.

As a reminder, make up day will take place on Tuesday, November 29th.

The clothing giveaway hosted by Willett was a tremendous success. Thank you goes out to the volunteers from all of our schools. We are so grateful for Melissa and her staff from Angels Care Closet for sharing with us.

Please make sure your children come to school with the appropriate clothing as we do go outside for recess when the "feels like" temperature is 25 degrees or higher.

Beginning November 7th, we will be collecting food items for the Annual Attleboro Public Schools Food Drive. The agency assigned to us this year is the Second Congregational Church and the pickup of the food will be Friday, December 2, 2022.

Please send items in with your children and we will place them in our collection area. We appreciate your generosity in helping others in need.

November

23 -25 - No School (Thanksgiving Break

29* School Pictures - Retake Day

This is the time of year that pumpkins are just on the brain! Kids and adults alike seem to gravitate towards all things pumpkin, from pumpkin coffee to pumpkin pie. Some of our Willett friends have been learning about pumpkins, seeds and even made pumpkin bird feeders. What a wonderful way to integrate real world learning into our classrooms! The pictures above show the creative learning and fun activities our students engaged in last week.

Below are some fun facts about pumpkins that might surprise you.

• Pumpkins are usually orange but can sometimes be yellow, white, green or red.

• The name pumpkin comes from the Greek word ‘pepon’, meaning ‘large melon’.

• Pumpkins have thick shells which contain pulp and seeds.

• Scientifically speaking, pumpkins are a fruit (they contain seeds) but when it comes to cooking, they are often referred to as vegetables.

• Pumpkins are usually shaped like a sphere (ball).

• They vary in weight but an average sized pumpkin might weigh around 13 pounds (6 kilograms).

• Giant pumpkins can be grown for competitions, with some weighing over 1000 pounds! (450 kilograms). In 2010, the world record was 1810 pounds! That’s huge!!

• Pumpkin plants feature both male and female flowers, with bees typically being involved in pollination (the transfer of pollen).

• Over 1 billion pounds (450 million kgs) of pumpkin are produced in the US every year.

• As a food, pumpkin can be baked, roasted, steamed or boiled.

• Pumpkin soup is popular, as are roasted pumpkin seeds.

• Pumpkin pie is a sweet dessert that originates in North America and is traditionally eaten during harvest time and holidays such as Thanksgiving and Christmas.

• Pumpkins are popular decorations during Halloween. A carved pumpkin illuminated by candles is known as a ‘jack-o-lantern’. The tradition is believed to have come from Ireland, where they used to carve faces into turnips, beet and other root vegetables as part of the Gaelic festival of Samhain.

• 100 grams of pumpkin produces around 26 calories of energy.

Hello Willett Families!

No News this week. Enjoy the upcoming break!

Fondly,

The Willett PTO 🐳

"Research supports that student attendance has a direct correlation to student achievement and graduation rates. Therefore, communication between schools and families regarding student attendance is critical in supporting academic success. All schools will follow the notification schedule outlined below. Students and parents should consult the Student Handbook for details about the procedures and consequences associated with excessive absenteeism at each school."

MA Mandated Screenings

All health screenings conducted in school are required by Massachusetts Law. Screenings are ongoing throughout the school year. Parents and legal guardians shall be provided with an opportunity to request, in writing, that their child not participate in the program. This request must be written each year and be specific to which screening you do not wish your child to participate. I anticipate screenings will be starting after November 8, 2022.

Elementary Screenings are as follow:

Vision Screening
Vision screening is conducted for all grades k – 4. Parents are notified if the student does not pass for referral to their physician for follow-up.

Hearing Screening
Hearing screening is conducted for all grades k - 3. Parents are notified if the student does not pass for referral to their physician for follow-up.

Growth Development Screening
Growth screening is conducted for students in grades 1, 4. Heights and weights are measured and calculated into BMI or Body Mass Index.

Families with students in grades 3 and 4 - please note the dates below. We ask that all efforts are made to have students present during testing days. Please do your best to avoid these dates when scheduling appointments and vacations.

ELA:

Grade 4 - April 3,4

Grade 3 - April 5,6

Math:

Grade 4 - May 8, 9

Grade 3 - May 10, 11

You may notice that an additional button, called Rooms, will be visible at the bottom right of our Attleboro Public Schools mobile app. This button is part of our integrated system of communication and will allow for your child’s teachers/coaches/and other staff to share detailed information (assignments, special events, practice schedules, etc.). More information is forthcoming, and we will have a table set up at Welcome Back Night.

Lunch applications can be found on the Food Services website, including the online application, a downloadable version in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and a link to access all other languages. Please note that even the online application can be completed in many languages. Direct link can be found here: https://www.attleboroschools.com/page/food-services

The APS Welcome Center is happy to share the Family and Community Resource Guide. This guide is for the APS Community, including families, students, and staff, to access local resources and support. You can access the guide by visiting the Welcome Center webpage, or using this direct link:

https://coredocs.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/asset/uploaded_file/3035/APSWC/2421108/Family_Community_Resource_Guide.pdf

All APS Community Fliers can be found within the Welcome Center website. To view this week’s fliers, including information from throughout Attleboro please visit the Welcome Center webpage or click here for current fliers.

Please go to the App store and search Attleboro Public Schools. There is a new app which will be an excellent means of finding information in one location. You will see updates both from the district and our school. As we use this new tool, administration will be using less of the ASPEN email function.

• Apple Store
• Google Play Store