Tuesday, November 24, 2015

November 24, 2015 - Week 13

Hi Dale Street Families!

Last Friday, the fifth grade students were made to feel like stars at the Grade 5 Hollywood Kids' Night Out party.  The students participated in games and dancing during the event.  A big thank you to Liz Dewar and all of the parent volunteers for organizing this fantastic night. Here is a snapshot of the evening.....











The Grade 5 Orchestra, under the direction of Mrs. Evans and Mr. Ruggiero, sounded amazing this afternoon!

Math Night is Coming!

On December 2, 2015, we will be holding a K-5 parent math information night from 6:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. at the Dale Street School. If you did not happen to see the notice that was sent out, you can view it here. We hope to see you there!



The Student Advisory Council has created a great way to spread cheer during this holiday season.  The Dale Street School will be participating in a holiday card project.  
Students in Grades 4 and 5 will be creating holiday cards for the soldiers.  This project should be completed at home and is an optional project.  Student Advisory Council representatives will be collecting created cards over the next few weeks and sending them to the office on Friday, December 4th.    
The Student Advisory Council representatives will be sharing ideas with his/her classmates should you need any.  Participants should use their first name only.  If you have any questions, please see a Student Advisory Council representative, a Student Council Advisor (Mrs. Carey, Mrs. Vancura, Mr. Grenham), or your classroom teacher.  As a reminder, all completed cards must be returned to school by Friday, December 4th. Please consider spreading some holiday cheer this year!


Although families may have a familiarity with standards-based grading, we will be offering parents the opportunity to come in, receive answers to some frequently asked questions, view the draft math insert, and ask their own questions.  Parents are invited to come in on Wednesday, December 2nd at 9:00 AM or Wednesday, December 2nd at 6:00 PM.
.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM SCRIP - Scrip will be placing one last online order for the holiday season!  The program is closing, but one last online order will be placed at noon on Friday November 27th!  If you are interested in placing an order for holiday gifts, teachers, etc., you may do so online at www.shopwithscrip.com no later than 12 noon November 27th.  You may pay for your order by check or online payment. If you choose to pay by check, please drop your check of at Park Street Books prior to November 24th.  Any check not received for an order will result in the order not being placed.  If you choose to pay with online payment through your existing account, the order may be placed up until 12 noon on November 27th.  SCRIP cards are still available at the Park Street Books Box. Please stop buy and purchase cards on hand for the holidays.  We would like to thank all of you who have supported the SCRIP program over the years!

MEDFIELD SPIRIT WEAR – AMAZING HOLIDAY GIFTS! - Place your order before December 10th to assure on time holiday delivery.  Customize EVERYTHING from text to colors and designs from sports to drama to music.  Choose from t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, pants, bags, hats, blankets & more.  Spend $85 or more and get a free customized t-shirt.  12% of proceeds from each order will go to your school’s PTO.  This is all you have to do:

·          Go to shop.mylocker.net
·          Enter your school locker number  - DALE STREET RL896
·          Use promo code R4rgTfnV and receive $10 off every order you place

NOTE: Due to different branding sizes, make sure to check all size charts when ordering to ensure you get a great fit for each product. Use MyLocker to create apparel for your teams, clubs, service groups, and more.  The possibilities are endless!  Please contact Laura ZaherSPIRITWEARMEDFIELD@gmail.com with any questions.

ZEBRA’S GINGERBREAD HOUSE FUNDRAISER - Zebra’s will donate 10% of the gingerbread house ticket sales to PTO and MCPE for the classes on Nov. 28 & Nov. 29.  Tickets can be purchased at the Zebra’s website, under events, “Gingerbread”.  Please enter MCPE or PTO in the discount code box and 10% of the ticket price will be donated to MCPE and PTO.  Classes are in the range of $69-$99 depending upon how many people are part of the reservation, and if the gingerbread house is ordered pre-built or not.

ZEBRA’S FLATBREAD FRIDAY FUNDRAISER - No need to cook on a Friday night after a crazy week!  Enjoy a delicious flatbread from Zebra’s and support the Medfield Public Schools at the same time.  10% of the proceeds from flatbreads sold via take-out or in the restaurant on Friday evenings will be donated to the Medfield Coalition for Public Education (MCPE) and Medfield K-8 PTO.  Please contact Kim Price kimprice73@me.com with any questions.

MOVIE ON THE HALF DAY - Wednesday, December 16th 11:35 – 1:45 pm – $15 per child. Turn this half day into a full day.  This will be a perfect time for you to do some last minute shopping, wrapping, baking or just relaxing!  Please consider helping with this event by either volunteering to chaperone or donating a concession item. The permission slip and ideas for concession for this event are in the THURSDAY PACKET or click here Movie Day Permission Slip

THANK YOU FUND - Are you looking for a way to thank your child’s teacher? Make a contribution to their THANK YOU FUND!  Anyone may contribute a financial gift to any teacher’s THANK YOU FUND.  The teacher can use these funds to purchase books, games, supplies and other things for their classroom as needed.  This is a great way to give your child’s teacher a little extra something that will benefit both the teacher and the children in their class.  This is particularly useful for “specials” teachers that do not receive classroom gifts. This is all you need to do to contribute to a teacher’s THANK YOU FUND:

· Write a check payable to DALE STREET PTO with a note in the memo line designating which teacher’s fund you are contributing to
· Send the check to school in an envelope with your child and include Nancy Thomson’s name on the envelope
· You can also mail the check directly to Nancy Thomson at 52 Cypress Street
· You will be given a note that your child can give to their teacher letting them know you contributed to their fund or a note can be sent on your behalf

Please contact Dale Street Treasurer, Nancy Thomson nancyandgreg@comcast.net with any questions.

MEETING MINUTES - Please review the 10/23/15 Dale Street PTO Meeting Minutes in the Thursday Packet or click here.

DALE STREET PTO MEETING - Thursday, January 8th @ 9:00 am.

SOCIAL MEDIA - Please like us on Facebook Medfield K-8 PTO , follow us on Twitter MedfieldK8PTO and check out our website http://medfieldpto.weebly.com

Mrs. Carey's Health classes have started research for a tobacco report.  Today, students visited the technology lab to find facts regarding different types of tobacco.  
I can't wait to see the reports!






From the Dale Street School Family to yours, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.  
Enjoy the break! 


As always, thank you for reading.  

Sincerely,

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal


Friday, November 20, 2015

November 20, 2015 - Week 12

Dear Dale Street Families,

On behalf of the Dale Street staff, I would like to thank all of you for taking time out of your busy schedules to meet with our teachers over the past two weeks.  We strongly believe in the importance of the home/school connection and recognize that a strong working partnership results in the greatest success for our students. Thank you for all for your continued support!

Hat Day was awesome at Dale Street today!  Thank you to all the students and staff who participated and donated to our Global Giving initiative!  












Positive Referrals!!!
These students received a Positive Referral this week for demonstrating outstanding compassion (This month's character theme!).  Keep up the good work!




Students in Mr. Mason's fifth grade class spent time this week finding evidence related to seasonal weather.  The boys and girls offered some unbelievable thoughts!  


Students in Ms. Condon's Grade 5 class used Plickers this week to assess their understanding of Number the Stars.  What a super quick way to receive feedback!  



Math Night is Coming!

On December 2, 2015, we will be holding a K-5 parent math information night from 6:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m. at the Dale Street School. Be on the lookout for the more information coming soon!


Cyber Monday is approaching quickly! Mark your calendars for the return of MCPE's much anticipated online auction of “Treasured Experiences”. Featuring unique opportunities for students to spend time with their favorite teachers, this online auction will run from MondayNovember 30-December 4th. Be sure to start your holiday shopping medfieldcoalition.org.

Are you looking for a way to let your child's teacher, a school staff member, a coach, a bus driver or an administrator know just how much you and your child appreciate them? Consider MCPE's Blue Ribbon Program. It is an easy and thoughtful way to recognize the efforts of a member of our school community during the holiday season. Each person recognized with a donation will receive a card, customized with a thank you note from you, indicating that a donation was made in his or her honor. To learn more, please click on: medfieldcoalition.org/events-programs/blue-ribbon-program/.

We are thankful for the incredible support the Medfield community has given to the Coalition in the past. As 2015 comes to a close, we hope you will consider making MCPE part of your family’s annual charity gift giving. Please help us continue our mission of funding grants that support academic enrichment programs not covered by the school budget. To donate to our annual appeal, please click here: medfieldcoalition.org/donate-now/.

Holiday shopping? The Medfield Coalition for Public Education is pleased to announce an easy way to raise money for the Medfield Public Schools through AmazonSmile. AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support MCPE every time you shop at Amazon (with or without Amazon Prime) at no cost to you. Once registered, every time you shop Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to MCPE. To learn more about and/or register at AmazonSmile, go to medfieldcoalition.org/events-programs/amazonsmile/.




Here are the 2016 MCAS Test Administration dates for students in Grades 4 and 5:

English Language Arts (ELA)

Tuesday, March 22, Grade 4, ELA Long Composition Sessions A and B
Thursday, March 24, Grade 4, ELA Reading Comprehension, Session 1
Tuesday, March 29, Grade 4, ELA Reading Comprehension, Session 2
Wednesday,  March 30, Grade 5, ELA Reading Comprehension, Session 1
Thursday, March 31, Grade 4, ELA Long Comprehension Make Up Day for students absent on March 22
Friday, April 1, Grade 5, ELA Reading Comprehension, Session 2

Mathematics (Grades 4 & 5) and Science and Technology (Grade 5)

Wednesday, May 11, Grade 5, Science and Technology, Session 1
Thursday, May 12, Grade 5 Science and Technology, Session 2
Tuesday, May 17, Grade 4 , Mathematics, Session 1
Wednesday, May 18, Grade 4, Mathematics, Session 2
Thursday, May 19, Grade 5, Mathematics,  Session 1
Friday, May 20, Grade 5, Mathematics, Session 2 

Please try not to schedule any medical or dental appointments on the testing dates for your child/children.  We also greatly appreciate your support and cooperation in eliminating any unnecessary absences.  As always, please do not hesitate to contact our teaching staff or me if you have any questions or concerns. These dates can also be located on our school's calendar. Thank you in advance for your support and cooperation.


This week, students in Ms. DiPesa's fourth grade class wrote descriptive stories from a turkey's perspective. Incredible job, girls and boys!  




IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM SCRIP - Scrip will be placing one last online order for the holiday season!  The program is closing, but one last online order will be placed at noon on Friday November 27th!  If you are interested in placing an order for holiday gifts, teachers, etc., you may do so online at www.shopwithscrip.com no later than 12 noon November 27th.  You may pay for your order by check or online payment. If you choose to pay by check, please drop your check of at Park Street Books prior to November 24th.  Any check not received for an order will result in the order not being placed.  If you choose to pay with online payment through your existing account, the order may be placed up until 12 noon on November 27th.  SCRIP cards are still available at the Park Street Books Box. Please stop buy and purchase cards on hand for the holidays.  We would like to thank all of you who have supported the SCRIP program over the years!

5th GRADE HOLLYWOOD KIDS NIGHT OUT - Friday, November 20th  7:00 – 8:30 pm.  This is a drop off event and will cost $5 per student.  Please contact Liz Dewar if you would like to volunteer or if you have any questions at 508-359-6918 or lizdewar@verizon.net The permission slip for this event is in the THURSDAY PACKET or click here  5th Grade KNO Permission Slip

MEDFIELD SPIRIT WEARGreat Holiday Gifts! Customize everything yourself or see what your kids can create!  Choose from t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, pants, bags, hats, blankets & more.  Spend $85 or more and get a free t-shirt. 12% of proceeds from each order will go to your school’s PTO.   This is all you have to do:

·          Go to http://www.shop.mylocker.net
·          Enter your school locker number  - DALE STREET RL896
·          Use promo code R4rgTfnV and receive $10 off every order you place

NOTE: Due to different branding sizes, make sure to check all size charts when ordering to ensure you get a great fit for each product.  Use MyLocker to create apparel for your teams, clubs, service groups, and more.  The possibilities are endless! Please contact Laura ZaherSPIRITWEARMEDFIELD@gmail.com with any questions.

ZEBRA’S FLATBREAD FRIDAY FUNDRAISER - No need to cook on a Friday night after a crazy week!  Enjoy a delicious flatbread from Zebra’s and support the Medfield Public Schools at the same time.  10% of the proceeds from flatbreads sold via take-out or in the restaurant on Friday evenings will be donated to the Medfield Coalition for Public Education (MCPE) and Medfield K-8 PTO.  Please contact Kim Price kimprice73@me.com with any questions.

MOVIE ON THE HALF DAY - Wednesday, December 16th 11:35 – 1:45 pm – $15 per child. Turn this half day into a full day.  This will be a perfect time for you to do some last minute shopping, wrapping, baking or just relaxing!  Please consider helping with this event by either volunteering to chaperone or donating a concession item. The permission slip and ideas for concession for this event are in the THURSDAY PACKET or click here Movie Day Permission Slip

MEETING MINUTES - Please review the 10/23/15 Dale Street PTO Meeting Minutes in the Thursday Packet.

DALE STREET PTO MEETINGThursday, January 8th @ 9:00 am.

SOCIAL MEDIA - Please like us on Facebook Medfield K-8 PTO , follow us on Twitter MedfieldK8PTO and check out our website http://medfieldpto.weebly.com



There will be no school on November 25th, 26th, and 27th due to Thanksgiving break.


Thank you for reading!
Have a relaxing weekend!

Sincerely,
Stephen S. Grenham, Principal

Friday, November 13, 2015

November 13, 2015 - Week 11

Hello Dale Street Families,

Last Friday our 4th graders had a fantastic time at the Kids' Night Out!  The night was filled with awesome games and great music.  Special thanks to Maryanne Sullivan, all the parent volunteers, and the middle/high school student volunteers.  Take a look....








News from MFi Angel Run Headquarters...Volunteers needed! There are more than 1,000 runners pre-registered for this year's event. Check out the sign up link www.SignUpGenius.com/go/904084EADAA2DA20-volunteer for lots of volunteer opportunities to assist with this year's Angel Run. If you missed the early bird registration you can still join the fun and register on December 6th beginning at 1pm at the high school. And, a special congratulations to student Megan Colleran whose poster entry was the winner for Dale St. School.

On a visit to Mrs. Lowerre's grade five classroom, I had the opportunity to see the students balancing their classroom checkbooks and spending some of their money at their class store.  What a great activity!




Thank you to all who participated in today's Spirit Day.  We are in the process of tabulating the amount collected this week during our Pennies with a Purpose/Silver Sabotage initiative.  A special thank you to Ms. Sager and her class for all their help and to EVERYONE who donated this week.











On a visit to Mr. Mason's classroom this week, students were involved in a "Density Tower" experiment.  It was great to hear students hypothesizing during the lesson! 




Next week, the district will be following a Monday schedule on both Monday, November 16th and Tuesday, November 17th.  The switch is due to having a number of Monday holidays which result in repeatedly missing the same special subject.  Dale Street students will have the same special subject class on Monday and Tuesday (i.e. if they typically have Health on Monday and Art on Tuesday, they will have Health both days and miss their Art class on Tuesday).



Many thanks to those students and community members who turned out for MCPE’s Student Trivia Challenge and Community Trivia Night. They were fun-filled successful events, the proceeds of which will be used to enrich Medfield students' curriculum.

Mark your calendars for the return of MCPE's outstanding and much anticipated online auction of “Treasured Experiences”. Featuring unique opportunities for students to spend time with their favorite teachers, this online auction will run from Monday, November 30-December 4th. Be sure to start your holiday shopping on Cyber Monday at medfieldcoalition.org.

Are you looking for a way to let your child's teacher, a school staff member, a coach, a bus driver or an administrator know just how much you and your child appreciate them? Consider MCPE's Blue Ribbon Program. It is an easy and thoughtful way to recognize the efforts of a member of our school community during the holiday season. Each person recognized with a donation will receive a card, customized with a thank you note from you, indicating that a donation was made in his or her honor. To thank a school member with this Blue Ribbon recognition, please go to the MCPE website: medfieldcoalition.org. Blue Ribbon requests submitted by Friday, December 18th will be delivered by December 23rd for the 2015-2016 holiday period.

It was great to visit with Ms. DiPesa's fourth grade class this week.  The students were busy working hard inferring how distance can alter an earthquake's effects.  
Great work boys and girls!






Spanish Lessons

The Spanish Honor Society students from Medfield High School are offering Spanish lessons for kids.  Lessons will be held at the Medfield Public Library.  Be on the lookout next week for more information in the Thursday packet.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM SCRIP
After many successful years of fundraising, the SCRIP program is retiring from Medfield. This program raised thousands of dollars over the last several years and many volunteers put in countless hours to help make this program work. The participation in SCRIP has diminished to a place where it no longer makes sense to run the program. Thanks to ALL those who helped make it work, we appreciate all you did!

Park Street Books still has SCRIP cards available until we sell out....so visit soon before they are all gone!

MEDFIELD SPIRIT WEAR
It’s back………SPIRIT WEAR is here and YOU get to design it!  Customize everything yourself or see what your kids can create!  Choose from t-shirts, sweatshirts, jackets, pants, bags, hats, blankets & more. 12% of proceeds from each order will go to your school’s PTO. This is all you have to do:
 
Go to http://www.shop.mylocker.net

Enter your school locker number - DALE STREET RL896

Start creating and shopping

Please use the specific promo code for your school to receive $10 off every order you place

DALE STREET R4rgTfnV

Spend $85 or more and get a free t-shirt

Watch your items be delivered right to your door
 
NOTE: Due to different branding sizes, make sure to check all size charts when ordering to ensure you get a great fit for each product.  Use MyLocker to create apparel for your teams, clubs, service groups, and more.  The possibilities are endless!
Please contact Laura Zaher SPIRITWEARMEDFIELD@gmail.com with any questions.
 
ZEBRA’S FLATBREAD FRIDAY FUNDRAISER
No need to cook on a Friday night after a crazy week!  Enjoy a delicious flatbread from Zebra’s and support the Medfield Public Schools at the same time.  10% of the proceeds from flatbreads sold via take-out or in the restaurant on Friday evenings will be donated to the Medfield Coalition for Public Education (MCPE) and Medfield K-8 PTO.  Try the Seasonal Roasted Autumn Squash & Mushroom Flatbread, Truffle Cream, Goat Cheese & Baby Kale for  $18.  Please contact Kim Price kimprice73@me.com with any questions.
 
5th GRADE HOLLYWOOD KIDS NIGHT OUT
Friday, November 20th  7:00 – 8:30 pm.  This is a drop off event and will cost $5 per student.  Please contact Liz Dewar if you would like to volunteer or if you have any questions at 508-359-6918 or lizdewar@verizon.net The permission slip for this event is in the THURSDAY PACKET.
 
MOVIE ON THE HALF DAY
Wednesday, December 16th 11:35 – 1:45 pm – $15 per child. Turn this half day into a full day.  This will be a perfect time for you to do some last minute shopping, wrapping, baking or just relaxing!  Please consider helping with this event by either volunteering to chaperone or donating a concession item. The permission slip and ideas for concession for this event are in the THURSDAY PACKET.
 
YANKEE CANDLES
Your orders are in! Please pick up your order in the front hallway of the school.  They are in boxes organized by teacher.
 
DALE STREET PTO MEETINGThursday, January 7th @ 9:00 am.
 
SOCIAL MEDIAPlease like us on Facebook Medfield K-8 PTO , follow us on Twitter MedfieldK8PTO and check out our website http://medfieldpto.weebly.com


Thank you for taking time to read this week's Dale Street Blog!  Have an awesome weekend!

Respectfully,
Stephen S. Grenham