Dale Street Blog: April 2025

Thursday, April 17, 2025

April 17, 2025 - Week 31

Dear Dale Street Community,

As you can imagine, there was a lot of excitement at Dale Street this week as we head into spring break! Our students and staff continue to demonstrate their awesomeness in so many ways. Please take a few minutes to check out some of the highlights below and stay informed about upcoming dates and important events.

Just a reminder that there will be a half day of school on Friday, May 2nd, as teachers will be participating in a professional development day. Thank you in advance for updating your School Dismissal Manager to reflect your student’s accurate dismissal plans for that day.

Congratulations to this week's Positive Referrals!

This week, students in Mrs. Scott’s fourth-grade class explored the connection between sound and vibration through a fun Paper Cup Telephone activity! 📞 They tested their designs, then got creative, modifying materials to see if they could boost sound quality. Future scientists at work!

The remaining Spring 2025 MCAS testing dates are as follows: STE (Grade 5 only): May 6 and May 8

Math: May 16 and May 20

Save the Date: The Medfield Environmental Action(MEA) group is working with the Dale PTO to bring the National Bike or Walk to School program back to our students on Wednesday, May 7th (Rain Date, May 9th). Students who would like to participate will meet at the Hinkley Park lot to participate in a safe, police-supervised bike/walk parade to Dale Street School that morning. Use the QR code on the flyer or this link to register.

Announcing the Dale Street 5th Grade Variety Show! Mark your calendar for Thursday, March 22nd at 6:00pm!

Click this link: Variety Show

As we near the end of 5th grade and elementary school, what better way to celebrate than by encouraging your child to show off their amazing talents! Start thinking now about what your Dale student would like to present. Any skill or talent can be on display - either with a group or solo. Acts vary from dance groups, to piano performances, to poetry reading, and so much more! BE CREATIVE! BE COURAGEOUS!! BE AMAZING!!!

MANY more details can be found on the registration form - please review it thoroughly. This show will be performed at the Dale Street Gymnatorium. Sponsored by the Dale Street PTO.

Questions: DaleStreetVarietyshow@gmail.com

This week, Grade 4 students in Mrs. Flynn's class completed the Titan challenge in Makerspace. Students will have a second chance at this challenge later this month. So talented and creative!

Medfield Coalition for Suicide Prevention Hosts “Path for Hope” on Medfield Rail Trail for Mental Health Awareness Month

This Mental Health Awareness Month, the Medfield Coalition for Suicide Prevention (MCSP) invites the community to join Path for Hope on Sunday, May 4th, at 11:30 AM on the Medfield Rail Trail. This event is an important opportunity to build community, foster healing, and promote emotional resilience, an essential protective factor in reducing the risk of suicide.

The link to the Optional Class Placement form closed today at 3:00 p.m. (as noted in the April 7th email). Thank you to all who took the time to complete the Google Form. As we begin the process of class placements and groupings immediately after the break—and continue during our PD day on May 2nd, no additional input will be accepted. To learn more about the placement process, please click here to view the full Elementary Principal Placement Webinar.

Medfield Special Education Parents Advisory Council (SEPAC)

SEPAC is run by a group of parent and caregiver volunteers who work to understand, respect, and support all children with special needs in the community.

Medfield SEPAC now offers Parent Connection Groups. A SEPAC parent volunteer will coordinate each, focusing on a different diagnosis. These informal groups will connect parents and caregivers of children of all ages with specific diagnoses to share experiences and resources. Our parent groups include:

- ADHD

- Autism Spectrum (ASD)

- Down Syndrome

- Anxiety, Depression & Mental Health

- Intellectual & Developmental Disability

- Allergy

- Dyslexia

- Language-based Learning Disabilities

ASD April 17, 7:00pm

Medfield Public Safety Building, Conference Room

RSVP SEPAC@email.medfield.net

ADHD April 28, 7:30 pm, Medfield Public Safety Building

Down Syndrome May 5, 10:15-11:15 am, Medfield Public Library

RSVP mebrien@gmail.com

Medfield SEPAC now accepts nominations for the second annual Jim James Inclusion Award. This award honors Medfield Public School employees who, like Jim James, make outstanding efforts for students with special educational needs to promote and model inclusion. Please help us to identify those educators who deserve this recognition by filling out the nomination form. Thank you for taking the time to help us celebrate those in our district who go the extra mile for our students. We look forward to reading your nominations!

Medfield Coalition for Suicide Prevention Hosts “Path for Hope” on Medfield Rail Trail for Mental Health Awareness Month

Place your order here through May 5th

Pick-up will be the afternoon of Friday, May 9th - just before Mother’s Day on Sunday, the 11th!

This year, the Medfield Lions have generously decided to donate the entire proceeds of their Golf Ball Drop event on April 27 to the Blake Scholarship Fund! Please see the attached flyer (and image below) from the Medfield Lions and consider purchasing golf balls to benefit our school! Each year we have the need for about $30,000 for financial assistance.

Click here for the link to Community Postings

There will be no school for students from Friday, April 18, 2025, through Sunday, April 23, 2025. Students will return to school on Monday, April 24, 2025. Best wishes for a safe and enjoyable April vacation. Enjoy the time away!

Steve

Inclusivity * Respect * Responsibility * Continuous Growth

Friday, April 11, 2025

April 11, 2025 - Week 30

Hello Dale Street Community!

It was a great week at Dale Street! With only a few makeups remaining, the ELA MCAS is complete. I’m so proud of our students for their hard work and perseverance throughout testing. Please scroll through this week’s blog to stay connected and updated on all that’s happening at #beproudbedale!

Congratulations to this week's Positive Referrals!

2025-2026 Student Placement Process

On Monday, April 7th, families with students entering K-5 received an email with the link to the Optional Class Placement Form for next year. This form is open until April 17th at 3 PM. Input will not be accepted after the form closes. Please click here to view the Elementary Principal Placement webinar in its entirety and learn more about the process, including some recommendations as to what information to include when completing the form.

Thanks to our Friday DJs who kept the lunchroom rockin' today.

This week, Grade 4 students went on a field trip to the Patriots Hall of Fame. Students participated in a math-focused program in which they were able to manage an NFL franchise. The students and staff had a blast!

The remaining Spring 2025 MCAS testing dates are as follows: STE (Grade 5 only): May 6 and May 8

Math: May 16 and May 20

So many incredible art pieces on display at the annual Zullo Art Reception this week! 🎨 It was wonderful to see so many talented Dale Street students featured—and such a treat to spot several Dale Street alumni as well!

April Lunch Menu

A Moment in Music

The general music students in grades 4 and 5 are working on a sound project called, Sounds from Space. The Hubble Telescope has brought more of our universe into view. There are many wonderful objects in our universe, such as stars, planets, nebulas, pulsars, and galaxies. These objects produce very unique sounds. To hear these sounds, scientists take x-ray data from the telescope and convert it into sound. In this sound project, the students were asked to choose an object from space and create a soundscape for it using Chrome Music Lab, conventional classroom instruments, or both. You are viewing a fifth-grade student’s project. He chose to create a soundscape for a nebula.

Sounds From Space-Nebula

We are excited to invite you to a special family webinar entitled, "Belonging in Medfield," featuring Dr. Stephanie Pinder-Amaker and Dr. Lauren Wadsworth on Tuesday, April 15, at 6:30 PM. This engaging session will explore important topics such as identity, common barriers to belonging, and actionable steps for students and parents to strengthen their relationships. To attend, please complete the registration form. Once registered, you will receive a Zoom link to join the session. We would like to thank the Medfield Coalition for Public Education for supporting this webinar and we hope you can join us for this meaningful conversation!

MCPE Community Event - Belonging in Medfield

The Norfolk County Sheriff’s Office is offering a Youth Leadership Academy this summer at Medway High School for students ages 10–14. Through team-building games and use of a high ropes course, participants will build skills in collaboration, decision-making, confidence, and more. The program runs in four one-week sessions from July 7 – August 1.

Registration link: https://youthacademymedway.campbrainregistration.com/

🎶 Dale Street Chorus students performed beautifully at this week's Choral Extravaganza! Bravo to all! 👏

This year, the Medfield Lions have generously decided to donate the entire proceeds of their Golf Ball Drop event to the Blake Scholarship Fund! Please see the flyer below from the Medfield Lions and consider purchasing golf balls to benefit Blake!

Dates to Remember

Tuesday, April 15th - Student Council Meeting

Friday, April 18th Good Friday - No School

Monday, April 21st - 25th Spring Vacation - No School

Friday, May 2nd Early Release - Teacher Professional Development Day

Click here for the link to Community Postings

Thank you for your continued support!

Steve

Inclusivity * Respect * Responsibility * Continuous Growth

Friday, April 4, 2025

April 4, 2025 - Week 29

Hello Dale Street Community!

What a terrific week it’s been at #BeProudBeDale! Today, our students completed Session 1 of the ELA MCAS, and I couldn’t be prouder of them! They worked so hard, stayed focused, and truly gave it their best—amazing job to all! Please take a moment to scroll through this week’s blog to see highlights from around Dale Street. You’ll find snapshots of classroom activities, special events, and the incredible spirit of our school community.

On Thursday, we hosted an exciting assembly celebrating Dale Street's March Madness 🏀 championship and unveiling the winner of our Battle of the Books competition. Congratulations to our champions, the Sharpshooting Shorties (Bobby, Owen, and Duncan), and our runner-up team, The Team (Emmett, Cyrus, and Jake). It was a very close match—you were both incredible! This year's winning book, as voted on by students, was The Floating Field by Scott Riley. A huge shoutout to our fantastic emcee, Mr. Mason, and our amazing library staff, Mrs. Beaudoin and Mrs. Knott, for making this event such a success!

5th-grade Yearbooks are available to purchase now through April 30, 2025 - Treering Yearbooks. Each yearbook includes 2 free customized pages for your student. Custom pages are due by April 30th!

Congratulations to Dale Street's Artist of the Month for April!

Luke in Mrs. Dowd's fourth-grade class

This week, our Grade 5 students dove deeper into science during a Physical Changes of Matter workshop. Special thanks to the MCPE for their generous grant, making this fun learning opportunity possible!

On Wednesday afternoon, the elementary principals hosted a webinar regarding the Student Placement process for the upcoming school year. We discussed the many facets of placement and highlighted a change to the input process by sharing that this year, we will be using a Google Form to collect input instead of the parent narrative format that has been used previously.

On Monday, April 7th, families will receive an email with the link to the Optional Class Placement Form. This form will be open from April 7th until April 17th at 3 PM. Input will not be accepted after the form closes.

Please click here to view the webinar in its entirety and learn more about the process, including some recommendations as to what information to include when completing the form.

A Moment in Music

This past weekend, five talented students from our Dale Street Chorus had the incredible opportunity to represent our choral program at the Massachusetts All-State Treble Chorus Festival. Maeve Dondero, Mika Han, Emma Kingsbury, Finley Lipsky, and Hannah Wilson were selected by Mrs. Tremblay and Mr. Ruggiero to take part in this prestigious event.

These dedicated students worked hard, practicing independently at home and receiving guidance from Mr. R to perfect their pieces. Their efforts culminated in a performance under the direction of the renowned Jim Papoulis, a celebrated composer known for his world music and inspiring works for young voices.

We are incredibly proud of Maeve, Mika, Emma, Finley, and Hannah for their dedication and outstanding performance. Their hard work and passion for music truly shone on this special stage. Congratulations to all!

Check it out!

This week included National Paraprofessional Day. We are fortunate to have such an amazing, dedicated team of Paraprofessionals at Dale Street who continually go above and beyond to make a difference for our students and school community. Please join me in thanking them for the incredible work they do every day.

PreK - 5 Spirit Day

Spirit Day is coming! On Friday, April 11th, we will be having a Crazy Hat/Crazy Hair Day for all who wish to participate.

The Jim James Inclusion award, sponsored by the Medfield Special Education Parents Advisory Council, seeks to highlight the employees within our district that promote and model inclusive practices, ensuring all learners are welcomed and celebrated. Jim James, former educator and owner of Park Street Books, embodies what it means to be a champion of inclusivity. Park Street Books consistently looks for ways to support the entire community, including inclusive employment practices and increasing accessibility to books.

The Medfield Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC) would like to honor Medfield Public Schools faculty and staff members who, like Jim James, make outstanding efforts on behalf of students with special educational needs to promote and model inclusion.

Please help us to identify those educators who deserve this recognition.

Nominees can include special educators, general education teachers, paraprofessionals, or any staff member who has gone above and beyond what is required in their efforts to make a positive impact on students with special educational needs.

Awards for the nominees will be presented at the June school committee meeting and announced publicly afterward. Each recipient will receive a certificate and door display for their classroom.

The nomination form will be open from April 4, 2025 to May 1, 2025. Thank you for taking the time to help us celebrate those in our district who go the extra mile for our students. We look forward to reading your nominations!

This week in World Language with Señora LeVangie, students in Ms. Isaacson's Grade 4 class wrote about their favorite seasons, the weather & what they wear. They presented them to their classmates. ¡Trabajo fenomenal!

Dates to Remember

Monday, April 7th - Parent Input Google Form Window Open

Tuesday, April 8th - Grade 4 Field Trip (Classes - DiPesa, Dowd, Gutierrez, Isaacson, M. Hayes)

Wednesday, April 9th - ELA MCAS - Session 2

Thursday, April 10th - Grade 4 Field Trip (Classes - Douglas, Flynn, MacDonnell, Scott)

Thursday, April 10th - School Committee Meeting

Friday, April 18th Good Friday - No School

Monday, April 21st - 25th Spring Vacation - No School

Click here for the link to Community Postings

Thank you for your continued support!

Steve

Inclusivity * Respect * Responsibility * Continuous Growth