Friday, December 17, 2021

December 17, 2021 - Week 16

Dear Dale Street Families, 

It is amazing to think there are only 3 and a half days until winter break!  We had a great week at #beproudbedale with lots of activities and learning. Although there was a disturbing and unfortunate social media claim made about today, we still were able to come together and have an awesome day!  I am so proud of our ROCKSTAR students and staff!  Take a minute to look at the awesomeness that took place this week...

In a visit to Ms. Hayes' fourth-grade classroom this week, students were engaged in the Math Workshop.  Students participated in math fluency, equivalent fractions, and problem-solving.  Way to go!  


Positive Sign Thursday!

YOU ARE FABULOUS!  





Holiday Celebrations - Enjoy a “Party in a Bag!” Have your child decorate a brown paper lunch bag with a holiday theme. Once decorated, fill it with a few of your child’s favorite food items. Some examples are: juice box or mini water bottle, small salty snack, fun sweet snack (cupcake, cookie), additional items could be a piece of fruit, a small yogurt, or any additional healthy snack.  Adding a little note to your child's bag will definitely make them happy!  Students will be able to enjoy their “Party in a Bag” snacks at a designated time during their classroom celebration on December 23rd. 

On Wednesday, Jillian's (in Mrs. Nee's fifth-grade class) uncle, James Grant, surprised her with an Army Homecoming. Mr. Grant spoke about his time as a soldier, his time as a government contractor, and his return to the army. Mr. Grant also talked about robotics platforms, night vision goggles, and parachuting.  Jillian and all of her classmates thoroughly enjoyed this visit.   


A Note from MCPE...
We'd like to send special thanks to Allyson Hart, and Pistil Floral Design for hosting a wonderful wreath workshop! The event was a great success and we hope you ended up with a gorgeous, handmade wreath for your holiday decorating. Upcoming events include the return of the MCPE Spelling Bee in March and Trivia Night planned for Winter 2022. Have a wonderful holiday season and thank you for supporting the Medfield Public Schools!

On a visit to the Makerspace on Thursday, Ms. Burnham's grade 5 students were working with Ms. Sweeney to design and develop a greenhouse that would function on a different planet. So cool!




Dale Street School - Days of Spirit

Monday, December 20th - Wear a festive holiday hat/headband! 

Wednesday, December 22nd - Wear a festive holiday sweater!

Thursday, December 23rd - Merry & Bright - wear something bright, sparkly, or shiny.

This week, grade 4 students in Ms. Isaacson's class took time in math to compare fractions using benchmark fractions and common denominators.  Good work, young learners! 




So proud of our Grade 5 trombone students.  This week they played some holiday duets with Mrs. Tumbleson using sight-reading.  Bravo!  


Special thanks to Sebastian and Gianna for taking the time to interview me as part of a project they are doing for their Newspaper Club intramural.  

Please check the Lost & Found for missing items. 

Unclaimed items will be donated on Dec 22nd. 

This will be the last blog before winter break.  All of us at Dale Street would like to wish you and your family the happiest of holidays.  Students will be dismissed on Thursday, December 23rd at 11:40 a.m.  There will be no school for students from Friday, December 24, 2021, through Sunday, January 2, 2022. Students will return to school on Monday, January 3, 2022.

Enjoy the well-deserved winter break and we will see you in the New Year!

Warm regards,
Steve

Respect * Compassion * Collaboration * Continuous Growth

Friday, December 10, 2021

December 10, 2021 - Week 15

Dear Dale Street Families, 

Another great week here at #beproudbedale!  Please take a minute to scroll through to check out some of the WONDERFUL things that occurred.

Congratulations to this week's Positive Referrals

Dominic was recognized for being compassionate and respectful!

Tess was recognized for demonstrating compassion and collaboration! 

Connor was recognized for exhibiting our core value of compassion! 

Check this out...This week Grade 5 worked with Technology Integrationist, Mr. Ahern and Ozobots coding to program the Ozobot to travel over a 'frozen pond' and participate in a 'dance party.' As a bonus, students integrated music they were learning and coded the Ozobots to play songs!  AMAZING!   



A huge thank you to our awesome PTO for funding our Grade 4 Greek Mythology books. Thank you so much for supporting our students and teachers! 


The Heart to Heart Service Group was performing random acts of kindness and they stopped by to recognize the hard work of our own Mrs. Thompson. Zoe Zilinski stopped by and presented Mrs. Thompson with a card and poinsettia plant.  Well deserved! 

Today, students in Ms. MacDonnell's and Ms. Plympton's Grade 4 classes facilitated an awesome student-led assembly highlighting our core value of Collaboration.  Please ask your child what animals collaborate well and how we replicate the things animals do here at #beproudbedale.  


Positive Sign Thursday! 

'OUR FUTURE IS BRIGHT!'


Holiday Celebrations - Enjoy a “Party in a Bag!” Have your child decorate a brown paper lunch bag with a holiday theme. Once decorated, fill it with a few of your child’s favorite food items. Some examples are: juice box or mini water bottle, small salty snack, fun sweet snack (cupcake, cookie), additional items could be a piece of fruit, a small yogurt, or any additional healthy snack.  Adding a little note to your child's bag will definitely make them happy!  Students will be able to enjoy their “Party in a Bag” snacks at a designated time during their classroom celebration on December 23rd. 

We will be holding virtual parent-teacher conferences again on Tuesday, December 14th from 12:00-3:30 p.m.  This will be an early release day and students will be dismissed at 11:40 a.m. Please update School Dismissal Manager to reflect your child's dismissal plans on these days.

Dale Street School - Days of Spirit

Monday, December 13thWear the silliest holiday socks you own! Make sure you show them off!

Thursday, December 16thMad About Plaid! Wear your favorite plaid shirt, plaid scarf, and/or plaid hat and blue jeans!

Friday, December 17th - Students and staff are encouraged to wear PJ’s (or comfy clothes) on the last Friday before winter break. 

Monday, December 20th - Wear a festive holiday hat/headband! 

Wednesday, December 22nd - Wear a festive holiday sweater!

Thursday, December 23rdMerry & Bright - wear something bright, sparkly, or shiny.

Students in Ms. MacDonnell's Grade 4 class and Mrs. Scott's Grade 4 class kicked off their new math unit this week by exploring equivalent fractions with manipulatives and a partner.  Continuous Growth + Collaboration = learning fun








Student Council Initiative 

Beginning today, we are asking students to create holiday cards for the residents at the Thomas Upham House.  School Nurse, Mrs. Thompson visited the Student Council meeting on Tuesday and asked if the Student Council would oversee this wonderful initiative.  Cards should be turned into the main office no later than next Friday (December 17th).  These cards will accompany gifts collected by the Home Committee.  Card suggestions from the Student Council:

colorful
no names
happy
upbeat
drawn pictures
happy holidays (we are not sure what people celebrate)
maybe a poem
you can make more than one

Making Connections...this week Grade 4 students in Ms. Isaacson's class shared games they created with Mrs. Nawrocki in PE class with other students at recess. 





Dale Street will host a Holiday Flea Market on Tuesday, December 21st.  Classes will visit Mr. Douglas' and Mrs. Flynn's classroom at a designated time and have the opportunity to purchase a trinket for themselves or someone else.  All proceeds will benefit the Medfield Home Committee.  

Although it is scheduled to be a little warmer next week, winter is here!  Please make sure your children come to school dressed appropriately for the cold weather.  Students will have recess OUTSIDE if the 'feels like' temperature is 20 or above.  Hats, gloves, and coats are strongly encouraged. 

Thank you for checking in.  Have a wonderful weekend! 

Steve

Respect * Compassion * Collaboration * Continuous Growth





Saturday, December 4, 2021

December 3, 2021 - Week 14

Hello Dale Street Families! 

I hope that you all had an opportunity to spend time together with family and friends over the Thanksgiving break and focus on all there is to be thankful for.  I am very thankful for the students and staff I work with every day!  We had a great return to #beproudbedale this week.  Please take a minute to view some of the scenes and check out some important upcoming information.   


Congratulations to this week's Positive Referrals...

Audrey was recognized for being patient, kind, and encouraging!  

Camryn was recognized for being very compassionate! 

Drew was recognized for his perseverance and inspiring those around him!  

Owen was recognized for his enthusiasm and modeling our Core Values! 

Alex was recognized for always pushing his thinking and his perseverance!

On Wednesday, I had the great fortune to speak with Grade 5 band members about SMART (Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound) goals.  It was a fantastic time!  I am so happy (and proud) that students are writing their own individual SMART goals.   

Thank you to all the elementary families who attended Tuesday night's Elementary Report Card webinar.  If you didn't have the chance to hear the webinar (or would like to view it again) you can click here (you will need this passcode: *?^U3KY8)  You can click here to see the slides that were used during the presentation.  

Thank you to everyone who participated in Friday's Spirit Day! It was great to see so many schools represented! 







Positive Sign Thursday! 

'YOU ARE VALUED!'



This week, students in Grade 5 visited Ms. Sweeney in the Makerspace.  Their task...design a greenhouse that could be used to grow plants on another planet. On this day, students were able to share their thought processes and work with Dr. Marsden.  What a great activity!  

Thank you to all the families that sent in 'Thank You' cards for the community. They were delivered to the different members of the Medfield community last week!

Thank you to all the families who signed up for the mitten project! We have reached our goal of 50 mittens! Please drop them off at the front office by December 10th!

On a visit to Mrs. Ross' and Mrs. Seaver's class this week, it was great to see students work collaboratively to learn more about the original 13 colonies.  Their focus on this day...New Amsterdam to New York.   




We will be holding virtual parent-teacher conferences this year on Thursday, December 9th from 12-3:30 p.m., and Tuesday, December 14th from 12:00-3:30 p.m. Be sure to sign up for a conference time with your child's teacher.  These are early release days and students will be dismissed at 11:40 a.m. Please update School Dismissal Manager to reflect your child's dismissal plans on these days.

This week, members of our grade 5 violin group worked to hone their bow skills with Mrs. Sullivan.  So impressed with these awesome students!  

Dale Street School- Days of Spirit

Dale Street is going to participate in a variety of Days of Spirit leading up to winter break. Students are encouraged to participate in the fun. Here is what will be taking place next week:

Wednesday, December 8thWear your favorite holiday colors! Red, green, gold, blue, white, silver, etc.

Friday, December 10thWear something that shows off a winter character (Grinch, Santa, elf, Olaf, snowman, reindeer…)

This week, Mrs. Scott's grade 4 class worked with World Language teacher, SeƱora DellaMonica to write about a subject that they like a lot - me gusta! Their writing was all in Spanish! #talented


Join MCPE for a virtual wreath-making class just in time for winter.   
MCPE has partnered with Pistil Floral Design, a local business owned and operated by Medfield mom Allyson Hart, to bring this private fundraising workshop to your home just in time for winter! Visit www.medfieldcoalition.org for details and to sign up for this exclusive virtual class. Tickets are $65 and we are limited to 100 tickets so sign up now.

Thank you for checking in.  Have a wonderful weekend! 

Steve

Respect * Compassion * Collaboration * Continuous Growth