Dale Street Blog: January 2025

Friday, January 31, 2025

January 31, 2025 - Week 21

Greetings Dale Street Community,

As you may be aware, Dale Street—like many places—has experienced a wave of illness over the past few weeks. Fortunately, our numbers are improving, and I’m hopeful we’re heading in a healthier direction. A special thank you to our wonderful school nurse, Mrs. Gustafson, for her care and dedication to our students and staff. Despite these challenges, our students and staff have continued to work incredibly hard, and I couldn’t be prouder of them. Please take a moment to check out some photos from this week and stay up-to-date with important school information.

Grade 4 students had a super fun time last Friday at PTO's Kids' Night Out. Special thanks to our fabulous PTO for organizing this great event and all of the volunteers who came to help out.

Congratulations to this week's Positive Referral!!!

This week Grade 4 students in Mrs. Scott's and Mrs. Gutierrez's classes dove deeper into➗ Students tackled real-world problems showing their problem-solving skills.💡

All Dale Street students and staff are invited to participate in the Annual March Madness Free Throw Shooting Contest! 🏀 The contest kicks off the week of February 24th. For full details and the sign-up form, click here.

The registration deadline is Friday, February 7th.

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

Positive Sign Thursday!

"Our Future is Bright!"

This week, students in Ms. Sager's 5th-grade class were scientists as they worked collaboratively to find the best site to build a town. Students analyzed landscapes, plants, and soil, and evaluated where best to dig a well.

Valentine's Day is fast approaching....very exciting! To ensure the safety of all of our students and staff, we are requesting that no food/candy be sent in with Valentine's cards. If a student decides to bring in Valentine's, there should be one for every student in their class. On Friday, February 14th, students will enjoy a “Party in a Bag!” Have your child decorate a brown paper lunch bag with a Valentine’s 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! Head Room Parents will be coordinating a game or craft during snack time for this day.

4th grade has been working on inventing, advertising, and prototyping a robot using design thinking skills.

5th grade had been using their knowledge of color theory to match and creatively expand on an existing photograph.

The Spring 2025 MCAS testing dates are as follows: ELA: April 4 and April 9 STE (Grade 5 only): May 6 and May 8 Math: May 16 and May 20

This year, Dale Street plans to test Grades 4 and 5 on the same days using the new MCAS testing platform. We will have an infrastructure trial in late March to confirm this plan. If any issues arise, we may revert to testing by grade level. Thank you for your support, and please reach out with any questions.

¡Vamos a comer 🍽️! This week fifth graders enjoyed creating menus in Spanish, visiting each other’s “restaurantes”, & taking orders. Then, they recorded their information in Book Creator.

Volunteer with MCPE and make a difference for our kids and schools!

Are you looking for a way to give back to Medfield Public Schools?

Join the Medfield Coalition for Public Education!

MCPE is an independent, non-profit organization founded to provide system-wide support for the Medfield Public Schools through grants for the development of innovative programs, curriculum, and enrichment. MCPE is led by a volunteer board that works throughout the school year to organize community-wide fundraising events, like our Fall Ball and upcoming Trivia Night and Spelling Bee. The funds raised from these events allow us to award a variety of grants to teachers and staff at all five Medfield Public Schools.

We’re now recruiting new board members to start in the 2025-26 school year! If you are interested in becoming an MCPE board member, we would love to hear from you. We're looking for candidates who can commit to a 3-year term, attend board meetings once a month (Sept-June), and have an active interest in enriching kids' education in Medfield schools. All skill sets are welcome, and we strive to have a board with diverse backgrounds.

Learn more and apply here: https://www.medfieldcoalition.org/volunteer

🐝🐝 Save the Date!

The 2025 MCPE Spelling Bee for Grades 2-5 is coming up Wednesday, March 12th from 4-7:30pm.

This Spelling Bee is always a ton of F-U-N! In this low-stress team approach to a spelling bee, there is no spelling out loud in front of the crowd. When the moderator reads a word, team members practice T-E-A-M-W-O-R-K to confer and write the correct spelling on a piece of paper. There are several rounds for each age group, and winning teams will be crowned for grades 2-3 and grades 4-5. Kids can sign up as a team of 2-4 students or as a solo speller who will be grouped into a team. And of course, costumes are encouraged!

Cost is $20 per person and each participant will receive a small prize! The event will be held at Medfield High School Auditorium, and all proceeds will go to benefit Medfield Public Schools.

MCPE Grant in Action 🦮

In the first grant cycle of ‘24-25, MCPE funded a grant to assist Medfield High School in securing a therapy dog. Recently, staff from MHS visited puppies at GoFi (Golden Opportunities for Independence), the organization who will be providing hands-on training and support for this program, as part of the process of selection. This therapy dog will establish emotional and mental health support for students.

There are so many great ways to support MCPE and raise money for Medfield Schools like this grant!

Stay tuned for our spring line-up of fun and meaningful events 💐💙🤍

PreK-5 Spirit Day - February 14th - Show Your Love ♥️

On February 14th, we will be having our next PreK-5 Spirit Day. Our theme is “Show Your Love” and our goal is to help stock the Medfield Food Pantry with items that are greatly needed at this time of the year. Please consider donating any of the following items. A drop box will be available in the Dale Street lobby. Thank you for your help!

Ensure or Boost (vanilla or chocolate)

Taco Kits

Pasta Sauce

Individual Applesauce cups

Individual Raisin packs

Announcement of MHS Play and Poster Contest

Click here for the link to Community Postings

IMPORTANT DATES

January 31st - Grade 5 Kids' Night Out

February 4th - Student Council Meeting 3:10 p.m.

February 5th - School Building Committee Meeting - 7 p.m.

February 7th - March Madness Forms Deadline

February 11th - Early Dismissal - 11:40 a.m.

February 14th - Show Your Love Spirit Day

February 17th - February 21 - February Vacation

That’s all for now. Thank you for your continued support.

Steve

Inclusivity * Respect * Responsibility * Continuous Growth

Friday, January 24, 2025

January 24, 2025 - Week 20

Hello Dale Street,

Wow, there was a lot of awesomeness packed into this 4 day week. Please take a few minutes to scroll through and check out some of the scenes...

Congratulations to this week's Positive Referral!!!

Congratulations to the Dale Street Chorus on their outstanding concert performance last night. The students sounded amazing!

This week, we held Town Hall meetings with each grade level—a good mid-year opportunity to pause and reset! 🎯 We did a spin-off of the TV show "What Would You Do?" with scenarios titled "What Should You Do?" 💡 Check out the student presentation here: https://www.canva.com/design/DAGc2gPTr9I/u_W_KdhyeMe1pvyZnND7Dg/edit?utm_content=DAGc2gPTr9I&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Thank you for supporting our Core Values: Inclusivity, Respect, Responsibility, and Continuous Growth!

Positive Sign Thursday!

OUR VOICES HAVE VALUE!

The Spring 2025 MCAS testing dates are as follows: ELA: April 4 and April 9 STE (Grade 5 only): May 6 and May 8 Math: May 16 and May 20

This week, Mrs. Buff's class visited Mrs. Beaudoin and the Makerspace! 🛠️🌊 Students worked together to design, build, and improve objects that could float and keep a tea bag dry. What amazing engineers in action! 👏

🎉 SAVE THE DATE

Grade 5 Kids Night Out is just a week away!

5th Grade Sign Up

5th Grade Volunteer Sign Up

January Lunch Menu

4th graders in Sra. Spittel's Spanish classes completed a paper describing their personal traits in Spanish. These papers are then used for a guess-who game in class and to communicate about themselves and others!

5th graders in Sra. Spittel's Spanish classes created menus in Spanish as part of our food unit, which will be used for a restaurant simulation where students will be able to order from each other's menus in Spanish!

🐝🐝 Save the Date!

The 2025 MCPE Spelling Bee for Grades 2-5 is coming up Wednesday, March 12th from 4-7:30pm.

Cost is $20 per person and each participant will receive a small prize! The event will be held at Medfield High School Auditorium, and all proceeds will go to benefit Medfield Public Schools.

MCPE Trivia Night - One Week Away!

⏰⌛️ LAST CALL to register a team!!

This popular MCPE event will take place next Thursday, January 30th. The event is being held again at the American Legion in Dover, from 7:30-9:30pm with doors opening at 7pm. Tickets are $50/person 🎟, for teams of 4 to 6 members. Have your team members and team name handy to sign up! Space is limited so this is your last call to register a team, at: https://www.medfieldcoalition.org/trivia-2025

Click here for the link to Community Postings

IMPORTANT DATES

January 29th - Early Release Day (Professional Development)

January 30th - School Committee Meeting (Budget Hearing) 6 p.m.

January 31st - Grade 5 Kids' Night Out

That’s all for now. Thank you for your continued support.

Steve

Inclusivity * Respect * Responsibility * Continuous Growth

Friday, January 17, 2025

January 17, 2025 - Week 19

Hello Dale Street Families,

What an amazing week it has been at #beproudbedale! This week there were so many great things happening in and out of the classrooms. I am so proud of our outstanding students and dedicated teachers. They are such a joy to be around each day! I encourage everyone to explore this week's blog and stay informed.

This morning Dale Street held a Hero Day assembly. Students heard about heroes, watched a short video, and one student from each classroom shared about their own hero. Students and staff were invited to dress up like their heroes. Special thanks to our student readers and the Student Council representatives for facilitating the assembly.

It was a treat visiting Mrs. Burnham's fifth-grade class on Wednesday to watch their play about the Boston Massacre. The students were outstanding in bringing history to life! 👏

On Thursday, we celebrated with a Positive Referral breakfast. Thank you to all of the families who attended and special thanks to our cafeteria staff for providing the delicious refreshments. Congratulations to all of the Positive Referrals who attended the breakfast and congratulations to all who earned a Positive Referral so far this year!

🎉 SAVE THE DATE

The Dale Street Kids Night Outs are just a few weeks away!

See grade-specific info below...

4th Grade Sign Up

4th Grade Volunteer Sign up

5th Grade Sign Up

5th Grade Volunteer Sign Up

This week, Mrs. Dowd's 4th-grade class worked with Mr. Ahern to design and build spaceships using MCPE-funded VEX GO materials. Collaboration, creativity, and engineering skills were on full display—future engineers in the making! 🚀🤖

January Lunch Menu

Kudos to our talented Dale Street musicians! 🎶 On Thursday night, our 4th and 5th-grade bands performed for their families and guests. Their music was great, and the audience truly enjoyed the evening. A big thank you to Mr. Bielik, Mr. Dexter, and Mrs. Tumbleson for their guidance and dedication! 🎺🥁

Trivia Night registration is now open on the MCPE website! This popular MCPE event will take place Thursday, January 30th at the American Legion in Dover, from 7:30 - 9:30 pm with doors opening at 7pm. Tickets are $50/person, for teams of 4 to 6 members. Have your team members and team name handy to sign up! Space is limited so make sure to register soon at: https://www.medeldcoalition.org/trivia-2025

This week Grade 4 students in Mrs. Scott's class explored/identified patterns and made predictions. Great math discussion!

Positive Sign Thursday!

WE ARE DETERMINED!

This week in Social Studies, Mrs. Kaplan and Mrs. Seaver’s 5th graders teamed up for a Declaration of Independence scavenger hunt! 🕵️‍♂️📜 What a fun and engaging way to dive deeper into this pivotal document!

Dear Parents,

The Blake Middle School is holding a blood drive on Monday, January 20th, from 8am-2pm. It is run by our students and the American Red Cross. The goal is to help teach students that MLK day is a day of service, rather than a "day off". We are off to a good start with people coming in to donate, but we are pretty far from our goal and need your help. Please consider donating blood. We have the best food recovery table around, and we have a mother's helper station for those who need to bring their kiddos along.

If you have any questions regarding the blood drive please feel free to contact, Cynthia McClelland at cmcclelland@email.medfield.net

Sign-up link:

https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=Blake