Dale Street Blog

Friday, December 13, 2019

December 13, 2019 - Week 16

Hello Dale Street Community!

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 of your continued support!

Congratulations to our Positive Referral this week!

This week, Grade 5 students faced some challenges in Makerspace with Mrs. Lowerre. I am proud to say they met these challenges using teamwork and design thinking. Special thanks to the MCPE for funding Turing Tumbles; a hands-on game that allows students to build mechanical computers to solve puzzles. So cool!

~We are asking families to save "cardboard" from their holiday gifts and donate it to our Makerspace. Please send in donated cardboard with students upon their return to school after winter break.

~We are also looking for donations of dominoes for our Makerspace.

¿Te gusta ir? ¿Dónde está? In World Language with Señora LeVangie this week, Ms. McKenzie's fifth grade students shared table conversations about popular spots in Medfield.

Thank you to our Chromebook Captains for all their help in making sure our Chromebooks are charged and ready to go for all our students each day. They are doing a fantastic job!

Thank you to Emma for our book recommendation this week. Emma recommended Noise by Kathleen Raymundo. This book inspired her because 'it is about a boy who lost his mother and the girl, Cathryn, helped the boy send a balloon up to heaven to say "Happy Birthday."' Thanks, Emma.

Check out the PTO update which has information about volunteer opportunities, fundraisers and more.

The PTO Movie on the 1/2 Day (Toy Story 4) will be on Wednesday, Dec 18, from 11:45-1:45. Click here for permission slip and additional information.

This week Grade 4 students learned more about stereotypes with Ms. Warner. Students are loving the Sanford Harmony social emotional lessons!

A HUGE thank you to our incredible PTO and all the parent volunteers for organizing an amazing holiday luncheon last Wednesday. The food was delicious! We are grateful for your support every single day!

Who says you can’t travel to Outer Space (or swim w/ sharks & explore ancient ruins)? Ms. Condon's fifth grade class did these things this week thanks to our MCPE funded VR Google Expeditions!

THE 5th GRADE VARIETY SHOW IS COMING! REGISTER NOW!

Registration forms due Friday 1/10, 5pm
(right after break – get on it!!)

Click HERE for the application form. ALL 5TH GRADERS WELCOME!

IMPORTANT: a form must be submitted for each child participating in the show.

Absolutely EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW about the Variety Show is explained in the registration form. Seriously, if you read it and complete it, you'll be all set! Parents, you can sign up to volunteer HERE

Mark your calendars!! Important dates to remember:

January 10th @ 5pm — Application Forms Due

January 16th — Show and Tell/Auditions after school

January 23rd — Mandatory Rehearsal 3pm – 5pm

January 30th— Dress Rehearsal 3pm – 5pm

January 31st — The Dale Street 5th Grade Variety Show at 6:30pm!

Special thanks to Mrs. Cabezud for speaking to our Student Advisory Council this morning about this year's Variety Show.

There's still time to make a 2019 donation to MCPE! We know you have many options when it comes to year-end giving. Why not choose MCPE? We are providing system-wide support and academic enrichment for Medfield Public Schools. Donate today at medfieldcoalition.org

Classroom Holiday Celebrations

Our fourth and fifth grade classrooms will be holding classroom celebrations during the week of December 16th. Each classroom will have a 'Party in a Bag'. Once again our very generous PTO are providing a brown bag to every student at Dale Street. These bags went home today (12/13). Please have your child decorate (if they wish) or simply print their name on the brown paper bag. Please return the brown bag on the day of their classroom celebration filled 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' snack times and holiday themed activities will take place at different times/days depending on each class' schedule.

Chess Wizards will be offering a 6 week class at Dale Street beginning January 3rd. For more information and to register, please click here.

Please note that we have had a few changes to the lunch schedule for next week:

Tuesday, (12/17) will be Grilled Cheese

Thursday, (12/19) will be Fun Bag Lunch (Turkey & Cheese Roll-up)

This week, Ms. Isaacson's fourth grade students received a visit from Dale Street reading specialist, Mrs. Callahan to investigate myths and create digital breakouts. They were so into it!

Please be aware that students in band and orchestra need to bring their instruments to school on early release days. Ensembles are held on Wednesday (Gr. 5) and Thursday (Gr. 4) from 8:40-9:40. If students will be walking uptown after school, instruments can be left at school overnight and brought home the next day. We appreciate your help in making sure our music students are prepared for class.

Please check the Lost & Found for missing items.

Unclaimed items will be donated on Dec 20th.

Medfield High School National Honors Society Presents...

Free Holiday Gift Wrap

When: Saturday, December 14th

Time: 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM

Where: Medfield High School Cafeteria

Drop off your holiday gifts and get them nicely wrapped for free by volunteers from MHS National Honor Society! Donations to National Honor Society welcome, but not necessary!

Last Monday, architect, Arrowstreet, Owner's Project Manager, Leftfield and Educational Consultant, David Stephen held a Community Educational Visioning Workshop for the Dale Street Project. Community members were updated on the MSBA process and were able to share their educational vision and priorities for a new school. Thank you to all who came out for the meeting. If you didn't have the chance to attend this meeting please stay updated here. Also, please follow this process on Twitter: @DaleStProject

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.

December 18th - Early Release (Prof Development for Staff), PTO Movie on the 1/2 Day

December 20th - Early Release (Winter Break)

December 23rd-January 1st (Winter Break)

Thank you for taking time to read this week's blog. Have a wonderful weekend!

Warm regards,

Steve

Respect • Compassion • Collaboration • Continuous Growth

Friday, December 6, 2019

December 6, 2019 - Week 15

Dear Dale Street Families,

We had a great turnout for yesterday's Student-Led/Family conferences – thank you for your continued support and interest in partnering to make sure your child has an excellent all-around experience here at Dale Street. Next Tuesday, December 10th will be another Student-Led/Family conference afternoon and dismissal will be at 11:40 a.m. Below please find some awesome things that were happening at #beproudbedale this week:

Thank you to all of the families who were able to join us for the first Positive Referral breakfast of the 2019-2020 school year. The Food Service department provided coffee, juice, and a variety of delicious treats for everyone to enjoy. Thank you to them for all of their hard work organizing this event. Lastly, a huge thank you to all of the students who continue to demonstrate outstanding character. We are so proud of you for making such great choices each and every day!

Thank you to Max's dad for recently visiting Mrs. Dowd's fourth grade classroom. He was in to talk with students about mechanical engineering. What a great real-world connection!

The recent snow this week did not damper students' spirits at recess - it actually brought a lot of smiles. As a reminder, students must have snow pants and boots to head off into the snow.

Check out the PTO update with information about volunteer opportunities, fundraisers, and more.

We are preparing for the Winter Holiday Lunch for the amazing teachers and staff at Dale Street School. Please consider signing up to make a contribution to help us make it extra special!

The PTO Movie on the 1/2 Day (Toy Story 4) will be on Wednesday, Dec 18, from 11:45-1:45. Click here for permission slip and additional information.

THE 5th GRADE TALENT & VARIETY SHOW IS COMING!

(Cue applause)

Can your child sing like Adele or breakdance like a pro? Show off your talents at this Dale Street School tradition. Dancing, singing, bands, skits, comedy, piano, music, etc. - it's all welcome at our annual Talent and Variety Show! All 5th Grade students are welcome to participate (but you must register by January 10th). More info coming soon....any questions can be sent to dalestreetvarietyshow@gmail.com. Gather your acts and get ready to register for this fun show! Registration form coming next week!

Mark your calendars!! Important dates to remember:

January 10th @ 5pm — Application Forms Due

January 16th — Show and Tell after school

January 23rd — Mandatory Rehearsal after school

January 30th— Dress Rehearsal after school

January 31st — The 5th Grade Talent & Variety Show!

This fifth grade student received a response letter and autographed photo from Chris Pratt! So cool!

We have been experiencing a high volume of students coming in at the end of the day with issues with their dismissal plans. Please be mindful of the School Dismissal Manager cutoff times to input and/or adjust your child’s dismissal plans for the day:

10:30AM on HALF DAYS

1:30PM on FULL DAYS

Any student who has dismissal plans that are different from their regular default dismissal (ie: taking regular bus home, permanent walker, etc) MUST have their dismissal plans updated prior to the cutoff times listed above. Please note that changes can be made multiple days in advance.

As a refresher, please take a look at this brief (1.5 minute) video on using School Dismissal Manager.

Please be sure when making a selection for your child’s dismissal option to click the “UPDATE SCHEDULE CHANGES” button before clicking on “back to calendar”. Otherwise your dismissal plans will not be saved. You should also receive a confirmation email with your changes.

Thank you for your help in making sure your child gets where they need to be safely at the end of the school day.

Classroom Holiday Celebrations

Our fourth and fifth grade classrooms will be holding classroom celebrations at some time during the week of December 16th. Each classroom will have a 'Party in a Bag'. Once again our very generous PTO will provide a brown bag to every student at Dale Street. These bags will be distributed on Friday, December 13th. Please have your child decorate (if they wish) or simply print their name on the brown paper bag. Please return the brown bag on the day of their classroom celebration filled 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' snack times and holiday themed activities will take place at different times/days depending on each class' schedule.

Mr Mason’s fifth grade class used time to learn about communication in this week’s Sanford Harmony lesson. Students learned about 3 communication bloopers - interruption, ignoring, and withdrawing. Special thanks to Dale Street Guidance Counselor, Ms. Warner for leading these very important lessons.

Just before Thanksgiving break, students in Ms. Johnson's fifth grade class composed letters of thanks to Medfield Police Officers and Firefighters. We all appreciate our first responders!

Chess Wizards will be offering a 6 week class at Dale Street beginning January 3rd. For more information and to register, please click here. They will be providing a demo for students during recess on Friday, December 13th, for those interested in learning more.

Thank you to Ryan for our book recommendation this week. Ryan recommended The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden. The book inspired him 'to speak up for what's right.' Thanks, Ryan!