March 31, 2016

Greetings Memorial Families,

Site Council Survey Closes Tomorrow (April 1st)
If you have not yet completed the Memorial School Site Council survey, please take a moment to do so by clicking on this link .  Information from the survey will be used to support the development of the 2016-2017 School Improvement Plan.  Thank you in advance.

Principal's Coffee
Thank you to those who were able to attend the Principal's Coffees on Monday.  For those of you who were unable to attend, here is the link to the presentation.  Please reach out should you have any questions.

Placement Narratives
An email will be sent to all families tomorrow (April 1st) explaining the input process and narrative parameters.  Please be on the lookout for the information.

Beach Ball Volleyball
The students in Mr. Grace's PE classes showed their skills at beach ball volleyball.  Summer is coming and these kids are definitely ready!

Stonybrook Visits Grade One

The first grade classrooms welcomed Marla from Stonybrook this week. The kids learned about habitats and worked together to create illustrations of their chosen animal's environment.

Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Missy Bilsborough

March 24, 2016

Hello Memorial Families,

As a reminder, there is no school tomorrow (3/25) for students. Enjoy the long weekend.

Welcome!

Please join me in welcoming Gigi Lozano to the Memorial School staff.  Mrs. Lozano has accepted the position as ELL teacher and will be starting on Monday, March 28th.

When Should Your Child Stay Home From School?

The school environment can often be a source for the spread of viral and bacterial illnesses. The following guidelines will help you determine when to keep your child home.

FEVER: A Temperature of 100 degrees F or higher is an indication that your child could be contagious. Giving a child Acetaminophen (Tylenol) or Ibuprofen (Motrin/Advil) will bring the temperature down and make them more comfortable, but will not prevent them from passing their illness on to others.  Your child may return to school when he/she has been fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever reducing medications.

SEVERE SORE THROAT/COUGH: Especially when accompanied by swollen glands in the neck, headache or fever.   

VOMITING: Vomiting within the past 24 hours. Your child may return to school after resuming a normal diet.

DIARRHEA: If your child has had one or more watery stools in the past 12 hours, especially if your child acts or looks ill.

EYE DRAINAGE: Eyes are sometimes swollen and irritated by allergens or viruses. Because of the extremely contagious nature of Bacterial Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye) in young children, please consult with your health care provider before sending your child to school with thick mucus or pus draining from eye, or if the eye is red, puffy, extremely itchy or painful. If diagnosed with Bacterial Conjunctivitis, students may return to school after they have begun treatment.

RASHES: A rash on the trunk of the body, especially with fever and/or severe itching. If your child has been diagnosed with a “non-contagious rash”, they may return when they are comfortable enough to focus on school.

HEAD LICE: Please notify the nurse if you suspect that your child has head lice. If your child has been treated for head lice, please have them check in with the nurse before returning to class.

COMMUNICABLE DISEASES:  If your child was treated with antibiotics for an illness, he/she may return to school after 24 hours of treatment.  Please notify the nurse of any illness that may have been contagious.

*A note from a student’s health care provider is required whenever a student has had a significant illness (Bronchitis, Pneumonia, Flu, Mononucleosis, Whooping Cough etc.), surgery or injury (fracture, concussion or sprain), where restrictions from physical education/recess/sports is warranted or if they have missed more than 5 days of school.

Please contact the nurse’s office with any questions.

In preparation for the 2016-2017 school year, I would like to welcome you to attend one of the upcoming Principal's Coffees regarding the student placement process.  At the coffee, I will review the process that we use to place students into classrooms.  I will also review the parent input letter including the due date and information that should be included in the letter.

Please join me on Monday, March 28th at 9:30 a.m. or 6:00 p.m. in the Memorial Library.

Memorial Site Council Survey

If you have not yet filled out the Memorial School Site Council Survey, please take a few minutes to do so.  The information from the survey will be used in the development of the School Improvement Plan for the 2016-2017 school year.

Preschool Nursery Rhymes

On Thursday, the students in Mrs. DeGeorge's class dressed up like a nursery rhyme character and while reciting the nursery rhyme.  Check out a few of the fantastic characters who visited the main office.

Thank you for reading.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely,

Missy Bilsborough

Memorial Principal

March 17, 2016

Greetings Memorial Families,

Winter Carnival

On behalf of the Memorial School, I would like to sincerely thank the PTO for another amazing Winter Carnival! Without the hard work for the many volunteers, the day would not be the phenomenal success that it is.  Thank you!

Kindergarten Homework 

In preparation for the 3rd and final trimester of the school year, please note that Kindergarten homework will not increase to three times per week as originally stated in September.  We will continue with two nights per week of homework through the end of the year.  This decision was a result of conversations with the kindergarten team during which we revisited the purpose of homework in Kindergarten (to begin to instill the importance of routines and developing responsibility). It was noted that two nights of homework for most children and families was working well.

Please be on the lookout for the Memorial School Site Council survey (coming soon) which will include questions about student homework.  We would love to hear your thoughts.

In preparation for the 2016-2017 school year, I would like to welcome you to attend one of the upcoming Principal's Coffees regarding the student placement process.  At the coffee, I will review the process that we use to place students into classrooms.  I will also review the parent input letter including the due date and information that should be included in the letter.

Please join me on Monday, March 21st at 9:30 a.m. in the Memorial Library.
Unable to attend on the 21st?  Come join me at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23rd and stay for the Memorial PTO meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Special Olympics

For the fourth consecutive year, the Medfield Public Schools has partnered with Special Olympics of Massachusetts to develop a 5 town chapter and this year's event will be held at Ashland High School on Friday, April 1. We are thrilled that students from the High School, Blake and Dale street will be participating.  

For those students and/or parents interested in attending the event to support the athletes, independent transportation arrangements must be made in advance and communicated to the front office of your school.  The event is scheduled to begin with the parade of athletes between 9:30 and 10:00 and is expected to conclude around 12:00 p.m., with the athletes staying for lunch.

Please join us in wishing our student-athletes the very best!

Health Advisory Committee Meeting

The MPS Health Advisory Committee will be meeting on Monday March 28th at the Wheelock School Library from 3:15-4:15.  Dawn LaVallee, the Director of Food Services, will be presenting: Food Choices Offered in the School Cafeterias.

All are welcome to attend.

Working hard on our math!

Thank you for reading.
Have a wonderful weekend and Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Sincerely,
Missy Bilsborough
Memorial Principal

March 10, 2016

Dear Memorial Families,

It was a pleasure to see so many of you in attendance for parent/teacher conferences.  We looking forward to meeting with those individuals scheduled for conferences on Wednesday, March 16th. The relationship between school and home is one that we greatly value.  Thank you all for your partnership.

In preparation for the 2016-2017 school year, I would like to welcome you to attend one of the upcoming Principal's Coffees regarding the student placement process.  At the coffee, I will review the process that we use to place students into classrooms.  I will also review the parent input letter including the due date and information that should be included in the letter.

Please join me on Monday, March 21st at 9:30 a.m. in the Memorial Library.
Unable to attend on the 21st?  Come join me at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 23rd and stay for the Memorial PTO meeting at 7:00 p.m.

Mark Your Calendars...
Parent/Teacher Conferences continue next week.  Please keep in mind that March 16th is a half day. Children will be released early.

Melissa Stewart Visit

We are very excited to announce that Melissa Stewart, an award-winning author of more than 150 science books for children, will be visiting our school April 5 and 6. She has always been fascinated by the natural world and is passionate about sharing its beauty and wonder with readers of all ages. Melissa will be presenting to all Memorial students during her two day visit. We are grateful to our PTO for sponsoring this literacy event.

If you would like autographed copies of her books, please see the order form. All orders are due, with payment, by March 16.

Order form: https://goo.gl/KcqRE5

Don't Forget! 
The Winter Carnival is this weekend (March 12th).  If you haven't been before, this is an amazing day filled with crafts, games, raffles, yummy treats and so much more! If you have attended in previous years, come and check out the new and exciting rooms and special guests.  The carnival will be open 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.  Hope to see you there!

Memorial Site Council
The Memorial Site Council will be meeting next Thursday, March 17th to finalize the 2016 Memorial survey. Please be on the look out for the link to the survey (coming soon).  Information gleaned from the survey will help to inform the 2016-2017 Memorial School Improvement Plan.

Thank you for reading.  Have a wonderful weekend.
Sincerely,
Missy Bilsborough
Memorial Principal

March 3, 2016

Dear Memorial Families,

What a great week it's been so far! Thank you to our amazing PTO for making Read Across America week so much fun. The building looks amazing!

Don't forget that parent/teacher conferences begin next week. On Tuesday, March 8th, we will have an early dismissal for our extended day preschoolers and a.m./full day kindergarten students. There will be no p.m. preschool. We look forward to seeing you.

Read Across America Week at Memorial

On Tuesday we gathered as a school to kick off Read Across America week and to celebrate Dr. Seuss' birthday. The following students each stood up in front of the whole school and read a special fact about Dr. Seuss. Awesome job boys and girls!

Chris Unger

Mary-Clare Thorpe

Meigs Dorscheimer

Emma Gorham

Kiley Weafer

Ryan Healey

Jack Blake

Hadleigh Spears

To wrap up the assembly, we all recited the Reader's Oath and sang "Read Across America" led by Mr. Ruggerio.

Wednesday was our guest reader day. Thank you to all of our special guests who took time out of their day to visit the Memorial and share a story.

Thursday was crazy "Fox in Socks" day!  

We can't wait for tomorrow!  There will be a special visitor and everyone is encouraged to wear their Red and White.

Melissa Stewart Visit

We are very excited to announce that Melissa Stewart, an award-winning author of more than 150 science books for children, will be visiting our school April 5 and 6. She has always been fascinated by the natural world and is passionate about sharing its beauty and wonder with readers of all ages. Melissa will be presenting to all Memorial students during her two day visit. We are grateful to our PTO for sponsoring this literacy event.

If you would like autographed copies of her books, please see the order form. All orders are due, with payment, by March 16.

Order form: https://goo.gl/KcqRE5

Wondering how the student placement process works?  Come join me on Monday, March 21st from 9:30-10:30 a.m in the Memorial Library to learn about the parent input letter and the multiple factors that go into placing students into classrooms each year.  More information to follow.

WINTER CARNIVAL – ADVANCE TICKET SALES

Avoid the ticket lines at the Winter Carnival on March 12!  Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased before the day of the carnival by clicking on the following link: http://www.medfieldwintercarnival.com/#!advance-tickets/c1je1

Not sure how many to buy? All booths and food prices are listed on our website so you can plan out how many you and your family needs.   A FEW IDEAS…. give them away as party favors, thank you gifts, birthday presents even! 

It all goes back to your kids! 

WINTER CARNIVAL – SWEETS & TREATS

Calling All Bakers!  This booth will need LOTS of volunteers to bake for the Winter Carnival on Saturday March 12th.

All baked goods are welcomed (pies, breads, cookies, except chocolate chip cookies. The school provides us with plenty of chocolate chip cookies). This year we are using the Sign Up Genius to keep track of donations. Please click on the link:  http://www.signupgenius.com/go/8050d48a8a92fa64-2016

It is helpful to have the items wrapped ready for sale.  Be sure to clearly label any items that contain nuts.  Baked goods can be dropped off the night before the carnival on Friday March 11th at the Memorial School lobby between 4-6 pm.

Please contact Meredith Cumming: 242-5097, Meredith.cumming@gmail.com with any questions.

Or visit www.medfieldwintercarnival.com

WINTER CARNIVAL –Baskets and Raffle

Please click on this link to read the Winter Carnival Newsletter

Last week a yellow flyer went home in your child's backpack outlining our needs for the Winter Carnival Baskets and Raffle.  There are various ways that you can help: donating an item for a particular basket, contributing gift cards, or simply sending in a check to "Medfield Winter Carnival." With any contribution you receive a free raffle ticket for the GO PRO that is being raffled off at the carnival.  The baskets have always been amazingly popular with the kids (and parents!) and this year proves to be no exception. Thank you in advance for your help!

Please reach out to Janie Boylan at janie.steel@totalise.co.uk or Meghan Glenn at theglenns2005@hotmail.com with any questions.

BOX TOPS

CALLING ALL BOX TOPS- Though we collect all year long, the Box Tops final submission for the school year is March 1st, so get your Box Tops in for the raffle drawing this Friday, February 26th!  We are getting closer to our goal of purchasing a Buddy Bench for the playground, but need your help to do this!  Don't forget to put your name on your collection sheet!  10 box tops = 1 ticket, 25 box tops = 3 tickets. 

Check out this week's Thursday Packet for the Box Top collection sheets or click here for sheet 10 or sheet 25.  If you have any questions or would like us to send your child home with the Box Tops collection sheets, please contact Memorial's coordinators Maria Puglia mpuglia79@gmail.com or Lindsay Rogers uflindsay@gmail.com. 

As always, thank you for reading.

Enjoy your week.

Sincerely,

Missy Bilsborough

Memorial School Principal