June 11, 2015

Hello Memorial Families!
It's been a busy couple of weeks at Memorial!  This week's blog is filled with pictures and a few important announcements.  Please enjoy!

A Note from Mrs. Goldstein...

Dear Memorial Families,

I am so sad to share with you that I will be moving to another school district in the fall. I am making this move for personal reasons; from a professional standpoint, I cannot imagine there is a better place to work, or a better school community to be a part of, than Medfield Public Schools, and Memorial in particular. I have come to know many of you personally through our direct work together, while others I know only through your incredible children – in both cases, it has been an absolute pleasure. I consider myself incredibly lucky to have had the chance to work alongside the outstanding educators of Memorial and with so many engaged, supportive, and dedicated community members and parents. Thank you for your collaboration and support over the last couple of years. I sincerely hope our paths cross again!

I wish you all a wonderful remainder of the school year and a rejuvenating summer break ahead.

Sincerely,

Jenna Goldstein

School Psychologist

Memorial School Field Days
I'm so excited to report that we were blessed with perfect days for Kindergarten and Grade One Field Day! Thank you to all the parent volunteers and Dale Street students to helped run the stations.  I would also like to thank the Kindergarten and Grade One teachers, Mr. Traversi and the cafeteria staff for all of their efforts. Lastly, we could not have had this day without the collaborative efforts of Mr. Stevens, Miss Kirby and Mr. Grace.  Thank you all!!

Blake Middle School 8th Grade Readers

Blake Middle School students shared their favorite stories with many of our Kindergarten and Grade One students.  Thank you for reading to us!

Outstanding Readers

Some of our first graders had an opportunity to read to our pre-school students! The first graders loved the experience and said they would love to read to them every week!  Great job boys and girls!

Principal for the Day

Miss Rebecca, winner of the Principal for the Day Winter Carnival raffle, did an amazing job as our guest Principal.  She attended some special events, made an announcement over the loud speaker and even granted her Kindergarten class with an extra recess!

Wheelock News: Attention Grade One Parents

As we are preparing to transition our first grade students to Wheelock, Mrs. Olson has asked me to share the news that Mrs. Balardini will be taking a leave next year.  We wish her the best of luck!

Lastly, as a reminder, tomorrow is the our Flag Day celebration for our first grade families.  The program begins at 9:30 a.m. 

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Missy Bilsborough

May 21, 2015

Greetings Memorial Families,

I hope that you've all had a great week!

Don't forget that tonight (Thursday, May 21st) the CSA Memorial/Wheelock Book Fair and Ice Cream Social will be held at the Wheelock School from 5:00-8:00 pm. It's going to be a great time!  Hope to see you there!

                                                     

Field Day is coming!

Kindergarten Field Day - June 4th (rain date June 5th)

Grade One Field Day - June 11th (rain date June 15th)

Check out the Thursday packet for further information.

The Memorial School welcomes Jean Ensor to the staff. Mrs.Ensor is a certified art teacher and will be substituting in the art room for the remainder of the school year.  Welcome!

Our First Grade students had a great time at Stony Brook Wildlife Sanctuary!  Thank you to them and to all of our volunteers to helped to make the trip a great success.

Have a wonderful and relaxing long weekend!

Sincerely,

Missy Bilsborough

April 30, 2015

Dear Memorial Families,

Welcome back! Hoping you all had a wonderful and relaxing vacation.  Here's what's happening at Memorial...

The Memorial School Art Show will be held tonight, Thursday, April 30th from 6:00-7:30 p.m. in the gym.  We hope to see you there!

Literacy Night Postponed
**Literacy Night, originally scheduled for May 11th, has been postponed.  Our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.**

Book Fair/Ice Cream Social

Join us for a Book Fair/Ice Cream Social on Thursday, May 21, from 5:00 to 8:00 PM at Wheelock School.  This is a joint fundraiser between the Memorial and Wheelock CSA's.  Park Street Books will be set-up selling books, gift certificates, education games, and some Medfield clothing.  Storyteller Kurt Jackson will be providing some entertainment starting at 6:15 PM.  The Ice Cream Social will be held in the cafeteria where kids (and adults) can make their own sundaes.  

We are looking for volunteers to help make this a successful event and raise money for our schools. If you have any questions regarding this fundraiser, please contact Jill Fredriksen (508-359-8570 or jillpasini@yahoo.com).

                                       

Many thanks to the Medfield Coalition for Public Education (MCPE) for their recent support of a grant to purchase Apple TV's for each classroom.  This grant is phase 2 of an iPad center pilot and will allow classroom teachers greater flexibility to introduce and explain Apps, model and instruct, as well as highlight student work all while moving freely around the classroom.  The grant provides for over $2,000 worth of Apple TVs.  For more information on MCPE, visit their website at www.medfieldcoalition.org.

Happy (belated) Administrative Professionals Day!
Thank you Mrs. Moores and Mrs. Policella for all that you do!

There will be a CSA meeting on Wednesday, May 6th at 7 p.m. in the Memorial School Teachers' Room.  This will be the final meeting of the school year.  All are welcome!

Mark your calendars...Friday, May 8th is a half-day.  Students will be dismissed early and there is no a.m. kindergarten.

Thank you to all who submitted parental input letters for the 2015-2016 student placement process.  We value your input as we strive to find the best placement for each individual child.

Have a wonderful week and thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Missy Bilsborough

Memorial School Principal

March 26, 2015

Greetings Memorial Families,

What a great week!  The snow is melting, the temperatures are rising, and there are so many wonderful things happening at Memorial.  Please be sure to look at the Thursday packet for current information and check out the website for a quick peek into upcoming events and classroom activities.

**Please keep in mind that there will be no school next Friday, April 3rd.**

Parent Input Letters

I know that many of you are starting to think about student placement for the 2015-2016 school year. You will be receiving a letter from me in the next several weeks outlining the parental input process. Please hold your letters until that letter arrives as specific dates/deadlines will be included.  Thank you in advance for your patience.

Nursery Rhymes in PreK

Students in Mrs. DeGeorge's have been practicing their nursery rhymes.  Today they did an amazing job preforming for one other  while in character. Great job everyone!

Throughout the school year, Memorial teachers along with their elementary colleagues have been unpacking the mathematics Common Core standards.  This work has facilitated conversations resulting in a deeper understanding of expectations, examination of student work, and lesson/assessment development.  On Wednesday, teachers in Grades K & 1 spent a few hours sharing their learning and discussing next steps.

MCPE's Online Auction of Treasured Experiences opens TODAY, Thursday, March 26th, and runs through April 2nd.

Back by popular demand, MCPE is offering its most popular treasured experiences from auctions and raffles past.  

Kids and parents alike love these one-of-a-kind items, and our teachers and administrators love to give back!

Please bid high on the items and allow MCPE to continue funding future grants that benefit Medfield schools! 

To bid on our great auction items, please visit our website: medfieldcoalition.org/events-programs/online-auction-of-treasured-experiences/.

As always, thank you for reading.

Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Missy Bilsborough

Memorial Principal

March 12, 2015

Greetings Memorial Families,
Sunshine and melting snow!   Does it get better than that? Well...when you add a Curious Creatures presentation, lots of exciting learning and wrap up the week with the Winter Carnival, it sure does!  

On Wednesday, our first graders got a visit from some very curious creatures.  Thank you to the CSA for providing our students with this great program.  We got to see a rabbit, a chinchilla, a hedgehog, tree frogs, turtles, a dragon lizard, a boa constrictor, and even an alligator!  The kids got to touch a few of the animals and ask some great questions.  We were all very excited!

Messages from the CSA...

Dear Parents- This Saturday, March 14th, the Winter Carnival will be held at Memorial School from 10-3.  Thank you to all the parents and teen volunteers who have signed up to help run a booth for a portion of the day.  Between games, bouncy houses, treats, prizes, raffles and crafts, the day promises to have something fun for everyone. We are still accepting donations for our basket raffles, as well as gently used toys for the treasure hunt game. For those who prefer to skip the ticket line on Saturday, we are offering advanced ticket sales. This and all other important information can be found at our website: www.medfieldwintercarnival.com. Remember, all the money raised at this event goes directly back into our schools to enrich the education of our children. Come be part of this fantastic event!

Wheelock School

There are still LOTS of opportunities to get involved at Wheelock . We are actively looking to fill the 2nd Grade Co-President and the Vice President positions. These positions are two-year commitments and are ideally filled by incoming 2nd grade parents. If you have an incoming 2nd grader please consider volunteering on the CSA board. It is not a huge time commitment and it allows you to be directly be involved in the school CSA decisions for funding to the school, town-wide CSA meetings, meeting other involved parents and getting to know the lovely school principal, Mrs. Olson! Both positions will have a direct hand-off and appropriate training. 

Memorial Security Reminder...
Please remember that all visitors to Memorial must enter and exit through the main door at the front of the building and need to sign in and out in the main office. In addition, please be mindful about letting others in to the building if they have not been buzzed in by a member of the office staff. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Mark Your Calendars!

On Tuesday, March 17th, there will be an early dismissal for students due to staff professional development.  There will be no p.m. kindergarten.

Enjoy the remainder of the week and I hope to see you at the Winter Carnival!

Sincerely,
Missy Bilsborough
Memorial Principal

March 5, 2015

Hello Memorial Families!
It has been a very exciting week here at Memorial! Thank you to all who helped plan and execute our daily fun in honor of Read Across America week.  Smiling faces and enthusiastic readers could be found in every classroom!

North Street Parking Lot
Parents dropping off or picking up their children via the North Street parking lot are asked to pull to the right upon entering the lot and circling around to an open parking space.  There have been a couple of close calls lately as cars entering are pulling to the left and directly into a parking space.  Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Read Across America Fun!

On Tuesday, we kicked-off Read Across America week with two assemblies.  We sang songs, learned some interesting facts about Dr. Seuss, and recited the Reader's Oath as a school. Thank you to the CSA for decorating the Memorial School in honor of Dr. Seuss' birthday!

Our kindergarten and first graders have been practicing the "Read Across America" song and performed it along with "Teaching Peace" wonderfully.  Thank you to Mr. Ruggerio for all of his help and guidance!

Thank you to the following first grade students for sharing Dr. Seuss facts at our assemblies.  They all did an outstanding job!

Madeline Schek

Ellie Hennessey

Henry Lutz

Matty Dickson

Lottie Swirbalus

Julia Griffor

Corinne Mula

Eily Disinger

Dr. Seuss’ real name was Theodor Seuss Geisel.

Dr. Seuss was born on March 2, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Dr. Seuss once said the character of the Grinch is based on himself!

Dr. Seuss has written and illustrated 44 children’s books.

The very first book that Dr. Seuss wrote was And to Think I Saw It on Mulberry Street.

Did you know there is a Theodore Seuss Geisel award given each year to an American book written for beginning readers?

On Wednesday, we were so lucky to have special readers from the community take time out of their busy schedules to come and read. Thank you to all of the volunteers. We loved hearing the stories that you read!

Thursday was "Crazy Fox in Socks Day"!!!

                                     

We can't wait for tomorrow's special visitor! Don't forget to wear your red and white!

The Winter Carnival is coming!

Join us Saturday, March 14th for Winter Carnival 2015
Time: 10am – 3pm
Come to the Memorial School for a day of fun filled with games, prizes, raffles, silent auction and lots of sweets and

 treats!

Click here for more information.

Thank you for reading and enjoy the rest of your week.

Sincerely,

Missy Bilsborough

Memorial School Principal