TPS Principal's Page

As promised, I have more information to share about Nurse Karina. She is coming to us from Paxton school so send positive vibes their way as they try and search for a replacement. Their loss is certainly our gain. Meanwhile, we have a pair of sub nurses sharing the role.  Hello! My name is Karina Abbascia and I am so excited to be joining the TPS team as your school nurse! I have heard nothing but great things about TPS and look forward to working with you all. I graduated from Worcester State University with a degree in Psychology & Spanish and worked in research for several years before deciding to return to school to get my bachelor's degree in nursing from MCPHS University. Upon graduation, I worked at St. Vincent Hospital for several years before making the transition to the school setting in August of 2020. I have been working at PCS since this time and I have met some extraordinary educators, students, and families. The change has been a bittersweet one and, as...

Learning can be and should be fun! Mrs. DiFonso and I have the priviledge of roaming the halls each week and popping in to see the great work our students and teachers are doing together. This week, we wanted to highlight some of our favorite activities and we thought it would be even better to hear about it from the students themselves. We've invited a few guest bloggers to let you in on what they are doing.  5th Grade Book Tasting:  "Fifth grade had a book tasting and their first book club this week. In the morning when we came into class, the tables were covered with table cloths. On the tables were four different books on each table. Each table had a different book to taste, all of the books are nonfiction with facts. Each group got to preview and sample each book. We focused on the front and back text and answered some questions. It felt like we were in a cafe!  On the day of the first book club we got assigned groups base on our interests. Each group had an adult to...

Now that we're into the year, I feel like I should share my purpose in these weekly communications. My intention is to send them every Friday to keep you informed on the logistics of the school and share some of the great learning taking place inside these walls. As a father myself, I find it nearly impossible to find out what happened in his day. Hopefully, some of the pictures and stories I share here can spark conversation at home and you'll get more information than I do!  Fun Run: Today was the big day and it seemed to come quickly. Thank you to the PTA andBoosterThon for organizing our Fun Run/Color Run! I think it's safe to say it was a huge success! Besides being a ton of fun, the PTA was able to raise nearly $ 17,000 in a short span to reinvigorate their coffers and eclipse their goal of $9,000. Remember, all this money raised goes directly back into the school to support our children's education through enrichment opportunities, technology, and more. The stud...

Boosterthon:  Hopefully, your students came home this week talking about some fun videos they watched in school and special guests we had around the building. The PTA is working with Boosterthon to fundraise and host a fun run a week from today. Everyone is encouraged to participate in the fundraiser. If nothing else,  registering  an account could earn the school a pajama day. By Wednesday, we were already a thrid of the way towards our goal. Throughout the week, Boosterthon will be joining classrooms, encouraging kids to participate and we will have special prizes throughout the week. The PTA is starting from scratch so this fundraiser is really important for them to be able to provide the enrichment activities they have in the past. If the school raises $9,000, I have agreed to become a human sundae!  Fire Drill: If you saw the fire trucks in front of the building today, please do not panic. We had our first fire drill of the year today. Students and staff did won...

The First week (or at least 3 days) is in the books! It was a great start. I wanted to thank our returning Student Council members who came in and "Chalked the Walk" to brighten our entryway. Thank you Declan, Kailyn, Lena, Nalena, and Megan. Walking through the halls and meeting kids, I see excitement and joy throughout the building. Teachers are busy teaching expectations and creating routines and the gentle hum of the building confirms we are back in business.  If your kids are anything like my son, they come home and won't say anything about school, but when he does I find myself wondering, "Did that really happen?" Well if any of your students came home talking about petting a dog in the building, that probably did happen. Every Thursday and Friday, our School Psychologist comes in with Lady, the certified therapy dog. Its amazing to watch the student's (and staff's) faces when she walks in. It is hard to find a face without a smile and Lady gets pe...