Big days ahead

Sunday to Monday represents a big couple of days for kids in town.  The town will recognize Halloween on Sunday from 4:00-7:00 PM. The Parks and Rec Department will be hosting a simultaneous Trunk or Treat in front of the library. Parents of 8th graders will be fundraising there as well. Monday morning, TPS will host our annual costume parade. Kindergarteners through 3rd graders will participate in the parade that will begin around 9:00. Students in grades K-3 can wear their costumes to school that day but should bring a container to place their materials in after the parade to make sure nothing is lost.  If your student has beliefs that inhibit participation in this event, please let me know and we will plan an alternate activity for them. We will leave the parking lot for parents to park and watch the parade. Swing by and grab a cup of coffee/refreshments by the flagpole where 8th-grade parents will be raising funds for end-of-the-year activities. The parade will begin at the bus lobby doors and take a right to circle the building before reentering at the same doors. I know the band is working on some musical accompaniment so I can't wait to hear what they have in store for us!  

Beginning next week, we will also be tightening up our drop-off procedures. The school day does begin at 8:25 and we have become pretty loose around this time frame. On Monday, we will be closing the door at 8:25 and request that, if you arrive after this time, you come in and sign your student in. We will not buzz students in without an adult. We have experienced trouble with noting students as absent and calling home, frightening parents who know they dropped their students off. This will tighten up our process and ensure we know when everyone is here. In a similar vein, I would like to remind everyone that cars should wait by the turn to the playground, at the start of arrival and dismissal, until they are waved up.  

You may have seen or heard of the boxes placed by the bus lobby entrance and the front door. The Student Council is beginning a pajama drive to support young children in the LUK Crisis Center in Fitchburg. The student council has teamed up with Scholastic for this drive. For every new set of pajamas (emphasis on NEW) that our school collects and donates, Scholastic will match it with a new book. The donation boxes will be out until Monday (11/21) so I'd encourage everyone to support the student council in this wonderful venture. 

I'd like to take a second to thank the many volunteers who shared last weekend with us to clean up the Bangrazi Courtyard. Progress was definitely made and the area already looks more inviting. We are tentatively planning a spring clean-up as well. I hope you can join us!

A few notes from our library (both town and school):

"The town library will be hosting a free Bioblitz program after school on Wednesday, (November 2nd) the half day.  Details are in the electronic folder- it starts at 3:00, and we'll have a reading of the book Bioblitz! by a local author, then Wachusett Meadows naturalists will help us do a critter count around the library."

"Read for the Record update!  We read Nigel and the Moon, by Antwan Eady to 120 adults and kids in the TPS library today {Thursday}, and after we read, the kids did projects to explore themes of future career ideas and superheroes.  Kindergartners designed superhero capes, and first and second graders made fortune tellers to help them choose future adventures.  This event was part of a nationwide early literacy event that brings together millions of adults and children each year as they read the same book on the same day, building an intergenerational community through reading. Since 2006, over 24 million people have participated in Jumpstart's Read for the Record, and hundreds of thousands of high-quality books have been distributed to children in underserved communities across the United States."

And finally, congratulations to our Cross Country teams! The girl's team took first in this week's District meet and the boys took second. We're on to States! Keep on running! 

Electronic Folder

New - Student Council PJ Drive, Talking to Children about Grief, Bioblitz!

The Week Ahead: 

• Monday (10/31) 
• 
  Costume parade at 9:00
• Tuesday (11/1) 
• Picture retakes (please use your original form or get a new one from the main office)
• PBIS meeting after school
• PTA meeting at 6:00 (I will discuss and answer questions about ALICE)
• Wednesday (11/2) 
• Early dismissal for conferences and professional development
• Thursday (11/3) 
• End of 1st quarter
• Friday (11/4) 
• Wear your TPS gear or wear red to support our Cross Country Team as they head of to the State meet
• Saturday (11/5) 
• Cross Country State meet

Returns!

It was a week of returns! We started with a personal highlight of mine, the return of the library! Thanks to Jessie Trowbridge and her small army of volunteers, I was able to watch huge smiles as students returned to the library. We started the week with the 3rd graders and it wasn't until we saw the 2nd graders that we realized they may have never used the space as a library. The space was used as a gym throughout the pandemic. Kids learned about how to find books they're interested in and every student that visited took one or two books home with them. If your child didn't get one, please don't fear. The other half of the school will be visiting next week. Moving forward, students will visit the library every other week. 7th and 8th graders will visit at their own leisure. The next step is to add to our collection. The PTA has already earmarked some funds for this very purpose. 

Another return this week was our Trail Guide program. As seen in the picture, students in grades 5 through 8 joined Clair Degutis on the trails behind the school. Many years ago the school, in conjunction with Wachusett Meadow created those trails. In 2015, after the passing of a beloved/involved teacher (Joann Blum), an Annual Field Day was established. Each year, with a hiatus during COVID, these students are trained as guides. These students will learn about the trail system and local flora and impart their newfound knowledge to the lower grades in the Spring. 

As you may or may not know, the district has been doing work around how to respond to a potential violent intruder. It is a sad state of affairs that we have to think about these things but, better to think/prepare and never need to act than not to be prepared if something were to happen. We have started the process of training staff in ALICE, a dynamic and research based response to these types of events. Here at TPS, the Princeton Police and Fire Departments provided an overview at our staff meeting this month. The district has also procured online training for everyone. Our next step, is to share with all of you what ALICE looks like before we even think about introducing the concept to children. An online resource for parents can be found here. While this is a somber topic for all ages, the idea of talking to our youngest students is particularly difficult. For parents of younger students, this is a link to a YouTube read aloud of a book we plan to use. I have asked the PTA to allow me some time at their next meeting (11/1) to answer questions about ALICE so I would encourage you to attend if you'd like to learn more or have questions. The Princeton Police Department will also try to be there. 

A Note from Mrs. DiFonso

Calling all Parents! Just in case you missed it a few weeks ago...

I am excited to announce that we are working hard to bring back some after school activities for our TPS Warriors! I met with Jaime Greenland (Princeton Rec Director) to get the ball rolling on getting some afterschool activities planned and organized for all ages here at TPS. Is there something you would be excited to offer? Is there a hobby that you have that you'd want to share with the TPS students? Is there someone you know that would love to offer a course?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, we want to hear about it!  Maybe you love baking, lego robotics, art, books, crafting, model building, a specific sport, chess, math or science! Share this interest with the kids! Since the rec department will be helping to facilitate these offerings, there will be/can be payment for your time! 

If you are interested in offering a class/course, please email Jaime (Recreation@town.princeton.ma.us) the following information:  Course Title and description, age group you'd like included, length of course (by weeks), time of course (ie/ 3:00-4:15) and estimated budget.   I am really excited and cannot wait to see what kinds of fun we can bring back to the kids!  Thanks Princeton Recreation & Jaime!

Electronic Folder (Nothing new to report) 

The Week Ahead:

• Monday (10/24) 
• Monty Tech tour for 8th graders
• Tuesday (10/25) Cross Country District Championship
• Friday (10/28) 
• Wear orange and black

Lots to share

As you may have figured out, our school pictures have been delayed. Because we assume people want to see the first ones before deciding if they want a retake, we have rescheduled picture retakes for November 1st. 

A Call for TPS Library Books! If you've spent the pandemic reading books from the TPS Library, it's time to bring them back! We will not be collecting fines but would love to have any TPS Library books returned on your child's library day. Library visits start October 17th! You read that right. The library reopens on Monday!

Mrs. Santello is still looking for volunteers to help clean up and work in the courtyard on October 22nd. If you are interested or have a spouse you'd like to get out of the house for the day, you can sign up here. 

You may know that Hispanic heritage month spans from September 15th to October 15th. As we wrap up the month, the students in Spanish class made posters of important Spanish speakers and they brightened our hallways. The posters, in English, included many familiar names. 

A message from our parents regarding fundraising for 8th-grade end-of-the-year events: 

"As your kids fill up on sugar, stop by our Trunk or Treat Mega-Raffle table on the Princeton Common to support the 8th Grade fundraising efforts to celebrate their capstone year at TPS. Sneak peek on raffles will be revealed in the coming weeks! Stay tuned."

"While you wait to see the cutest (oops, I mean spookiest) Halloween parade ever or as you leave the event, please stop by our Grab-n-Go Breakfast & Coffee table. Proceeds benefit the 8th Grade class to fund events during their capstone year at TPS. Gluten Free items will be available. Let's save the planet while we are at it - please bring your reusable coffee mug :)"

As we prepare to send MCAS scores home in the coming month (don't worry, they did great!), I feel like it's also a great time to celebrate the "other" work our students are doing. Oftentimes, our special classes are treated like extra but they are, in fact, important classes for our students. We are a STEAM school and the A stands for Art. Mrs. Finkler asked to update all of you on the work they are doing in her art class: 

"Hello Families, 

We have been busy in the art room so far this year.  In K-2 we have been working on primary, secondary, and complimentary colors.  

In third and fourth grades, we have been working with warm and cool colors.

 And in fifth-eighth grades, we have been exploring the concept of color and creating new works of art using the color pallet from an existing piece.  

We have also begun a fundraiser with Square1 art.  Your students have been busy making beautiful pieces of artwork that will be available to purchase on products ranging from key chains to blankets. You will be hearing more about this in November.  

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at melissa_finkler@wrsd.net"

Electronic Folder

New: Worcester Railers, Trunk or Treat, Costume Parade breakfast

The Week Ahead: 

• Monday (10/17) 
• TPS Library Reopening! 
• Tuesday (10/18) 
• Cross Country Meet (Chocksett) 

Spirit Week!

It was such a fun week here at TPS with Spirit Week in full swing! Rather than try to describe it, I have created this short video for you to enjoy. See those smiling faces? They made our week! 

I am in the process of forming a School Council for the new year and am looking for family and community members willing to join. The primary responsibility will be to provide input on the handbook, budgeting process, and the School Improvement Plan (SIP). Let me know if you are interested in joining the group. 

We were fortunate to have had a visit from Roger Vaughan! Around 10 years ago, he created an endowment for TPS that has allowed our focus on STEAM, in the name of his wife Elsie. Elsie was the Administrative Assistant at TPS for 38 years. This STEAM work is one of the ways we differentiate ourselves from the rest of the district and is a wonderful opportunity for our children. You may notice our Butterfly Waystation Garden is named in Elsie's honor. The STEAM lab and our work with Project Lead The Way are also both examples of the work we have been able to do, thanks to his generosity. It was wonderful to have the man himself, at 102 years of age, visit us in the building to see the work our children are doing. I know you all will join me in appreciation.    

And finally, a friend-ly reminder: We do try to bring students outside as frequently as possible. Fresh air, movement breaks, and access to nature are all things found to support emotional well-being and students' ability to learn. To this end, please make sure you send your student prepared for the different weather we encounter here in New England. The temperatures are already dropping but then we get those nice warm days out of nowhere. I recommend layers. As we approach snow season, you'll want to plan for snow pants, boots, and gloves if you want your child to access the white,
fluffy joy. 

Electronic Folder

Week Ahead: 

• 
  Monday (10/10) 
• No School Indigenous People's Day/Columbus Day
• Thursday (10/13) 
• PTA meeting
• Friday (10/14) 
• Last day for our Spirit Wear drive