Happy New Year!

I hope you all had an enjoyable break. The students sure seemed to. I'm happy to report they seemed to return mostly happy and mostly healthy! I'm happy to say that our absent list has dropped by a third in the new year which definitely starts us out on a happier and healthier new year! 

In the new year, we brought back one old tradition. The return of bus buddies! One of the joys of being

in a K-8 school is that our older students are able to interact with and support our younger ones. Bus buddies are a great example of this. We have several 8th grade volunteers who walk down to Kindergarten and 1st grade at the end of the day and help to make sure these young students make their way onto the bus. It's fun to watch the little ones follow eagerly behind our tallest students in admiration. It is a fun way to keep the community spirit up and it's great to see our 8th graders giving back. 

Another opportunity afforded us this new year was the ability to join in our neighbor's celebration. Rutland is celebrating its 300th anniversary. As a part of the celebration, they were able to procure a Smithsonian Museum on Main Street. This unique look back at how rural communities have shaped our nation. We'd like to thank the Rutland Tricentennial Committee for paying for transportation so that our 3rd graders could attend. If you have the opportunity, the exhibit extends until January 23rd, and I'd encourage everyone to check it out. 


A note from our district nurses: 

The Wachusett communities are currently seeing viral illnesses in the school community, including flu, COVID, and RSV. In order to keep our school community as healthy as possible, we would like to remind you of the following: 

  • Keep your child home from school if they have a fever >100, and/or if they are experiencing multiple symptoms (cough, nasal congestion, runny nose, headache, unusual fatigue, etc); they should remain at home until they are fever-free for 24 hours without medications that reduce fever and their symptoms are improved
  • Report diagnosed FLU, COVID or RSV to the school nurse (this helps in tracking illness rates across the district); keep your child home as directed by your healthcare provider. 
  • Remind your child to wash their hands frequently
  • Vaccinate children who are eligible for FLU and COVID vaccines
  • Avoid social gatherings if you or your child are ill
  • Contact your healthcare provider if you believe your child needs medical care
  • Masks remain optional at school; if you would like your child to wear a mask, please send them to school with a mask and a small supply of replacement masks
  • If you would like at-home COVID tests please contact the School's Health Office
Respectfully, 
The WRSD Health Team

Electronic Folder

The Look Ahead: 

It promises to be a quiet week where everyone gets back in the rhythm. 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New year, same great experience!

Image
For everyone: Popsicles On the Playground! Or as I've decided to call it, POP   is scheduled for this Friday (8/25) from 4:00-6:00. Enjoy some community and popsicles while your kids reacquaint themselves with our playground and each other. I am monitoring the weather closely and will make a decision on Friday if the event needs to be moved inside. Following the event, the Princeton Police Department will be hosting an event on-site, showing a movie and selling refreshments.  For everyone (Middle School take notice): The district has opened  up   PowerSchool   so you should be able to see your child's teacher/schedule. I know this is an exciting time for kids! It is for us, too! I'm asking that you don't look too deeply into the special classes as these typically take us a few weeks to iron out. Don't worry, your students will be in specials but how they are input into PowerSchool over the summer and how they look in the building don't always align perfectly. Al
Read more

All the things!

Image
The Middle School started the week off with a special presentation from Mr. John Frost. He travels the world witnessing and documenting eclipses. He shared his passion with the Middle Schoolers and explained the coming eclipse to them. The kids left excited about this upcoming phenomenon! Just a reminder that April 8th is a school day.  The bus company has asked me to remind parents that any balls transported on the bus should be tucked into backpacks before boarding. Apparently, there have been some issues with loose balls rolling around buses and this can be a safety hazard. Thanks for your attention to this matter.  As you may know, our courtyards are maintained by volunteers. They are due up for their spring cleanup . Ms. Santello will be leading a group of volunteers to tackle the Bangrazi courtyard on Saturday, April 6th from 9:00-2:00. Help clean up the raised garden beds, rake leaves, weed, and plant. Snacks and coffee provided. Contact Ms. Santello at elaine_santello@wrsd.net
Read more

Fun Run!

Image
I'd like to introduce our newest staff member. This week, we were lucky to have Caitlyn Lafleche join our team as a paraprofessional. She mostly works in 5th and 6th grades but we all know our paraprofessionals jump in to help everywhere so you may hear her name. This means we are nearly fully staffed! We are, however, still looking for help in the kitchen. We have a great team down there in a newly updated kitchen. If you'd like to learn more about joining us, please don't hesitate to reach out with questions or even better, apply here .  As we look ahead to next week I wanted to remind everyone that Wednesday is a half day with dismissal occurring at 11:55. Please make sure to update your School Dismissal Manager if your child's dismissal will be different on that day. If your child will be taking a different bus or getting off at a different stop, please send them in with a paper note as well to give to the driver.  This is followed by our Open House on Thursday even
Read more