Out like a lamb

I'm excited to share, I learned an awful lot about ancient Egypt this week. I remember studying this time period when I was in middle school but my resources consisted of a few books and the encyclopedia (I'm aging myself). Leveraging the internet and additional resources, our current 6th graders curated an impressive "Museum" this week. Students from all different grades were allowed to come down and learn about this civilization. I was impressed by the students' depth of knowledge as well as the care and craftsmanship they showed in their creations. When I saw them starting work on this, I never anticipated the outcomes they were able to generate. It was truly a great culminating learning experience. I imagine, even the elementary students came home with some wisdom to share. 

Also, special this week, we were lucky enough to have the District Attorney's office come down to visit us and present on Bullying and Cyberbullying. The presentation was originally scheduled for the middle schoolers but with a break in the schedule, she was able to meet with the 5th grade as well. I was impressed by the presentation and also by the thoughtful questions our students asked. I don't envy kids growing up with some of this access. While it is great for learning (see Ancient Egypt), it can have potentially devastating effects socially if not monitored carefully. I'd encourage you to ask your student in 5th through 8th about what they learned. 

Electronic Folder

New: Virtual Transition to Adulthood Fair

Looking ahead: 

• Tuesday (4/4) 
• End of Quarter 3
• MCAS ELA
• Budget presentation to the Select Board
• Wednesday (4/5) 
• MCAS ELA
• EOY Lego League Celebration
• Thursday (4/6) 
• 1st Grade Field Trip
• Friday (4/7)
• EOY Lego League Celebration 
• Saturday (4/8)
• Courtyard Clean Up

A few words from our PTA: 

We are hoping to form two spring committees and need your help! Please consider volunteering for a committee. You can participate as much or as little as your schedule allows. The two committees will be:

1) Teacher appreciation week: Help us plan what we will do for our TPS staff! We have a coffee truck (same as last year) already. This committee will brainstorm ideas and help execute them to make it a special week for our amazing teachers and staff!

2) Spring corporate fundraising: This committee will call, email, and/or mail local businesses to solicit corporate donations, which as a PTA, we did not do this year. We usually do this during the Fun Run event but given it was so close to the outset of the 2022-23 SY and our board was new, we didn't have the opportunity to garner corporate donations. We want to get a jump on the Fall Booster event and get on this now. Any help you can provide is greatly appreciated! 

Please complete this form to indicate your interest in serving on either of these committees.

Speaking of the PTA, have you wondered what happens with all those funds raised? This week, the PTA was able to announce over $2,500 in grants awarded to TPS teachers. The money raised is going right back into the classroom. Grants awarded include tools for literacy, flexible seating, technology, and a new 3D printer among a myriad of other proposals. We are so appreciative of the PTA and their generous supporters! 

For those planning ahead, I wanted to give you an updated MCAS schedule! Due to scheduling needs, we have had to adjust some of our 6th through 8th-grade dates. You will see the changes in red and with an asterisk. My apologies to anyone who had already made plans around the previous dates. 

3rd through 5th grades will test on (4/4, 4/5, 5/2, 5/3)

6th through 8th grades will test on (*4/4, *4/5, 5/3, 5/4)

5th and 8th will test in Science on (5/16, 5/18) 

A note from Pem, our Project 351 ambassador :

Cradles to Crayons Clothing Drive

Why is donating clothes so important? Because more than 20 million children in America don't have the clothes they need to get dressed for the day. About 1-in-3 children deal with clothing insecurity in their day-to-day life.

Clothing requirements:

Children's clothes of all sizes up to adult medium, clean, and gently used clothing. Any underwear, socks, and pajamas must be new and unused.

Thank You!

Pemberley M

I'm excited to share that our very own Katie (7th grade) has earned a role in Hanover Theater's production of "The Crucible." We are very excited for her and I plan to see if I can get to the Hanover to watch the performance. The show runs from March 29th to April 2nd. For those who haven't read the book or seen the production before, I would recommend it for ages 12+. You can find more information on the website here. Congratulations Katie! 

Electronic Folder

New: Cradles to Crayons

The Week Ahead: 

• Monday (3/27) 
• 1st Track Practice
• Tuesday (3/28) 
• 7th grade SOS class
• Thursday (3/30) 
• Trail Guides
• 6th grade Egyptian Museum
• Friday (3/31) 
• 6th grade Egyptian Museum 
• Middle School CyberBullying presentation
• Fire Department SAFE presentation Grades 2-4

For those looking waaaay ahead: 

• Friday (6/23) 
• Current Last Day of School

Short Week

Once again, I want to recognize all the PTA does for us at TPS and give you updates on a few of their items. First off, due to nearly a literal ton of snow, our presentation on Executive Functioning by Peg Dawson was postponed. We now plan on having it on Friday, April 28th and the evening presentation venue has changed to right here at TPS. The PTA has also been working with our Student Council to plan a Spirit Week next week. It should break up what can be a monotonous month of March (who doesn't love an alliteration)! 

We wouldn't be able to do some of the great things we can here at TPS without such a supportive community. In this vein, Mrs. Santello is reaching out for support with our Spring courtyard clean-up: 

Dear Thomas Prince Families and Friends,
Spring is almost here and we have some community pitch-in volunteer opportunities coming up! 
Saturday, April 8 is our Bangrazi Courtyard Spring Cleanup and Set-up Date! (Open hours 9-3) 
Come help us assemble and set up raised garden beds, do some painting and clean up, and do a few more weeding/removal jobs left from the fall. Our incredible fall volunteers accomplished wonders, come join us this spring! More info coming soon! Saturday, April 22 is Earth Day! (Open hours 9-3)
We are teaming up with the town’s Environmental Action Committee (EAC link) to get the TPS cleanup done. This will be for the school grounds outside the building including the fields, playground, and if we have enough volunteers, a small section of trail (Connector Trail to Laurel Trail to Circle Trail trail map). This will also be our rain date for the Bangrazi Courtyard cleanup.   More info coming soon! 
Email Elaine Santello at elaine_santello@wrsd.net with questions or for more info. Thank you!!

Reminder: Spring Track registration closes on Monday!

The electronic folder

New this week: Spirit Week Flyer, April Vacation Skills Camp

The week ahead: 

• Monday (3/20) 
• Pajama Day
• Tuesday (3/21) 
• Crazy Sock Day
• Wednesday (3/22) 
• Sports Day
• Faculty Council
• Thursday (3/23) 
• Student Dress Up/ Staff Dress Down
• Friday (3/24) 
• Color Day 
• Rescheduled Monty Tech Interviews 
• Fire Department SAFE presentation Grades 2-5 and 8

Celebrations!

I wanted to remind everyone that we have Executive functioning guru, Peg Dawson, presenting at the Chocksett auditorium (40 Boutelle Rd,) on Tuesday at 6:00. This is a wonderful topic that has an impact on students (and adults) of all ages. I'm hoping you can make it! 

A note from our Strings teacher Mrs. Haynes:

"Lilly Haynes and Lucia Cranson recently participated in the Central District Junior Festival Auditions. They worked hard and prepared difficult music on their instruments and, on February 4, they played a live solo audition for a judge. Based on their scores at the audition, they were both accepted into the Junior Festival Orchestra! They will represent Thomas Prince School at the Festival on April 29th and play music with strings students from all over Central Massachusetts. Big congratulations to these two for their hard work and for putting TPS strings on the map!"

We're so proud of them for all their efforts! 

"The Wachusett Special Ed Parent Council SEPAC is currently accepting nominations for people who have contributed to your child's life in the last year.  We will be accepting nominations until March 24.  Please enter them here.  The ceremony will be held on Tues, May 16 at 6pm to celebrate all the nominees.  This award recognizes the outstanding contribution of individuals in the lives of children with special needs. Your honoree(s) could be a general education teacher, special education teacher, therapist, aide/ABA, bus driver, coach, doctor/nurse, etc. Each nominee will receive your thoughtful nomination, a certificate of appreciation from the SEPAC, as well as a small token of thanks. Please be sure your nominees are people who have been beneficial all year. Limit of 2 nominees per child (Family Max 4). If you have any questions please direct them in an email to sepac@wrsd.net. Thank you!"

A note from our Art Teacher, Mrs. Finkler: 

"Hello TPS Families,

Thank you all so much for your support with the Square 1 fundraiser.  We raised $1400 for the art studio and were able to purchase so many new art supplies, books about art and different artists, a bookshelf, and a rug.   The students have been having a blast with the new tempera paint cakes and paint sticks.  This week, we have started doing portfolio reviews in preparation for the art show we will host in June.  You may be seeing more art coming home in the coming weeks as the students go through their work.  I am incredibly proud of all they have accomplished so far this year in art."

Speaking of artistic accomplishments, I was able to get up to the Central Office yesterday for a celebration of student art. Our own Emerson (5th grade) had her art on display. It was a great event filled with students, staff, and administrators from around the district all in the celebration of art! 

Are you a proud parent of a TPS Warrior? Now you can let everyone know when you are out driving about. The PTA is selling car magnets that can help you show off your school spirit wherever you drive. 

Electronic Folder

New - Wachusett Youth Football and Cheer, Peg Dawson flyer

The week ahead: 

• Sunday (3/12)
• Daylight Savings Time
• Tuesday (3/14)
• Peg Dawson Evening presentation - All are welcome! 
• Pi Day
• Wednesday (3/15)
• 1/2 Day PD
• Thursday (3/16)
• Spring Pictures in the library
• Friday (3/17)
• St. Patrick's Day - a great day to wear green

Looking further ahead - MCAS dates: 

• 3rd through 5th grades will test on (4/4, 4/5, 5/2, 5/3)
• 6th through 8th grades will test on (4/11, 4/12, 5/3, 5/4)
• 5th and 8th will test in Science on (5/16, 5/18) 

In like a lion!

Last month had a tremendous literacy focus. Besides the challenge, we had the book fair and our author visit. I hope it inspired our young readers. A new month brings us to a new reading challenge! February saw increased participation in our challege and we're hoping for even more this month. You can find the challenge here and recommendations here. 

A message from our Project 351 representative Pem:

"Hello parents and students of TPS! Our school will be working alongside Project 351 to help raise a clothing drive with Cradles-To-Crayons! Cradles-To-Crayons is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping children's clothing insecurity! We will be setting up a donation box in the front lobby of TPS to collect any clothing donations! Any clothes donated would be preferably gently used or not used at all! Thank you all again for your continued support!" This drive will begin on 3/20.

 

Students' abilities to organize their work was an issue before the pandemic however, we see it even more so since. Our PTA, in collaboration with the Sterling PTA, will be bringing in Peg Dawson, an expert in the field, to meet with our middle schoolers on March 14th. This will be followed by a presentation for parents in the evening hosted in the Sterling auditorium. While we will focus on the middle school during the day, the information she has to share in the evening is helpful for all families regardless of age/grade. 

Executive skills are critical to the acquisition of academic skills, but, more importantly, they are the skills students need to get things done. They are brain-based skills such as task initiation, sustained attention, working memory, planning, organization, and goal-directed persistence that are absolutely critical to school success. Some students seem to acquire them naturally, but many students struggle with them. Dr. Peg Dawson, co-author of the books Smart but Scattered and Smart but Scattered Teens, will describe how these skills develop throughout childhood and suggest strategies parents can use to help children acquire the critical skills they need to be successful students.

The WRHS Booster's club has asked me to share the following with our 8th grade families: 

We invite you to join the Mountaineers Boosters Club so that you can have a direct impact on the enrichment programs that enhance your child’s experience at WRHS.

The Boosters distribute approximately $26,000 to various sports teams, clubs or programs to recognize their achievements or assist in covering expenses. We also bring you the annual Craft Fair, Gift Card Sales, and sports tournaments, as well as several staff and student appreciation activities throughout the year. Membership is valid from September 1, 2023- June 30, 2024. If you are interested in participating please complete the google form below. Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

WRHS Boosters Club

https://forms.gle/RL77aBLWLb51hUot7

Electronic Folder

New: Reading Challenge

Looking Ahead: 

• Monday (3/6) 
• School Council
• Tuesday (3/7) 
• Kindergarten Field Trip
• PTA
• Special Town Meeting