Spring has sprung!

Today is Jiji Day (celebrating Jiji's 26th birthday!), and fifth graders created origami Jiji's to celebrate! Students in grades K-5 are also participating in the Puzzle Olympics this week to see which classroom can collect the most puzzles in a 26-minute timespan of gameplay on ST Math!

Attention TPS families! The PTA are excited to announce that our new spirit wear is now available for purchase! Show off your school pride with our stylish and comfortable apparel options with an updated logo. Whether you're a student, parent, or staff member, we have something for everyone. Visit our fully online store today to browse our selection and place your order. Hurry, flash sale prices are only available until May 11th!

Click here to shop Spring Spirit Wear!

Summer is coming quickly and there is still work to do and activities to schedule. At the bottom of this blog is a list of already scheduled events. I will keep a running list in chronological order for the rest of the year. This list will also grow as we solidify other dates (I'm looking at you, field day). As we approach the end of the year, it's also a great time to get some feedback from all of you. I'd ask you to take a few minutes to complete this survey on how we're doing. My intention is to share the results with the school council on May 15th, so please complete this by Friday, May 12th. 

Electronic Folder

New: TPS Talent Show, MontyTech Summer Camp flyer, SpiritWear flyer,

The Week Ahead: 

• Monday (5/1) 
• Woo Sox Mascot at Lunch
• Tuesday (5/2) 
• Math MCAS Grades 3-5
• Track Meet (Clinton) 
• Wednesday (5/3)
• Math MCAS Grades 3-5 
• Thursday (5/4)
• Math MCAS Grades 6-8
• Track Meet (Quabbin)
• PTA Meeting
• Friday (5/5) 
• Math MCAS Grades 6-8
• Kindergarten Field Trip 

Upcoming Dates: 

Monday (5/8) Town Election

Wednesday (5/10) Wizard Of Oz

Friday (5/12) Wizard of Oz

Tuesday (5/16) Science MCAS 5th and 8th

Wednesday (5/17) Half Day of School for PD

Thursday (5/18) Science MCAS 5th and 8th

Friday (5/26) PTA Bravehearts Opening Day

Monday (5/29) No School Memorial Day

Wednesday (5/31) Grade 3 Field Trip

Wednesday (5/31) Band Concert at WRHS

Friday (6/2) TPS Dance

Tuesday (6/6) Grade 4 Field Trip

Thursday (6/8) STEAM Night 

Saturday (6/10) State Track Meet

Thursday (6/15) 8th Grade Dance

Friday (6/16) Last Day of Kindergarten

Friday (6/16) 

Monday (6/19) No School Juneteenth

Tuesday (6/20) Incoming K Open House

Wednesday (6/21) K Screening

Wednesday (6/21) 8th grade Field Trip

Thursday (6/22) K Screening 

Friday (6/23) Last Day of School even after snow days

Happy Spring Break!

Last weekend, we had some amazing volunteers join us in the courtyard for our spring clean-up. That final winter storm really did a number on the trees and there was still work to be done from the fall. It is amazing to watch so many hands make the work go quickly. The Benghazi courtyard is now a far more inviting space for teachers and students just as the weather has become nice. A special thank you to Mrs. Santello for organizing the whole thing. Thank you too, to all our volunteers. And a final thank you to Mrs. Finkler and her art classes for the kindness rocks that now adorn one of our beds. 

Speaking of thanks and of volunteers, I would be remiss if I didn't thank our volunteer Jennifer Standerwho brought Lego League to TPS. This winter she organized three different groups of students to complete projects, learn together, and of course, play with Legos. This past week, the participating elementary students presented the fruits of their efforts to their families and will be showing classmates in the coming weeks. We're hopeful that we will be able to continue to grow the program and eventually form teams that will compete with others from around the state in challenges. None of this would be possible without Mrs. Stander's efforts! 

This week also marked our annual Trail Day. Earlier in the year, volunteers and naturalists guided many of our middle schoolers through the nature trails behind the school teaching them about the natural surroundings. On Thursday, this learning came full circle, as our Trail Guides (Middle Schoolers) were able to lead our elementary students through the trials and impart some of their learning to them. We were fortunate to have a beautiful day filled with smiles and learning! Thank you to our volunteers, our Middle School Trail Guides, and Mrs. St. Pierre for organizing the whole thing. 

Last week I shared a note regarding class placement for next year. The linked form had some setting issues so I wanted to reshare the whole paragraph here to make sure no one missed out: We will be starting the placement process in the elementary school soon. As is the district policy and best practice, we solicit information from parents in the process. I must remind you though that we are not always able to honor requests as our goal is to develop balanced classrooms and we have limited rooms to place kids. This year, we are accepting feedback on the placement process through this form. We will close the form on April 28th.

The PTA Corner: 

• 
  The Friday we return from break is our rescheduled presentation by Peg Dawson, executive functioning guru. Remember that the venue has moved to here at TPS but the time has stayed the same (6:00). All are welcome and the content of the talk should be relevant to parents/guardians of all ages. 
• The PTA is sponsoring a Braveheart night this year! Come out and see the chorus do the National Anthem and our cub scouts doing the color guard. The game is on May 26th and tickets are only $10 each! It promises to be a fun evening! More information can be found in the electronic folder or here. 
• Keep an eye out for information about our spring Spirit Wear coming after the break! 

Electronic Folder

Look Ahead: 

• Next Week: No School for April Vacation
• Monday (4/24) 
• Begin MCAS Makeups
• Art Show at WRHS 6:00
• Thursday (4/27) 
• Track Meet (away)
• Friday (4/28) 
• Peg Dawson (TPS at 6:00)

Last Day of Kindergarten - Friday (6/16) 

Last Day of School even after snow days - Friday (6/23)

Spring is in the Air

This week we successfully completed the MCAS ELA in grades 3 through 8! I was so proud of our students. They all worked hard and persevered through some long days. I try to remind them that it's only important that they do their best and that it is a measure of how we teach them. I'm also proud of our staff that have supported them. Believe it or not, proctoring these assessments is truly exhausting. We are now done with MCAS until May. 

A note from Mrs. Santello:

For the Bangrazi Courtyard cleanup: Come help us clean up the Bangrazi Courtyard between the hours of 9 and 3 tomorrow, Saturday April 8!

For the Earth Day cleanup: 

This year will be Princeton's fourth annual town-wide Earth Month cleanup. This month-long event is organized by the Town's Open Space and Environmental Action Committees. 

On Saturday, April 22, join the Town of Princeton and our own Thomas Prince Community to clean up our school grounds and trails. 9am, see you there! Please email tpsearthmonthcleanup@gmail.com to sign up so the facilitators know how many to plan for. Thank you!* Here is a webpage with more information about the Earth Month Cleanup:https://www.town.princeton.ma.us/open-space-committee/pages/yearly-princeton-earth-month-cleanup

And with our new month comes a new reading challenge courtesy of our Mrs. Dolat. She has updated her book suggestion shelves and her website with printable resources. A few data points to share: 

• 51 TPS community members participated! 
• 50 students and 1 staff member
• Collectively we read 244 books this past month!

Our K-4 students are killing it!

Kindy = 6 students

Gr 1 = 7 students

Gr 2 = 12 students

Gr 3 = 8 students

Gr 4 = 17 students

Staff = 1

This a reminder for our students in the upper grades that there are great picture books, graphic novels, and audiobooks that all count for the challenge! They do not need to finish 5 long novels to join in the fun! If any older kids are interested in exploring the Library Libby app to access free ebooks and audiobooks - send them to Mrs. Dolat! She's happy to help!

Congrats to all who participated!

We've also been getting questions about how to sign up for the Worcester BraveHearts reading challenge. I am including the link here. Don't miss out on some free tickets!

I can't believe I am typing this but as the weather turns warm, we start thinking about next Fall. We will be starting the placement process in the elementary school soon. As is the district policy and best practice, we solicit information from parents in the process. I must remind you though that we are not always able to honor requests as our goal is to develop balanced classrooms and we have limited rooms to place kids. This year, we are accepting feedback on the placement process through this form. We will close the form on April 28th.

Electronic Folder

New: Princeton Takes over the WooSox, April Reading Challenge, Last call for EVO April camp, Bravehearts

The Week Ahead:

• Saturday (4/8)
• Bangrazi Courtyard cleanup
• Monday (4/10)
• School Council
• Tuesday (4/11)
• Lego Celebration
• Wednesday (4/12)
• Report Cards Posted
• Thursday (4/13)
• Trail Day
• Track Meet @ Lunenburg

Save the Date: TPS at the Brave Hearts!

Last Day of Kindergarten - Friday (6/16) 

Last Day of School - Friday (6/23)