Fun times!

It was so nice to see so many families at the Open House this week! It's a great reminder of how fortunate we are and the value we all place on education. As we move into next week, the PTA was able to meet and exceed their goal of $20,000. As a building, we had over 72% participation and on average raised approximately $102/student! All of this means we have to plan for a pajama day, I have to prepare myself to be duct taped, and Mrs. DiFonso has to find a chicken suit! We'll plan to do all three on Tuesday (10/3) and limit the zaniness to one day. 

"Third grade had an amazing trip this week visiting the Plimoth Patuxet Museum!  They were able to step back in time into a 17th-century English Village and Patuxet homesite.  Students saw the things they are learning about in their Massachusetts history books come off the page and into real life.  If you see them, be sure to ask them about their favorite parts of the trip."

- Mrs. Kristoff

As we approach cold and flu season it seems like a good time to remind people...we need subs! If you have some free time during your weeks or would like to learn more about subbing, please reach out. 

The PTA has opened up a new round of Spirit Wear! Check out the updated logo. We love showing our school spirit around here and will plan on some more TPS days in the near future! 

A Note from the PTA:

"We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to all the families who stopped by our PTA table during Curriculum Night. We truly appreciate your interest and engagement. 

Our Parent-Teacher Association plays a crucial role in supporting our school community, and we would love for you to become a part of it. By joining the PTA, you can actively participate in shaping all TPS students’ educational experiences and help us create a positive and enriching environment for all.

Signing up is easy! Just visit our website https://thomasprincepta.membershiptoolkit.com then log in and select “Become a Member Today”. Your support goes a long way in making TPS an even better place for our students and staff to thrive. You can also join our Facebook Group "TPS Princeton PTA".

Thank you for considering joining the PTA, and once again, thank you for visiting our table at Curriculum Night. We look forward to working together for the benefit of our amazing school community.

Our first Open Meeting of the school year will take place next Thursday, October 5th at 6:00PM in the TPS Library. Everybody is welcome whether or not you are a member. We hope to see you there!"

A School Dismissal Manager reminder: please remember to update any changes/exceptions as they occur. If you have a recurring exception i.e. Cross Country or Lego League etc., please be sure to update this if programs are cancelled. Additionally, with the exception of emergency situations, we kindly ask you not to make phone calls requesting changes after 1:00.  We really want to make sure we get everyone home the appropriate way, and with the DPW continuing to work on roads this adds a layer of complexity to the task. We appreciate your support. 

The district has asked me to share the following letter regarding our Early Literacy Screener with parents of students in K-3. It reviews information about our STAR Early Literacy Screener and steps for students who may have struggled with it. 

Electronic Folder

New: Calling Crafters, October Day Schedule, Touch a Truck,

• The Week Ahead: 

  • Monday (10/2) Day C
  • Custodian Appreciation Day
  • Tuesday (10/3) Day D
  • Pajama Day
  • Wednesday (10/4) Day A
  • Walk to School Day
  • Cross Country Meet at Paxton
  • Thursday (10/5) Day B
  • PTA meeting in the library 6:00
  • Friday (10/6) Day C

Fun Run!

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 evening. This year, we are adjusting this from our typical Curriculum Night presentation to a more organic Open House. To this end, teachers may provide you a handout or information about the curriculum, but our goal is really to give families a chance to meet their teachers and see the spaces their children spend many of their waking hours. Children are welcome to attend. However, of note is our parking situation and the need to rotate grade levels in and out to accommodate the small parking lots and narrow hallways. Explore the building but don't forget to stop by our library! Below you will find a schedule of grade availability. 

Also, the 7th and 8th grades will follow a slightly different plan, beginning in the cafeteria at 6:30 for a short group presentation. Specific expectations around grading and make-up work etc. will be shared at this time or in an accompanying handout.  Afterward, teachers will return to their classrooms, and families are encouraged to get around and see all the spaces in a more natural open house-type process. Activities will be varied in each room and this is an opportunity to ask questions of teachers. This is not, however, an opportunity for parent-teacher conferences. We want to make sure everyone has an opportunity to meet the teachers and see the spaces where their students spend their days. If you would like to have conversations around concerns for your specific child we are happy to schedule a time to meet where there will be less interruption and more privacy for your student. 

• K/3 - 5:00-6:00
• 1st/2nd/6th - 5:30-6:30
• 4th/5th - 6:00-7:00
• 7th/8th - 6:30-7:30
• Specials/Special Education 5:45-6:45

In other big news this week, we are fortunate to be joined by two members of the Princeton Police Department this week. Officer Doyle has completed School Resource Officer training and the police department and district have entered into an agreement to have her serve as our TPS SRO. I had the opportunity to work with her last year and she is a wonderful addition. I love that we have a collaborative relationship with the department. Please know, she is not here to arrest or interrogate students. She's here to build relationships, help students understand the police are here to help and offer support around safety. If this wasn't good enough, Officer Doyle has a new partner your child may have come home talking about. Officer Cruiser is the most adorable chocolate lab comfort dog I have ever seen. He has yet to meet Lady but the building is absolutely buzzing about these two. 

For students in grades 3 through 8, the district will be completing the Panorama survey to determine how to best support our students emotionally. A letter explaining more about it can be found here. After learning about this, if for any reason you would not like your student(s) to participate, you can opt-out through the embedded link. This should be completed by Friday, September 29, 2023 at 5:00. 

We ended the week with some epic fun and color runs! The kids did a great job and had a blast. Thank you to the PTA and the volunteers who made this happen. Also, thank you to everyone who contributed to the cause. I'm currently looking and scheduling the pajama day and duct taping event! Stay tuned! 

Meanwhile, cross-country season is in full swing! They opened up the season with limited practice but participated in the Wachusett Invitational. TPS continues to be a running powerhouse with the boys capturing first place and the girls only missing it by one point. This was without all of our runners so we put the district on notice. I can't wait for the States. They continued their run (pun intended) with a dominant showing on Wednesday against Paxton. As I send this they are running against Holy Family. I'm proud of our student-athletes and their commitment to the sport. Thanks, too, to Coach! 

Electronic Folder

The Week Ahead: 

• Monday (9/25) B Day
• Tuesday (9/26) C Day
• 3rd-grade field trip
• Track Meet at Mountview
• Wednesday (9/27) D Day
• Half Day for PD (11:55 Dismissal)
• Thursday (9/28) A Day
• Open House
• Friday (9/29) B Day
• Grades 7 and 8 Field Trip
• Kindergarten Nature Hike

Fun! And Running!

Bus riders! The DPW has been working overtime to get the roads back to where we need them to be. Starting on Monday most families can return to their typical bus stop. We will reach out specifically to those who need a new community stop. Thank you all for your patience on this!

Despite the rain, there were so many cool things going on in the building this week I just have to share. In the 4th grade, students enjoyed a lesson about the migration patterns of monarch butterflies with special guest Jessie Trowbridge. Students learned about their migratory journey to Mexico and read the story "Ghost Wings." Afterward, they tagged a monarch and sent it on its journey outside. Did you know TPS had a monarch waystation garden for butterflies to stop at on their journey south?  

The 6th grade started off the week with a challenge. Students were challenged to travel across "molten lava" (i.e. the outdoor basketball court) across "igneous rocks" (i.e. small dots). They had to work together, plan, and communicate clearly to get their whole group across the lava. This is one of my personal favorite activities. I love it because the group isn't successful if they leave anyone behind. Also, it takes communication and synchronized movement to be successful. The kids did a great job! They initially struggled but persevered and both groups found a way. 

This week, I joined the kindergarten outside in the Bangrazi Courtyard as they completed a volcano experiment. It is such a cool space but so difficult to maintain. It is predominantly maintained through the generous work of volunteers twice each year. Once again we will be opening our school on a Saturday for just this purpose. On Saturday, October 12th we will host our Fall Cleanup! We'll be open from 8:00-2:00. Anyone is welcome to come for the day or even just an hour. You can sign up here. If you have any questions, Elaine Santello is leading the work and can be reached at elaine_santello@wrsd.net. You can learn more about our outdoor spaces on our website. 

This week, the PTA also kicked off their Boosterthon fundraiser! You may have seen some young people dancing outside at drop-off and pick-up or hearing stories of their adventures. We are already off to a great start! If you haven't registered already, simply doing so gets our kids closer to a pajama day. And already, in the first 24 hours since the kickoff, the kids are a third of their way to getting to duct tape me to a wall. I'm starting to wonder if they really like me at all! This will all culminate in our Fun Run and Color Run next Friday afternoon. Keep up the great work! 

A quick reminder about bus changes. If you want your student to ride a different bus or get off at a different stop, along with noting this in School Dismissal Manager, the student needs a physical note to hand the driver. The drivers do not get the SDM reports and often times we do not want to rely on the students for this information. My concern is that eventually, the bus company will not let kids make these adjustments without a note and we'll have a bunch of kids getting off at "unexpected" locations or returning to the school. 

The town rec has asked me to share this survey around Trick or Treating this year: Attention Princeton Redisdents! When do you think our town should Trick or Treat?! Please fill out this survey to let us know! 

Electronic Folder 

The week ahead: 

• Monday (9/18) 
• Day A
• School Council Meeting
• Tuesday (9/19) 
• Day B
• Wednesday (9/20)
• Day C
• TPS Track Meet
• Thursday (9/21)
• Day D 
• Friday (9/22)
• Day A
• Fun Run and Color Run

And further ahead: 

• Thursday (9/28) 
• Curriculum Night/Open House
• K/3 - 5:00-6:00
• 1st/2nd/6th - 5:30-6:30
• 4th/5th - 6:00-7:00
• 7th/8th - 6:30-7:30
• Specials/Special Education 5:45-6:45

It was a hot one!

We managed to survive the heat this week and I realized I never shared the approach we were taking. Based on the weather advisory, when the temperature was at or near 90 degrees and the humidity was over 60% (basically Wednesday and Thursday) we followed the guidance provided by our Nurse Leader and kept the kids inside. Believe it or not, it was actually cooler inside. We discovered quickly that if we kept the windows closed we could maintain the temperature inside better. It was still hot though as I'm sure you heard. We also encouraged plenty of water drinking and identified different spaces in the building that did have air conditioning that classes could visit. It was rough but the kids did great and the staff were the real heroes of the week. Thank you to everyone for your support. 

This week, we kicked off with our first fire drill of the school year. We were all out of the building in about 2 minutes and everyone accounted for in about 3. It was a tremendous job by all. I'd like to thank the Princeton Fire Department for their support. It's great to be a part of such a small supportive community. 

In the coming weeks, we will be welcoming pre-practicum students from Assumption College. We will have these students coming into classrooms in 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 6th grades to support and learn about our math instruction. Math instruction is an area of strength for our school and I'm excited to share our teachers' expertise with the next generation of teachers. 

For 5th -8th grade Families: Strings start on Monday! Don't worry if you don't have instruments yet. Mrs. Haynes will be in the building and we're excited to get this program off the ground this year! 

Electronic Folder

The Week Ahead: 

• Monday (9/11) 
• Day D
• Tuesday (9/12) 
• Day A
• Wednesday (9/13) 
• Day B
• Boosterthon Kickoff
• Cross Country Meet
• Staff Meeting
• Thursday (9/14) 
• Day C
• Faculty Council 
• Friday (9/15) 
• Day D 

3 days in the books

It was a wonderful week back at TPS! I'm not sure what these kids ate over the summer, but they came back taller and with bigger smiles on their faces. It was fun to hear about everyone's summer vacations and the kids seemed genuinely happy to be back, even if the morning seemed to come earlier than they would have liked. We jumped right into routines and by today, the building was humming right along like we never left. Just a quick reminder that if you drop off after 8:25, you need to bring your students into the building and sign them in. 

When I was talking with the incoming Kindergarten parents on Wednesday, I realized there was something I forgot to talk about in my lengthy back-to-school communication (can you imagine if it was longer!). We value communication here at TPS and I try to model that by sharing out information every Friday. However, this only works if we have two-way communication. We need to hear from you if you have questions and/or concerns. We want to be partners in this endeavor to educate our children. It helps no one to ask questions into the void of social media. You will find myself and our staff always willing to engage in conversation. Please reach out. We're in this together! 

The PTA Boosterthon is in full swing! If you haven't registered yet, you can do so here. It's easy to do and share with family and friends. The goal is $15,000 for playground beautification and outdoor upgrades. Rumor has it, that reaching this goal will result in yet another embarrassing event for the principal! Something with duct tape. You can register here. Anyone who registers by midnight on Monday (9/4) is entered to win a pair of Ulitmate Obstacles passes. If you've already registered you're already registered with double the entries for being an early bird! 

We were fortunate to add to our staff this week and hired Henry Alter in the eleventh hour! Henry comes from us after working in the language-based program in Paxton. He attended Fitchburg State and we feel lucky that he will bring this knowledge and experience to our students in K-2 as our new Special Educator. I owe the Paxton principal big time! 

Note from the nurse: 

With the start of the new school year rapidly approaching, here are some reminders from the Health Office:

• 
  All medication orders must be renewed each school year. New medication orders and medication should be brought in the day before or on the first day of school. Students are not allowed to transport medications to school with the exception of EpiPens or rescue inhalers that a student carries in their backpack. I must be notified of any self-carry medications. Medication order forms can be downloaded off the school website using the Health Services tab.

• All medications administered at school must have a physician's order and parent permission. This includes prescription and over-the-counter medications. Please see the medication policy on the school website if you have any questions.        

• All students must be fully immunized by the first day of school. The only exceptions are written documentation from a doctor for medical exemptions or a written document stating that due to religious beliefs your child has not been vaccinated. The exemption forms must be renewed at the beginning of each school year. 

• Students entering the 4th grade and 7th grade must have an updated physical and immunization record on file in the health office.  Please send these updated documents in as soon as they become available to you.

• If you have an incoming kindergartener or have a child transferring to TPS with any health issue that may affect them during the school day please reach out to me at karina_abbascia@wrsd.net 

• Please review the district guidelines on when your child should remain home due to illness. 

I hope your child has a happy and healthy school year!

The electronic folder

The week ahead:

• 
  Monday (9/4) 
• No School - Labor Day
• Tuesday (9/5) 
• Day D
• School Picture Day
• Wednesday (9/6) 
• Day A
• Thursday (9/7) 
• Day B
• Friday (9/8) 
• Day C
• 8th Grade class picture