Thankful

Thanksgiving seems like an appropriate time to reflect on the year so far. I'd like to express my thankfulness and gratitude for being a part of the TPS community. It's wonderful to be in a place where parents are invested in the work we do. Where students are eager to learn and teachers care about kids. I hope you all enjoy the Thanksgiving break! 

Now that we are deep into the school year, I wanted to take a few minutes to remind folks of the drop-

off process. Our goal is to keep traffic flowing safely. To that end, at this point in the year, your child should be able to get out of the car independently and when possible they should get out on the driver's side, directly onto the sidewalk. If your child has already disembarked please wait for the car in front of you and don't pass on the right. Sometimes students will exit on that side and we do not want any injuries. If your child does need a little help getting out of the car please pull into an open spot. If you want me to help just give me the nod and I'm happy to come over to you to help.  

We love to share some of our wonderful student products and activities, but I realize many parents don't know the inner processes and systems we have in place. It seemed like a good idea to share some of these periodically through my weekly communication. This week, I thought I would talk about our Student Support Team (SST). This team of staff members supports other teachers in meeting individual students' needs. If a teacher has a concern about a student's behavior, social-emotional needs, or academic progress, they create an intervention plan in our system. They monitor progress through this plan and if the student continues to struggle they bring the child's case to SST. The SST makes suggestions and together a new goal is developed. The team reconvenes in six weeks to determine progress and make decisions around the next steps. If your child's case comes to SST the teacher has already had a conversation with you. This is just one system we have in place to ensure students are getting what they need.  

This is the last call for Lost and Found before we make the big donation to make room for our winter clothes lost and found.  

Remember this is an amazing fundraiser for the art room so get your order in as soon as possible. Orders close on 11/29. Thank you all so much! - Mrs. Finkler

 

A note from our PTA: 

 The TPS Holiday Shop is Back! 

We are thrilled to announce that the beloved TPS Holiday Shop is returning the week of December 9th! This fun and festive shopping experience gives our students the opportunity to pick out special gifts for their loved ones while spreading holiday cheer.

To make this event a success, we need your help! We're looking for enthusiastic volunteers to assist with:

• Keeping items organized
• Helping students shop

If you’re interested, please sign up to volunteer at the link below:
 Holiday Shop Volunteer Schedule

Important: All volunteers must have a current CORI form on file to assist in the building.

Thank you for your support in bringing this magical experience to our students. We can’t wait to see the joy and excitement it brings to our TPS community!

Warm regards,
The Thomas Prince PTA

On Tuesday, grades 5 through 8 will participate in a Turkey Trot in the morning. This fun tradition started last year. This year, we are asking for a fun twist. Students who would like to be eligible for stylish turkey prize metal should bring in one canned good. Mrs. McDonal will deliver all food donations to the Worcester Food Bank after the Turkey Trot. Let's help our neighbors and community to have a happy holiday season! 

Electronic Folder

Lights on the Common, 

The weeks ahead:

• Monday (11/25) Day D
• Monty Tech VIP program
• Tuesday (11/26) Day A
• Wednesday-Friday (No School)
• Monday (12/2) Day B
• Tuesday (12/3) Day C
• Wednesday (12/4) Day D
• Thursday (12/5) Day A
• Friday (12/6) Day B 

Mid-November

The weather has been fluctuating lately and with that, we're seeing more hoodies and sweaters coming in during the morning, but not going out in the afternoons. This means our Lost and Found is FULL! We're actually out of hangers to put things on.  And this is before we even start with the snowgear. We're going to plan on emptying out the Lost and Found and donating it to charity over the Thanksgiving break so please swing by and take a look or ask your student to do the same. It's all in the front lobby. 

This week, our Kindergarten took their annual field trip to the town library. Access to great books is paramount to early literacy and we are fortunate to have a wonderful library here in Princeton. We are also fortunate to have a great relationship with them. The Library Trustees actually pay for the bus for the trip and every student leaves with a library card! What could be cooler to a kindergartener than that! 

I wanted to let everyone know that we have found a new School Administrative Assistant! Mrs. Culberson will be joining us in December and we are very excited. This means that Mrs. Nourse's last official day will be November 22nd. Fear not! She will still be around and will spend some time in the building in December to train and support Mrs. Culberson. And she has promised to pick up the phone when I call in a panic to see how she did something. 

A note from our Art teacher, Mrs. Finkler: 

Hello TPS Families

Your young artist was hard at work this year to make beautiful art that can now be ordered on all different types of high-quality items.  The flyers and stickers of each student's artwork went home this week.  Our deadline to order for the Art Room fundraiser is NOVEMBER 29.  All orders will be shipped home by winter break.  These keepsakes make great gifts for loved ones and are something each student should be very proud of.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you

Melissa Finkler

Our Lego League is in full swing: 

The FIRST Lego League Explore program is being run for children in grades 1 through 4 starting in early January. The meetings are held once a week after school at TPS. The season is 10 meetings. The program introduces kids to STEM using Legos and Lego robotics. It focuses on creativity, fun, and teamwork. Each year has a theme, this year's theme is SUBMERGED. This season, children will learn about how and why people explore the oceans. Our discoveries beneath the ocean surface teach us how this complex ecosystem supports a healthy future for the plants and animals that live there. In each of the early meetings, we will learn about the theme, draw and share ideas about what was learned, and build our ideas with Legos and Lego robots. Toward the end of the program, the children will work on a single team build and will present their build to their friends and family at the last meeting. 

This video is a nice overview of the FIRST programs. The Explore program uses regular Lego blocks and students are grouped by age so that the experience can be tailored for their age group. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkN08bDv9EI

Jennifer Stander will be coaching the Lego League teams. She is an Electrical Engineer working in the field of Robotics and also an Adjunct Professor at WPI teaching electrical and computer engineering design courses. To help the students reach their goals, it is important to have additional volunteers to help at the meetings. Team assignments will start on December 6th.  If you are interested in learning more, signing your child up, and/or helping out at meetings, email Jennifer at legofirst@js.mxpark.com before this date. 

The Electronic Folder

Girl Scout Babysitting, 5-8 Turkey Trot/Food Drive

The Week Ahead: 

• Monday (11/18) Day C
• Tuesday (11/19) Day D
• Wednesday (11/20) Day A
• School Support Staff Appreciation Day
• Thursday (11/21) Day B
• Friday (11/22) Day C

Long weekend ahead!

This morning, our K through 2nd-grade students had the privilege of seeing "You Have Arrived!", a one-person show that used the mesmerizing medium of a dynamic large-scale pop-up book and simple yet visually captivating puppetry. The show invited students to experience the profound transformation of our landscapes, echoing the silent yet powerful stories of displacement and resilience happening throughout the globe. The program was provided in conjunction with the Princeton Town Library and through a generous donation from the Kathryn A. Bisk Enrichment Fund. Mr. Bisk has been working with the Town library to provide extension opportunities for young children in his late wife, Kathryn's name. This year we worked together to make sure the impact was that much greater! I'm so happy our students had the chance to have this fun learning experience. 

It's hard to believe but winter sports is upon us! If you have a Middle School boy interested in

Basketball please sign up here by 11/20. We will not take players who register after the 20th. Tryouts will be on December 2nd, 3rd, and 4th from 3:00-5:00 PM. The roster will be posted Thursday morning on the 5th with rostered players reporting to practice that afternoon. Registration fees will be due at that time. We plan to have 13 players and 2 practice players/team managers. Tryouts will be closed to parents/guardians to avoid undue pressure on the student-athletes. The season will conclude on 2/14. Interested students should work on dribbling, shooting, and running over the next couple of weeks before tryouts. 

Surveying students, there was not enough interest from girls to form a basketball team. However, there was interest in Cheerleading. I have been searching for a coach. If you are interested or know someone who may be interested please reach out. I would like to have this group up and running for December. 

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Kids Hike, 
Stuff a Cruiser Toy Drive, 
7th and 8th grade WRHS Open House, 

The Week Ahead: 

• Monday (11/11) 
• No School - Veteran's Day
• Tuesday (11/12) Day C
• Little Spark Grades 3/4 during art (Courtesy of the PTA)
• TPS Library Volunteer Meeting at 5:30
• Wednesday (11/13) Day D
• Thursday (11/14) Day A
• K Field Trip to the Library
• Little Spark Grades 3/4 during art (Courtesy of the PTA)
• Safety Forum at 5:30 
• Friday (11/15) Day B
• Kindergarten Hike

 

Finishing October Strong

The kids and staff really seemed to have a great week! The spirit week was a huge success with lots of creativity. Thank you to the Student Council for organizing it! Thursday's Costume Parade was equally outstanding fun! I think it's amazing that Mrs. Brais can pull together a marching band and it was great to see everyone in their costumes. I was especially excited to debut our mascot courtesy of the PTA. We will have to work with the students to come up with a name for our Warrior. What a great way to celebrate school pride! There are great pictures from the school's activities for the whole week on our Instagram page (@tpswarriors). 

For the last two weeks, Leroy Watkins and his partners have been keeping the cafeteria and recesslively! The kids have been very excited, culminating in this morning's Viking Challenge. The kids had a blast navigating the obstacle courses and bounce houses. Thank you to everyone who donated to the cause and the PTA for bringing in this fun new fundraiser! 

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WRHS Craft Fair, November Letter Days,

The week ahead: 

• Monday (11/4) Day C
• Tuesday (11/5) No School - Voting
• Wednesday (11/6) Day D
• Grade 8 Music Field Trip
• Thursday (11/7) Day A
• PTA Meeting
• Friday (11/8) Day B
• Bisk Puppet Show (K-2)