TPS Principal's Page: January 2025

Friday, January 31, 2025

And then it was February!

Next week, we are thrilled to celebrate School Counselors Appreciation Week, a time to recognize the incredible work of those who support the mental health and well-being of our students every day. We are so fortunate to have such a dedicated team working with our K-8 community. A special shout-out to our amazing School Adjustment Counselors, Christine Rayner, and our newest addition, Karli Beul, who provide invaluable guidance, support, and care for our students. Their expertise helps students navigate challenges, build resilience, and thrive both academically and emotionally. We would also like to thank the Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services Counselors, Olivia Schleyer and Rebekah Rano, who visit our school weekly to extend critical mental health services to our students. Their collaboration enhances our ability to meet the growing needs of our young learners. In today’s world, mental health is more important than ever. These professionals play a vital role in ensuring our students feel heard, valued, and supported. Whether it’s helping students manage anxiety, build social skills, or work through tough moments, their efforts truly make a difference in shaping a positive school environment. Please join us next week in celebrating and thanking Christine, Karli, Olivia, and Rebekah for their commitment to the well-being of our students. Together, we can continue to foster a community that prioritizes mental health and ensures every child has the support they need to succeed.

As part of a district initiative this year, TPS has formed a building-level Instructional Leadership Team (ILT). Spearheaded by Mrs. Kirstoff (3rd grade teacher), this group has been looking at data and discussing our teaching practices. All of this led to the ILT conducting classroom walkthroughs this week! It was a pleasure to observe college learning from one another. Some of the kids were asking me why we do things like this. I likened it to sports. If you play basketball, you watch how others play and learn tips and tricks from them. It can be the same way for teaching. Thank you to all the teachers who allowed the ILT in and the ILT for making this happen!

I'm not sure if there was a buzz at home but the kitchen got another upgrade this week! We are thrilled to share that our kitchen now has a brand-new serving line, making mealtimes more efficient and enjoyable for our students! This improvement was made possible entirely through food services funding, with no impact on the school budget. A huge thank you to Margaret Barton, Supervisor of School Nutrition, for her hard work making this happen. Her dedication to ensuring our students have access to healthy and delicious meals in a well-organized space is truly appreciated. We are excited for our students to enjoy this upgrade—thank you to our food services team for all that you do!

A note from the Town Administrator

Town News Announcement

FY 26 Preliminary Budget Presentation

Please join us on Wednesday, February 12, 2025 at 6:30 PM for the FYI 26 Preliminary Budget Presentation. The meeting will be held virtually. This is an excellent opportunity to learn more about the challenges and opportunities the town is facing in planning for the year ahead and the future, including an override. Members of the Selectboard, Advisory Committee and Department Heads will be available to answer your questions and discuss the challenges and opportunities they are facing.

The Electronic Folder

The week ahead: (School Counselor Appreciation Week)

Monday (2/3) B Day
Tuesday (2/4) C Day

Boys basketball at home vs Paxton

Wednesday (2/5) D Day
Thursday (2/6) A Day
Friday (2/7) B Day

Friday, January 24, 2025

Brrrr.....

We had the privilege of hosting two WRHS juniors, who came down to speak with our 8th graders about what to look forward to at the high school and how to best prepare for this exciting transition. The juniors shared personal experiences, tips for success, and insights into the opportunities that await at WRHS. Adding to the excitement, they brought along some free WRHS swag, which sparked smiles and a sense of belonging among our students. This visit built enthusiasm and eased some anxieties, leaving our 8th graders feeling more confident and excited for the journey ahead! I appreciate that this idea came from the High School students while working on a DECA project. Great job!

We are thrilled to welcome Karli Buel as our new adjustment counselor, who will be joining our team next week! She will be working collaboratively with Mrs. Rayner and the classroom teachers. Karli brings a wealth of experience in providing social-emotional support to students, most recently serving at Brimfield Elementary School. Her expertise will be invaluable in addressing the diverse needs of our K-8 community, from fostering emotional resilience in our youngest learners to supporting our middle schoolers as they navigate the challenges of adolescence. We are confident that Karli’s compassionate approach and dedication to student well-being will positively impact our school. Please join us in giving her a warm welcome!

It's hard to believe we are already deep into planning for the second half of the school year. For those who are planning ahead, we do have MCAS dates for consideration:

ELA (Grades 3-8) 4/8 and 4/9
Math (Grades 3-8) 5/6 and 5/7
Science (Grades 5 and 8) 5/13 and 5/15
Civics (Grade 8) 5/20 and 5/21

Electronic Folder

The week ahead:

Monday (1/27) A Day
Tuesday (1/28) B Day

Basketball vs Murdock at home

Wednesday (1/29) C Day

Half Day for PD (11:55 dismissal)

Thursday (1/30) D Day

Basketball vs Chocksett at home

Friday (1/31) A Day

Friday, January 17, 2025

Joyous noise!

What an incredible evening of music! A huge congratulations to our talented strings, chorus, and band students for their outstanding performances at the concert. Your hard work, dedication, and love for music were evident in every note, and we couldn’t be prouder of you. A special thank you to our amazing music teachers, Mrs. Brais, Mrs. LeMay, and Mrs. Indrelie, for your leadership, creativity, and unwavering support in helping our students shine. The growth and confidence displayed by our young musicians are a testament to your passion and commitment. To our musicians: Thank you for sharing your talents with us and reminding us of the power of music to inspire, connect, and bring joy. It was a beautiful evening that showcased the heart and soul of our school community. Bravo to all!

The weather has been cold in January and I know I find myself excited to close the door during morning drop-off! Please remember that we try to get the kids outside every day. There are days when the temperature is too low or the wind chill is too strong, but if it is close we get them out. This makes for happier more, engaged kids in the afternoon and is also an important social opportunity. Please make sure your students come dressed for the elements. I know sometimes kids don't want to wear coats to school (it's a thing I guess) but if you can get them to bring them in the building we can pick it up from there.

We were thrilled to welcome local author and illustrator Ralph Masiello to our school to meet with our kindergarten through third-grade students! Mr. Masiello will share his journey as an author and illustrator and provide a behind-the-scenes look at how he brings stories and illustrations to life. This is a wonderful opportunity for our young learners to be inspired by a creative professional and to see how their love of reading, writing, and drawing can become something amazing. Thank you, Mr. Masiello, for sharing your passion and talent with our students!

Congratulations to our Boy's Basketball team for their in-district win against Paxton this week! The team rolled 51 to 34 with Blake, Thomas, and Nico all leading the team in scoring with 8 points each. Go, Warriors!

Electronic Folder

Nurse subs wanted, Lacrosse,

The week ahead:

Monday (1/20) No School MLK Day
Tuesday (1/21) Day A
Wednesday (1/22) Day B
Thursday (1/23) Day C
Friday (1/24) Day D

Friday, January 10, 2025

And we're off!

The TPS Reading Challenge is back in the new year! Mrs. Dolat has kept it simple this month. Read ANY books to participate! The form can be found online and has six spots to color in for each book read during the month of January. Students can turn in their form at the end of the month to receive a participation prize (even if they've only read one book). Students in K-1 can include books read aloud to them at home.

I'm excited to share that our boy's basketball team had their first win last Friday! The program has come a long way in the last three years and it's been great to see the kids grow and develop their skills. Thomas Burwell led the way scoring 11 points as the team cruised past Murdock 23 to 60! Other players capitalizing on multiple scoring opportunities included Jake Siedlecki, Blake Catlow, Niko Cruz, Owen Foley, Declan Keegan, Christian Kindorf, and Andrew Lovett. Everyone played well and I'm excited for the season! Great job Coach Foley!

A note about a bus incident this morning: This morning, bus 32 was in a minor accident. I was able to get to the scene and talk with the students. To reiterate, the accident was a minor one with a car backing out of their driveway and striking the bus. The majority of the students weren't even aware that it happened. I was impressed by the community response. The Police, Fire, and EMTs were already present when I arrived. The Fire/EMTs talked with each child and there were no injuries to report. The bus company had also sent a mechanic who was able to determine whether the bus was able to proceed with the route. Ultimately, the bus was able to continue and arrived around 8:50 and the students were safe and in good spirits.

A note from our 7th and 8th grade team:

"Hello 7th and 8th grade families! We hope you are all doing well and staying warm this time of year! The 7th and 8th-grade teachers are kindly requesting donations of tissues, wipes, and hand sanitizer to refill our stock during runny nose season. Thank you so much for helping us keep everyone healthy and in school as much as possible!

The 7/8 Team"

Electronic folder

New: Reading challenge, Sterling Softball, District parent presentation,

Full moon hike, Newhouse Wildlife Rescue,

The Week Ahead:

Monday (1/13) D Day
Tuesday (1/14) A Day

"Technology, Social Media, Gaming and more" presentation
Basketball at Chocksett

Wednesday (1/15) B Day
Thursday (1/16) C Day

Basketball at Paxton
Chorus and Band Concert

Friday (1/17) D Day

Visiting Author in the Library for grades K-3 (during specials)

Friday, January 3, 2025

Happy New Year!

The week was a short one so there isn't too much to share.

However, over the break, HR was hard at work and was able to get our new 7th/8th grade Social Studies teacher onboarded. Alex Ruppert joins us from Framingham where he was teaching, yes Middle School Social Studies. He and Mr. Nichols have been working together as he gets acclimated to TPS and Mr. Nichols transitions back to ELA. Alex is a Wachusett graduate! Who says you can't come home again. We were lucky to get him and he's already started building great relationships with the students.

The HR department was also able to get Katey Sweetser onboarded. She will start in the Kindergarten next week replacing Mrs. Syria. Katey is also local and has filled a similar role over in Paxton before. We are slowly getting to fully staffed!