October 19, 2012

Greetings Roderick Families:

On Friday, October 12th, our fourth graders went on a field trip to Old Sturbridge Village.  Our fourth graders were able to visit this living history museum during its harvest.  Students experienced firsthand what New England life was like from 1790 - 1840 (sawmill demonstration, pottery making, shoe making, musket firing) .  Authentically costumed staff carried out the daily activities of an early 19th century community.  Students had a great time and staff is thrilled that they were able to attend Old Sturbridge Village in the fall as it coincides with their classroom study of the New England Region.



Congratulations to our Positive Referral this week.  This student has been caught multiple times this year being kind and supportive.  What a great characteristic to model.  We are very proud of her!

Members of Ms. Frizzell's fifth grade class recently completed their Fantasy Football Challenge.  During this project, students cooperatively use computation, estimation, and planning skills with their partner to build a fantasy football team and track their success.    

2nd Annual Halloween Spooktacular

On Thursday, October 25th, the King Philip High School Student Council will be hosting a Halloween Spooktacular for all students in Pre-K through 6.  This event will be held from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at the high school and is free of charge.  Students will be able to play games, do crafts, and enter a costume contest.  Members of the KP School Council are pictured below with some of our fifth and sixth grade students.  They visited our school on Thursday to share news of the Spooktacular with our students.



Special thanks to Diana Zeller and members of the PTO for their assistance with our recent Fall Book Fair.  Successful fundraising activities take time and organization.  The success of this year's Fall Book Fair is clear evidence of Diana's and the PTO's outstanding work.  On behalf of the students and the staff of the Roderick School, thank you!



From the Nurse's Office

Beginning next week, Mrs. Prew will be conducting the state mandated screenings for all students in grades 4, 5, and 6.  These screenings include vision, hearing, height, weight, and scoliosis (for grades 5 and 6 only).  For scoliosis screenings: female students will be screened individually by Mrs. Prew in the Health Office on their classroom screening day and male students will be screened individually by Mr. Maguire or Mr. Moon on the day of their scheduled Physical Education class.  If you have any questions, please contact Mrs. Prew at 508.384.5435 or prewk@wrentham.k12.ma.us.

Congratulations to some of our grade 5 students.  After spending many days out at recess practicing, they started a "Flash Mob" out at recess on Wednesday.  The girls should be commended for their hard work and initiative with this project.  Great job! 



School Pictures......Friday, October 26th
No School - Tuesday, November 6th  



Have a wonderful weekend,

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal

  

October 12, 2012

Dear Roderick Families:

Although the children were in school for only three days this week, there was a lot happening at the Roderick School.  Please take a few minutes and look at some of the events from the week as well as some important upcoming events.

Teachers were very busy during our school's October 9th Professional Development Day.  Teachers began the day attending a technology workshop entitled Gizmos by Explore Learning.  Teachers had the opportunity to be hands on with this technology program that will assist them with interactive, online simulations in math and science. 



During the afternoon, teachers met with math consultant, John Ribeiro to discuss the Standards of Mathematical Practice.  During this portion of the professional development day, teachers had the opportunity to dive deeper into the mathematical standards of the new Common Core.  Our staff left the day energized and excited to bring the ideas they worked on back their classrooms.  

Congratulations to our Positive Referral this week.  This student was caught being thoughtful to a classmate and helpful during an event.  What a great way to demonstrate our Core Values of Respect and Responsibility.  We are very proud of him!

Reading to the Finish Line.......Closing Ceremonies!

On Wednesday of this week, our school got together to celebrate the closing ceremony of our Summer Reading Olympics reading program.  As it is in the Olympics, our students came together to celebrate the reading that took place over the summer and recognize the great efforts made by the students.  I am thrilled to announce that 93% of the students in the Roderick School fully participated and completed the program requirements of the Summer Reading Program!  Students who fully participated and completed the program requirements were rewarded with an extra recess and a certificate of achievement this week.  Thank you to all who participated!  I would like to especially thank Mr. Cederbaum, Ms. Frizzell, Mrs. Cederbaum, and Mrs. Garozzo for spearheading the program and for doing such an amazing job!  We look forward to having even more readers join us next summer.

Wanted: School Council Member

The Roderick School Council is looking for a community representative to sit on our School Council.  This member needs to be a Wrentham community member without any children in the school.  Our School Council meets on the first Wednesday of the month from 3:00 - 4:00 PM.  If you know of anyone who would be interested, please have them contact the Roderick office at 508.384.5435.  Thank You!

The Fall Scholastic Book Fair is coming! The Book Fair will be in the Vogel Auditorium from Tuesday, October 16th through Thursday, October 18th.  The Book Fair will be open from 8:30 AM - 3:00 PM, and 6:00 - 8:00 PM on Tuesday and Wednesday and from 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM on Thursday.

Grandparent's/Special Person's Day 

Our school will host Grandparent's/Special Person's day on Thursday, November 8, 2012.  Buses will be available beginning at 8:30 AM from Luciano’s at Lake Pearl Park to the Delaney/ Roderick School bus circle.  Grandparents/Special People are welcome to visit classrooms between 9:30 AM and 10:30 AM.  We ask that all guests sign in with a PTO volunteer before moving throughout the buildings.  Buses will return visitors to Luciano’s at Lake Pearl Park starting at 10:30 AM.  Although there will be volunteers to assist on this day, it will be helpful for guests to know their school designation and child’s teacher’s name before arriving at the school. We hope that you can join us on this very special day.


Thanks for reading and please be sure to come back and visit next week.

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal

October 5, 2012

Hello Roderick Families:

The first full week of October is behind us and it was certainly another busy week.  The school seemed a little quieter this week seeing our sixth graders were off in Plymouth for the week (see below).  As we move through the month of October, please be on the lookout for information regarding the PTO's annual Fall Book Fair (October 16 - 18) and Roderick School pictures (October 26th) that will take place a little later in the month.   

Camp Bournedale

Our sixth grade students have recently returned home from their excellent outdoor environmental education program at Camp Bournedale in Plymouth, MA.  Students in grade six left on Monday morning to experience enriching and rewarding educational and social experiences for the week.  Although this is truly a trip that you need to experience first hand to fully appreciate, I have included some pictures that highlight many of the things our students are involved with throughout their week away.  A very special thanks to the numerous chaperones who stay in the cabins and our wonderful grade 6 staff who take time away from their own families to ensure the students have the times of their lives!

Rocketry Class

Marine Lab

Shark Dissection

Daily Wildlife Presentations

Recreation Time!

Thank you to all the parents who assisted in loading the luggage buses.

Adventure Class!

On Wednesday, I walked through Mrs. Farrell's class and saw her class working hard on their classroom newsletter. Students selected one of the many activities they have been working on in class and summarized it into paragraph form.  Each student then created a slide that highlighted their topic. 

Attendance 

Research shows that the amount of time spent in school with instructional materials directly correlates to achievement.  We continue to implement changes within our school day to accomplish this.

How can you assist us at home?

· Send your child on the school bus or drop them off at the school between 8:07 a.m. -8:15 a.m.  Children must be in the building prior to 8:20 a.m. or they will be marked tardy.  Any child being dropped off after 8:20 a.m. must be signed in at the office by an adult.  Instruction and learning begins immediately.  Students who are tardy are missing valuable learning experiences.

· Please do not dismiss your child before 2:45 p.m.

· Avoid scheduling or extending vacations while school is in session.  Plan your trips during school vacation weeks or days off. 

See the school calendar available on the Wrentham Public Schools’ website.

Thank you very much to AJ and the students in Mr. Cederbaum's fourth grade classroom for their World Smile Day thank you letter.  Students in Mr. C.'s class composed thank you letters to individuals around the building and accompanied them with poems and certificates.  It was very nice to receive such a thoughtful, well-written letter! 

October 8th - No School (Columbus Day)

October 9th - No School (Staff Professional Development Day)

Thanks for reading and best wishes for a great, long weekend,

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal 

September 28, 2012

Hello Roderick Families:

We had another busy and exciting week here at the Roderick School.  I still can't believe that when the students arrive on Monday we will be in the month of October.  Time truly goes quickly! 

Earlier today the students in the Roderick School viewed an assembly on bullying and cyber-bullying .  Members from the Norfolk Advocates for Children visited our school to provide this free presentation.  Patti Snell, former Graduate Assistant at Massachusetts Aggression Reduction Center (MARC) and Jane Biagi, Coordinator of School Programs led this presentation.  Please ask your children if they can tell you what "eggers" and "bystanders" are.   

 
Mrs. Kane’s fifth grade students made connections and saw demonstrations of rock formations (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic rocks) with candy and fudge.  As you can see it was an engaging and popular lesson!



Reflex Math

With a focus on the new Mathematics Common Core Standards, our students are using a brand new piece of software called Reflex Math. Reflex is a revolutionary, game-based system that helps students of all ability levels to develop instant recall of their basic math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division). Research shows that students who are not fluent with their basic math facts have major challenges mastering more advanced mathematical skills. When using Reflex, the program will continuously monitor each student's progress and create the optimal experience for every child. Students can use Reflex at any time and anywhere there's an internet connection. Best of all, it's FUN! Students are actively engaged playing games, while simultaneously becoming math fact fluent! Encourage your child to use the program at home by going to www.reflexmath.com and entering their user name and password provided by their classroom teacher.

Congratulations to our Positive Referrals this week.  These students were caught being thoughtful to a classmate and helpful during an event.  What a great way to demonstrate our Core Value of Respect and Responsibility.  We are very proud of them!

In accordance with Massachusetts General Law Chapter 90 Section 7B, our school participated in a bus evacuation as they arrived at school on Tuesday, September 25th.  Students who did not take the bus to school were placed on a bus to go through this important exercise.  Special thanks to bus coordinator, Donna Burt for her assistance with this bus evacuation.   

Destination Imagination

Informational Meeting

for Third through Sixth Grade Students and Parents

Wednesday October 10th

Vogel Auditorium

6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Drop in and find more about this exciting after school enrichment program!

Please direct all questions to Linda DeVore, DI Coordinator

email: devorel@wrentham.k12.ma.us

phone: 508-789-4493

Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal



September 21, 2012

Dear Roderick Families:

I hope the families of the Roderick School enjoyed themselves as much as our staff did during last night's Open House night.  I would like to thank Mrs. Judy White Orlando and  Mrs. Maura Crowley for providing food for the evening.  I hope everyone had a chance to visit the whole school and had the opportunity to look at the curriculum materials being used at our school.  It was a pleasure to see so many parents.  Thank you for making the effort to attend Open House!

Mr. C. details the life of a fourth grader at the Roderick School.

Mrs.  Crowley provided guests with some delicious treats!

We would like to thank Andrea Lovely, Wrentham Public Schools Art Teacher, for painting the Wrentham Wildcat over the summer. The wildcat looks awesome and really stands out in the main foyer.

Farm To School Week

This week our school celebrated Farm to School Week.  Throughout this week our cafeteria featured fresh farm foods such as apples, cider, squash and tomatoes from local farms.  On Tuesday, Senator Richard Ross stopped in for a visit and let students know that this is good nutrition and good news for our agriculture in Massachusetts.  Senator Ross is pictured below along with some of our sixth grade students.  Also pictured is Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Marsden, School Committee member, Mrs. Rouse, and Food Service Director, Mrs. White-Orlando.

Congratulations to our Positive Referral this week.  This student was caught being thoughtful to a classmate.  What a great way to demonstrate our Core Value of Respect.  We are very proud of him!

Thank you to all who came out to cheer on the Wrentham Public Schools' staff at the softball game last Friday night.  I am happy to report that this fun night raised $1,318.00!  This money will be used to fund Wrentham Teachers' Association scholarships.  A special thanks to all the staff members who participated and to all of the police staff who participated.  Finally, a big thanks to Mrs. Moon and Mrs. Cederbaum for organizing this event, Caroline Watson for beautifully singing the National Anthem, and Mike McGuire for serving as the announcer for the evening.  Here are some of the sights from the game:

Thanks for visiting the blog this week and have a terrific weekend.

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal

September 14, 2012

Hello Roderick Families!

Another busy week here at the Roderick School.  The transition from a three day week, to a four day week, to this five day week seemed to have helped everyone get back into the full swing of things.  You may have noticed the yellow daily agenda that your child/children have been bringing to and from school.  These wonderful agendas were generously purchased by our PTO.  Please take some time each evening to look over your child's/children's agenda.  This will help ensure all assignments can be completed in a timely manner.  Thank you to the PTO for these agendas and for all that you do for our school!

 

Today was Patriot Spirit Day! It was great to see the Roderick students showing their school spirit by wearing their Patriots and football gear to school today.  Let's hope we bring them luck on Sunday!  Here are some of our sixth graders showing their spirit.



The Roderick School Open House will take place on Thursday, September 20th.  Grade 6 will be from 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM, Grade 5 will be from 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM, and Grade 4 will be from 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM.  We hope to see you there! 

Congratulations to our Positive Referrals this week.  These two individuals were caught assisting a classmate who was struggling with a class activity.  What a great way to demonstrate our Core Value of collaboration.  We are very proud of these students!

Wrentham students in grades four, five, and six have the opportunity to play an instrument here at the Roderick School.  Our music instructor, Miss Tracy Salazar does a fabulous job with all of our instrumental students.  On Tuesday, members from the King Philip High School band visited our school for an instrumental demonstration.  Roderick School band information went home this past week.  Please email Miss Salazar with any questions, comments, or concerns.  Please take a minute to enjoy the talented members of the KP band.



I hope that you all have a safe and enjoyable weekend.

Mr. Stephen Grenham



Wrentham Staff vs. Wrentham Police
Charity Softball Game
When:  Friday, Sept. 14th
Where:  McMorrow Field
Time: 6:00 PM
Rain Date: Saturday, Sept. 15th @ 7:00 PM



September 7, 2012

We had a great week at the Roderick School!  The students have truly transitioned well into their new classrooms.

Below is a picture of Miss Frizzell's fifth grade class.  The students are doing an activity investigating the forms of energy.  In this lesson, students learned how to store and release energy, how energy changes, and how energy travels.
    

Congratulations to our first Positive Referral of the year! 

CORI Forms  

We love to have volunteers at the Roderick School.  The first step in being a volunteer is to be CORI checked. 

Wrentham Public School Policy requires all volunteers to be CORI checked.  If you are unsure about your CORI being up to date, please contact Mrs. Chambers at 508.384.5435 to confirm. A CORI can be completed at the Central Office located in the Janelli Annex.  You can complete the CORI during the hours of 8:00am to 4:00pm. Photo identification, such as a driver's license or a passport, is required to complete the process.

Below are some frequently asked questions and answers related to the CORI Form. 

Q. Where do I get the Form?

A. The CORI Form is at the Superintendent's Office. 

Q. What do I bring to the Superintendent's Office to complete the form?

A. You must bring photo identification with you. It can be a driver's license, a passport or a college ID.

Q. How will I know if I have "passed" the CORI?

A. If you do not receive a notice from the Superintendent's Office, you have "passed".

Q. How often do I have a CORI report done?

A. All current or prospective employees, volunteers, and school bus drivers who may have direct and unmonitored contact with children will have a criminal offenders records check conducted periodically, but not less than every three years.

 Wrentham Staff vs. Wrentham Police 

Charity Softball Game

When:  Friday, September 14th

Where: McMorrow Field

Time:  6:00 PM

Rain Date: Saturday, September 15th @ 7:00 PM

 WEST will once again this year be working with the Eagle Brook Saloon to hold monthly fundraisers to support Wrentham Elementary School students.  Individuals (open to anyone) can visit the Eagle Brook any time on the first Wednesday or Thursday of every month and a percentage of your bill will be sent to WEST . Please visit  WEST for more details regarding this fundraiser and to learn more about the great things WEST does for our school.

Have a great weekend,

Mr. Stephen Grenham