April 26, 2013

Greeting Roderick Families:

The students and staff had a very busy week the first week back after vacation.  Please take a minute and see some of the great things that took place this week and please make note of some important upcoming dates.


Mr. Ray Rose from the Department of Public Works was on hand yesterday to celebrate Arbor Day with our fourth grade students. Members of the Wrentham Holly Club again generously donated the tree for this celebration (a Paperbark Maple).  Along with Mr. Rose and the Wrentham Holly Club, the Roderick School is grateful to Ron Cluff (Department of Conservation and Recreation) and Dave Donoghue (National Grid) for again participating in this great event.

    

This week Mad Science came to all of our 5^th grade classes to demonstrate the Laws of Gravity, force and inertia during their Fun-damental Forces workshop. Thanks to the continued support of W.E.S.T., students were able to see and experience these forces in action in our new science lab! 

On Thursday, members of the Metropolitan Law Enforcement Council (MetroLEC), ADA Jennifer Rowe, and Wrentham Police Chief Jim Anderson visited our sixth grade students to discuss the dangers when using cell phones.  These individuals stressed the importance of being responsible when using a cell phone.  This presentation was recorded by Technology teacher Mrs. Fox and can be viewed here.

The grade four classrooms invited guests in today to visit their World Wide Animal Tour.  The students did a remarkable job informing guests about their animals from around the world.

Reading Across Wrentham

The numbers are in and I am proud to report that over 300 Roderick School students reached the 1200 minute goal!!!!  We are so proud of all of these students and thank all the families for their support.

The classes at each grade level with the most minutes read are:

Grade 4 - Mrs. Kelley's Class

Grade 5 - Ms. Zardeskas' Class 

Grade 6 - Ms. Maloney's Class

Each of these classes received a class plaque and each student received a $5.00 gift certificate to use at the upcoming book fair.  In addition, a special raffle was held for students who completed the 1200 minute goal.  One student in each grade level received an E-reader!  Courtney, Alex, and Madison were the lucky winners!

Special thanks to Cathy Denholm and members of our PTO for organizing and running such a great program!

Check out Mrs. Fownes' class and Mrs. Curtin's class using Oreo cookies to learn about the moon's phases.

The PTO Spring Book Fair will take place next week.  The students will visit the book fair at various times next week.  Please note the new hours this year:

Tuesday  8:10 AM - 3:00 PM and 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

Wednesday  7:30 AM - 3:00 PM

Thursday  8:10 - 2:45 PM

In lieu of their Wednesday evening hours, the PTO will be offering early morning hours, with breakfast munchies!  If you have any question with the book fair, please contact Lisa Munn.  

Please join us for a spaghetti dinner fundraiser to benefit our school's Destination Imagination team.  We are hosting this fundraiser to help offset the cost of our DI team (Thomas, Faye, and Melanie) attending the Global Finals at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville.  There will be two seatings on Thursday, May 2nd in the Delaney Cafeteria.  First seating will be at 5:00 PM and the second seating will be at 6:30 PM.  There will be a $5.00 donation per person and a $20.00 maximum per family.  We hope you can join us! 

Registration for Fall Travel Soccer begins May 1st for current 6th and 7th grade students.  Please note that the placement evaluations will take place on Saturday, June 9th.   

May 1 - School Council Meeting - 3:00 PM Roderick Office

May 2 - DI Fundraiser 

May 3 - All Parent Narratives Due

May 7 & 8 - MCAS Grade 5 {Science and Technology/Engineering}

May 8 - Grade 6 DARE Graduation 

May 9 & 10 - MCAS Grade 4 {Mathematics} 

May 14 & 15 - MCAS Grade 5 {Mathematics}

May 16 & 17 - MCAS Grade 6 {Mathematics}

As always, thank you for taking the time to check in and read the Roderick School Blog.

Enjoy the weekend,

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal

April 12, 2013

Hello Roderick Families:

Thank you to all of the Wrentham Elementary School parents and guardians who were able to attend this week's Parent/Teacher conferences.  The lines of communication between home and school must always remain open and strong.  If at any point during the remainder of the school year you feel that there is an area in your child’s education that needs to be addressed, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s teacher.  We strive to do our best to support the academic, social, and emotional  development of your child.

The first wave of MCAS is now complete.  We would like to congratulate our students for giving their best    effort and applying the lessons and strategies taught by their teachers.  Also, student attendance was strong – thank you for your support and help at home. In May, students in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade will be taking MCAS exams in Mathematics.  Fifth grade students will have an additional MCAS exam in Science &   Technology.  The dates for the May MCAS are as follows: 

Grade 4 

May 9 & 10 - Mathematics

Grade 5

May 7 & 8 - Science Technology & Engineering

May 14 & 15 - Mathematics

Grade 6

May 16 & 17 - Mathematics

If at all possible, please do not schedule any medical or dental appointments for your child/children on the MCAS testing dates.  We greatly appreciate your support and cooperation in eliminating any unnecessary absences.  As always, please do not hesitate to call our teaching staff or me if you have any questions or concerns.

Please join me in celebrating this week's Positive Referrals!  We are very proud of them!

Our sixth grade classrooms presented their country reports this week.  The students did a remarkable job informing visitors about their country.

On Monday, some of our Grade 4 classrooms took a field trip to Stony Brook in Norfolk.  This trip was funded with a W.E.S.T. grant.  A special thank you to W.E.S.T. for allowing  students, teachers, and parents to experience this great trip!

 

March Madness Shoot Out

Congratulations to our Final Four teams: Buzzer Beaters (Faye, Mikayla, Olivia), 3 Musketeers (Chloe, Taylor, Avery), Queen and 2 Kings (Julia, Robert, Thomas), and Dream Team (Cara, Caroline, Miss Tessier). These four teams squared off in the championship round today.  After a heated battle, Queen and 2 Kings took home this year’s crown.  Thank you to Mr. Moon for organizing this tournament and all the participants. 

The Grade 5 Invention Convention was held today in the Roderick cafeteria.  Based on the creativity I saw this afternoon, I can't wait to see what the inventions will be like in the future!

 

Mrs. Kelley's class and Mrs. Marazzi's class invited me to their classroom play of Blame it on the Wolf by Douglas Love.  The students did a marvelous job!  

Parents of Grade 4 Students

4^th grade physical forms are due.  Please remember to turn in your child’s form to Mrs. Prew in the nurse’s office.  Physical forms must be dated 3/1/12 or later.  Thank you to those who have already passed them in!

 

A letter will be sent home on Monday, April 22nd offering parents the opportunity to share information about their son/daughter for next year’s placement at the Wrentham Public Schools.  This information that you share with us will be used to assist the administration with the student placement process for the 2013 – 2014 school year.  When corresponding about placement, parents are asked to focus on the type of learning environment that best meets the strengths and needs of their child.  The administration will place your child in what they feel is the best educational environment for each student based on a variety of data and input – your parent narrative being one such piece of information.  Please click here to learn more about the placement process and the parent narrative letter.

Best wishes for a safe and enjoyable April vacation.  Enjoy the time away!

Sincerely,
Stephen S. Grenham, Principal