April 17, 2014

Greetings Roderick Community:

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.

This morning Ms. Downing’s class participated in a math Easter Egg hunt! Students paired up and solved word problems hidden inside eggs.  There were over 60 eggs hidden and the winning pair had collected a total of 13 eggs! Congratulations to the high scorers:Brenna and Lindsey!

 

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

March Madness Shoot Out

Congratulations to our Final Four teams: Doughty (Jack D., Mr. McGuire, Mr. Donnelly), Ociaglen (Ms. O'Connell, Maria R., Molly G.), Moon Madness (Avery S., Chloe L., Mrs. Moon) and Fownes Line (Ian G., Chris S., Mrs. Fownes). These four teams squared off in the championship round today.  After a great battle, Moon Madness won this year's championship.  Thank you to Mr. Moon for organizing this tournament and all the participants.

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 8 & 9 - Mathematics

Grade 5

May 6 & 7 - Science Technology & Engineering

May 15 & 16 - Mathematics

Grade 6

May 13 & 14 - Mathematics

Students in Mrs. Poirier's class practiced visually representing decimals by using meter sticks and base 10 blocks.  Students worked in pairs to model a decimal number, write the number as a decimal, as a fraction and draw the number on their own number line. 

 

A letter will be sent home on Monday, April 28th 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 2014 – 2015 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.  


PTO News

Town of Wrentham Clean Up Day

The Town is sponsoring a Clean up day on Saturday, May 3.  We will have more details after vacation.  We do know our school grounds are going to benefit and we need help, weeding, mulching, and general clean up.  A new tree is slated to be planted in front of the Delaney entrance to replace the tree that was lost a few  years ago.  Also, the playground by the library needs maintenance and the wire fence fixed.  If you can help with any of these activities on May 3, please e-mail us at wrenthampto@gmail and we can coordinate.

Wrentham Wraffle and Staff Appreciation

The first set of wraffle items has been given out.  Another set will be available after vacation.  Again, Thank you to everyone that donated items to make it successful.  Also, Thank you to those that submitted your $1 or $3 per family max for the luncheon on May 16.  The money is being requested in lieu of food or supply donations.  We are still in need of volunteers for the luncheon for both Delaney and Roderick Schools.  Please e-mail us at Wrenthampto@gmail.com if you'd like to help with the luncheon on May 16. 

PTO Meetings and Board Members

Our next PTO meeting will be May 15th. At this meeting we will be electing Board members for the next term.  If you would like to be a part of the Board, please let us know!

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

Sincerely,

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal

April 11, 2014

Dear Roderick Families,

Term III report cards were sent home today.

 

Congratulations Dr. Peterson!

At Tuesday night's School Committee meeting Superintendent Martes announced that Dr. Melissa Peterson had been selected as the new Principal of the Memorial School in Medfield.  During her 18 years at the WPS, Dr. Peterson worked diligently to provide the best environment possible for students and staff. Dr. Peterson begins her new journey on July 1st.  Congratulations and best of luck!

Mrs. Kelley's class and Mrs. Marazzi's class spent time on Friday giving persuasive presidential speeches.  If the speeches are any indication, our country is in good shape for the next generation!  Well done!

The Grade 5 Invention Convention was held today in the Roderick cafeteria.  The creativity I saw was amazing!  Great job Grade 5!

Congratulations to this week's Positive Referrals!  We are very proud of you!!!!

Our annual Spring Book Fair took place last week.  A big thank you to Lisa Munn and members of the PTO for providing a great book fair for the students and staff.  Thank you to all of the families who supported our school by purchasing books and/or volunteering.

Thank you to Crawford for visiting me this week to show me his wonderful writing about Gandhi.  Keep up the great work!

Students in Mrs. Haughey and Mrs. Curtin's classes recently made playdough models of the earth.  Following their creations, students wrote 'how to' paragraphs describing their experience.

Former Grade 5 teacher, Mrs. Baglino has been volunteering her time here at our school.  In the picture below, Mrs. Baglino works with a fourth grade book group.  Thanks Mrs. B!

On Monday afternoon all teachers at the Wrentham Public School attended a Writers' Workshop presentation.  Teachers had the opportunity to plan mini-lessons, gain a deeper understanding of Writers' Workshop, and share ideas.  It was a great afternoon!

 
Today, members of Mrs. Fownes' grade 6 class hosted an international luncheon.  Take a look....

Congratulations to these fourth, fifth, and sixth grade students who were recently selected to the KP Honors Band!  What a great accomplishment!  

The JDRF fundraiser is in full swing and the hallways of the Roderick are filling up with sneakers.  Please remember that you can send in sneakers each and every day up until April 16th.  If you need additional ones, please contact the office or let you child's teacher know and we will send more home.  The final day of the fundraiser is Wednesday, April 16th.  Donation envelopes should be turned in on that day.  The students will be participating in a celebratory walk around the bus loop at the start of each recess period.  Thank you in advance for supporting this important cause that impacts so many of our Wrentham children.

PTO News

Book Fair

The book fair was a success!  Thank you for your support.  We enjoyed seeing many faces on Tuesday for our Family Nacho Night.   

Dancing With the Wrentham Stars

Again, Thank you to Mrs. Pitman for her time and efforts to train and dance on our behalf. She performed an amazing dance routine!  The fundraising was a success.  We will not need to offer a product related fundraiser this Spring!

Staff Wraffle Items and Luncheon in May

The response for donations for the staff wraffle has been great!  If you donated awesome items, Thank you.  Also, if you have submitted your $1 or $3 per family for the luncheon in May, Thank you!  This will allow us to get all of the food and supplies instead of asking for donations. 

PTO Meetings and Board Members

Due to vacation this month we are only having one meeting on Tuesday, April 15 at 8:45 am in the Delaney Conference Room.  We know it is a half day so it will be a brief meeting. 

Also, our term as Board members ends this school year.  We are looking for new Board members.  If you'd like to find out more and want to make a difference in the school, please contact us at wrenthampto@gmail.com  We welcome you at the meeting on Tuesday too.  We will elect new Board members at our May 15th meeting. 

Trex Plastic Bags Contest

The response from last weeks reminder was awesome!  The amount of bags brought in overflowed the bins!  The contest ends on Earth Day, April 22, so make sure you bring in bags next week.  The collection bins are inside the first set of doors in Delaney entrance.  You may drop them off when you come to conferences next week.

The KPRHS Student Council is hosting an Easter Bunny Breakfast.
When: Saturday April 12th
Where: KPRHS cafeteria
Time: 9-11

As a reminder, Tuesday and Thursday of next week will be half days due to spring parent-teacher conferences.  Students will be dismissed at noon on Tuesday, April 15th and Thursday, April 17th.

Also, there is no school on Friday, April 18th.     

Thank you for taking time to read this week's blog. 

Best wishes for a great weekend,

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal