January 30, 2015 - Week 21

Hello Roderick Families,

Wow!  What a lot of snow this week!  Special thanks to our wonderful custodial and maintenance staff and Wrentham's Department of Public Works for their wonderful efforts in cleaning up the snow so our students could return safely on Thursday.  

On Monday, the entire school gathered to make a 25 second video to upload to Channel 5’s “EyeOpener” site in the hopes of getting it on the air this week.  The students certainly did their part!  Here is the link to see the video: http://ulocal.wcvb.com/mediadetail/21462958-Wrentham-Elementary-Schools?gid=76459&uid&sort=upload

Students in Miss White's sixth grade class worked independently or with a partner to choose a Greek and Latin root from a list, and use their knowledge to design a new superhero or villain.  The students were required to not only use the root word in the name of the character, but also describe his/her ability related to the meaning of the root word through a descriptive story.  Awesome job!

Thank you to all the people who attended this morning's Principals' Coffee.  We enjoyed the opportunity to go through strategies to assist your children with literacy homework.  Special thanks to ELA coach, Dr. Judy Neville for presenting.  Our next Principals' Coffee will take place on Friday, March 27th at 8:30 AM in the Vogel Auditorium.  We will be discussing the 2015 2016 placement process.  We hope to see you there!

One area that was mentioned at today's Principals' Coffee was the amount of new words/terms that are mentioned at school and brought home by children.  I have decided from time to time to include a word/term and its definition so families can better assist their children at home.  If you ever think that a word/term would be beneficial to include please send it along.  This week's word:

rubric - a paper that states the expectations for an assignment by listing criteria, or what counts, and describing levels of quality.

The Wrentham Public Schools has decided to dedicate its second Spirit Day to raising awareness and money for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, (MSPCC).  Lukas, a fifth grade student, created a stunning calendar which includes artwork created by students at the Roderick School. 

Calendars can be purchased for $10.00.  Order forms have been sent home with each student, and forms can also be picked up in any of the offices.  The date to hand in order forms and money has been extended to Friday, February 6, 2015.  All checks should be made out to the Wrentham PTO.    

In addition, the Student Council encourages all students to dress as their favorite book or movie character on Friday, February 6, 2015.  All costumes and accessories must be appropriate for school.  Please consider participating in this spirit event; however, participation is voluntary.

Our sixth graders enjoyed a wonderful evening of skiing last night.  

Our next School Council meeting will be on Tuesday, February 3rd at 3:00 PM in the Roderick Office.  

As always thanks for reading!  Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,
Stephen S. Grenham

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal 

January 23, 2015 - Week 20

Happy Friday Roderick Families,

It was another busy week here at the Roderick School despite the holiday and the cold temperatures.  Please take a minute to scroll through to view the different activities that took place this week.

On Tuesday, Roderick teachers used the Professional Development day to dig deeper into writing and the writer's workshop philosophy.  Teachers spent time during the day working with ELA coach Dr. Judy Neville and some outside consultants.  Also on Tuesday, many of of school's Paraprofessionals came in to school and worked with Math Coach, Dr. John Ribiero.  Paraprofessionals spent time digging deeper into the new Massachusetts frameworks.  

On a visit to Mrs. Moon's sixth grade class this week I got wrapped up in their mummification lesson.  Check this out:

The Wrentham Public Schools has decided to dedicate its second Spirit Day to raising awareness and money for the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, (MSPCC).  Lukas, a fifth grade student, created a stunning calendar which includes artwork created by students at the Roderick School. 

Calendars can be purchased for $10.00.  Order forms will be sent home with each student on Monday, but can also be picked up in any of the offices.  Order forms and money should be handed in by Wednesday, February 4, 2015.  All checks should be made out to the Wrentham PTO.    

In addition, the Student Council encourages all students to dress as their favorite book or movie character on Friday, February 6, 2015.  All costumes and accessories must be appropriate for school.  Please consider participating in this spirit event; however, participation is voluntary.

On Monday, January 26th, at 8:45, the entire school will make a 25 second video in the Gibbons Gym to upload to Channel 5’s “EyeOpener” site in the hopes of getting it on the air next week prior to the game.  The students and staff will say:

Hi, we are the Preschool through Grade 6 students from Wrentham Elementary School!  Go Patriot’s!  Good Morning Eye Opener!

All students are asked to wear Patriots gear or red, white, and blue. 

Three of our fabulous sixth graders, Natahlia, Jenny, and Taylor have taken on the challenge to ride 20 miles for Best Buddies.  If you would like to support their cause, there will be fundraisers coming up:

January 24th from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM at 38 Vanderbilt Ave. in Norwood

February 14th from 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM at 321 School St. in Mansfield

Good luck girls!!!!!!

In Mrs. Hall's Grade 4 class this week, students studied how camouflage and mimicry help animals survive against predators.  

Mrs. Wagstaff and I will host our second Principals' Coffee next Friday, January 30th at 8:30 AM in the Vogel Auditorium.  Dr. Judy Neville, our school's ELA coach will be presenting "How parents can support their children's reading and writing at home."  Please join us on Friday, January 30th at 8:30 AM.

Have a wonderful weekend and as always, thanks for reading.

Sincerely,

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal

January 16, 2015 - Week 19

Greetings Roderick Families!

We hope that you had a wonderful week.  We sure did!  Please enjoy this edition of the blog.

As a reminder, there will no school on Monday, January 19th in recognition of Martin Luther King Jr. Day and no school on Tuesday, January 20th (Professional Development Day).  School will resume on Wednesday, January 21st.  See you then!

Congratulations and great job to the Advanced Band!  On Wednesday, they performed for the entire school as well as their families and guests in the evening.  The music was fantastic and all of the students enjoyed the performance. Thank you to Ms. Salazar for her outstanding leadership.

On Monday, members of the KP basketball team visited the Roderick and worked with some of our students.  It was great to have these student-athletes in the building.  

A Night of the Arts was held this past Wednesday at the Roderick School.  Artwork from students in Grades 4 - 6 was displayed.  In addition, exemplary art was on display for all to see.  Thank you to all of the students and Mrs. Lovely for creating such a wonderful environment!

Congratulations to this week's Positive Referrals.  We are very proud of these students.  Thank you for all of your hard work and thanks for making our school such a great place!

Mrs. Wagstaff and I will host our second Principals' Coffee next Friday, January 30th at 8:30 AM in the Vogel Auditorium.  Dr. Judy Neville, our school's ELA coach will be presenting "How parents can support their children's reading and writing at home."  Please join us on Friday, January 30th at 8:30 AM.


The sixth grade ski club started yesterday.  59 Grade 6 students boarded two buses and headed off to Wachusett Mountain in Princeton, MA.  The children had a great time.

As a reminder, there will be no school on Monday, January 19th and Tuesday, January 20th.

Thank you for reading this week's blog.  Enjoy the long weekend!

Sincerely,

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal