May 15, 2015 - Week 34

Hello Roderick Families!

Students in grades 4 - 6 completed the May administration of MCAS this week. Each and every one of them should be commended for the hard work and determination they demonstrated while answering multiple choice, short answer, and open response questions.  Great job boys and girls!

Tuesday, May 19th 8:30am - 3:30pm

Wednesday, May 20th 8:30am - 2:30pm & 6:30pm - 8:00pm

Thursday, May 21st 8:30am - 12:00pm

Where:  Vogel Auditorium

  

Attend our Special Evening Event on Wednesday night! 

Payments can be made by cash, checks (made payable to Wrentham PTO) and major credit/debit cards. Plus, don't forget the tax!! (6.25%) We appreciate your continued support and we look forward to seeing you at the Book Fair!

Special thanks to Wrentham resident Mike Ryan who visited Mrs. Curtin's class and Mrs. Haughey's class today.  Mr. Ryan spoke to these classes about the court system and the roles that juries play.

Congratulations to Grade 4 for winning the Box Top contest.  Grade 4 will have a DJ at their lunch on Thursday, May 28th.  Thank you all for participating in this important contest.  

Would you consider substituting?

The Delaney and Roderick Schools are searching for parents who are interested in being trained to fulfill the role of substitute teacher. The benefits include parent friendly hours, collaboration with a fantastic, dedicated professional staff, and learning about the curriculum from a different perspective!

If you are interested, please submit your application under the Employment Opportunities section of the WPS website. 

Congratulations to Flynn (Grade Five: Mrs. Clutterbuck ) and Maggie (Grade Six: Mrs. Moon) for winning the seventh annual Bookmark Contest through the Alternatives. This program is organized in recognition of May as Mental Health Awareness Month.

Students in Kindergarten through Grade Six will be honoring our veterans and those currently serving our country through songs, poems, and patriotic speeches on Friday, May 22nd. The program will be held outside, in the Delaney School courtyard, beginning at 9:00 a.m. and is expected to last  approximately 30 minutes.  In addition, the Advanced Band will play the Star Spangled Banner.  Upon completion of the program, students will return with their teachers to their classrooms. 


WALK AT SCHOOL DAY 

Wrentham Public Schools Wellness Committee is excited to announce our first Walk At School Event!  The walking event will take place on Monday, May 18^th from 9:00-10:30 A.M. 

Each grade level will be assigned a 30 minute time slot to walk the course set up around the Sweatt Field Complex.  One Roderick grade level and one Delaney grade level will walk together in support of physical fitness. 

Students are encouraged to wear sneakers to school on Monday and bring along a water bottle to school.

The last day of school is scheduled for Wednesday, June 24th.  Grade 6 graduation will take place at 12:30 PM on Tuesday, June 23rd.


SWISH Website

 Directions were sent home with students this week about how to order tickets/register for SWISH contests using the new website.  ALL TICKET ORDERS MUST BE PURCHASED ONLINE.  This game is sure to sell out quickly so please order ASAP.  There are currently 85 tickets left!   

Here is the link:  www.SWISH-wrentham.org 

As you may have heard, at the end of June I will be leaving the Wrentham Public Schools after 18 years.  I am including the letter that was sent home to parents on Monday afternoon in the event that you may have missed it.

Dear Parents,

It is with mixed emotions that I announce that I have been offered a principalship in the Medfield Public Schools for the 2015 - 2016 school year. I was offered the position after completing a process that included two rounds of interviews, a site visit at the Dale Street School in Medfield, and a site visit here at the Roderick School.

While I am excited for this new challenge of working in a larger school district (PreK - 12), I have very mixed emotions about leaving Wrentham. I have spent my entire 18 year professional career in the town of Wrentham. The relationships that I have made in Wrentham hold a very special place in my heart. I am very proud of what we have all achieved over the past 18 years and I feel truly blessed to have spent my time in Wrentham working with eager and able students, supportive families, and knowledgeable, dedicated educators.

At the School Committee meeting tomorrow night, Dr. Cameron and the School Committee will begin to discuss the process for seeking a new principal for the Roderick School.  Dr. Cameron will keep you updated of this process.

My work here at the Roderick School is not done. I look forward to spending the next month working with staff and students to complete all the work we have planned to accomplish during the 2014 – 2015 school year.

Thank you all for your continued support of the Roderick School and me. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Very truly yours,

Stephen S. Grenham

May 18th - Walk AT School
May 21st - Grade 5 Gym Show

May 22nd - Memorial Day celebration

May 25th - No School - Memorial Day
May 28th - Staff v. Police Basketball Game
June 5th - Principals' Coffee - Budget Update
June 10th - All Bands Concert

Thank you for taking the time to read this week's blog.  Have a wonderful weekend!

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal

May 8, 2015 - Week 33

Hello Roderick Families ~

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all of our wonderful teachers and paraprofessionals!

Happy Nurses Week to Mrs. Cashman!

Our sixth grade classrooms visited the Christa McAuliffe Center at Framingham State University this week.  Using the concept of simulation as an instructional tool, the Challenger Center program created an exciting, cooperative learning environment for students of Wrentham to better understand the challenges of teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and decision making.  Every crew member (student) was assigned to, and trained for, a specific role. They took their positions in either Mars Control or the Spacecraft and assumed control of an exciting two hour mission simulation to Mars.  A very big thank you to WEST for funding this outstanding trip!  We are extremely appreciative! 

Next week continues our Spring 2015 Math and STE MCAS Administration for our fifth and sixth graders.  Thanks for making sure the students are well rested, in school on time and ready to take the MCAS test on their MCAS days!

Students in Mrs. Kelley’s and Mrs. Marazzi’s classes researched the top 25 poets of all time and created crafty Poet-T’s!  This afternoon students gathered outside to enjoy sharing poems and fascinating facts about each author.  Students were so inspired that Wrentham may see some new budding poets in the very near future!

WALK AT SCHOOL DAY 

Wrentham Public Schools Wellness Committee is excited to announce our first Walk At School Event!  The walking event will take place on Monday, May 18^th from 9:00-10:30 A.M. 

Each grade level will be assigned a 30 minute time slot to walk the course set up around the Sweatt Field Complex.  One Roderick grade level and one Delaney grade level will walk together in support of physical fitness.  

On Monday, I had the great pleasure of visiting Mrs. Moon's sixth grade classroom. The students were given a math challenge in groups.  They needed to create a new cereal and cereal box or a new donut box design that holds 12 donuts for Dunkin’ Donuts.  Each group created their new box and then had to find the surface area and volume.  I was completely blown away with their creations.

SWISH Website

 Directions were sent home with students this week about how to order tickets/register for SWISH contests using the new website.  ALL TICKET ORDERS MUST BE PURCHASED ONLINE.  This game is sure to sell out quickly so please order ASAP.   

Here is the link:  www.SWISH-wrentham.org  

• Mixed Bags have arrived.  Pick up will be in the Vogel Auditorium today until 5:30 PM and Monday, May 11th from 2:30 PM - 6:00 PM.  Families ordered a lot of bags this year!!! Thank you for your continued support!

• The next PTO meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 26th at 7 PM in the Delaney Teachers' Lounge.    

May 21st - Grade 5 Gym Show

May 22nd - Memorial Day celebration

May 25th - No School - Memorial Day
May 28th - Staff v. Police Basketball Game
June 5th  - Principals' Coffee - Budget Update
June 10th - All Bands Concert

On behalf of all of the employees at the Roderick School, I would like to wish all of the mothers and grandmothers a Happy Mother's Day.  

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

Best,

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal

May 1, 2015 - Week 32

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.

Norfolk police officer Steve Plympton visited our school on Tuesday to share information about the 2015 summer DARE camp.  If you would like more information regarding the Summer DARE program click here.

On a visit to Mrs. Bevilacqua's class this week I had the opportunity to see the students working on opinion writing.  Students were writing letters to Dr. Cameron explaining why April vacation should be kept or eliminated because of the days missed this year due to snow.  The children did a marvelous job!

On Thursday, our sixth graders visited the KP Middle School.  During their hour and a half stay, students received a message from the principal, went on a student-led tour, heard from the school's guidance staff, and learned about the opportunities that students have in middle school.  In early June, the principal of the Middle School and three former Roderick School students will visit our school to answer any questions students may have regarding their transition to the Middle School.

Mr. Ray Rose from the Department of Public Works was at our school today to celebrate Arbor Day with our fourth grade students. Members of the Wrentham Holly Club again generously donated the tree for this celebration (a beautiful Thunder Cloud Plum Tree).  Along with Mr. Rose and the Wrentham Holly Club, the Roderick School is grateful to Ron Cluff (Department of Conservation and Recreation) ) for again participating in this great event.  Mr. Dave Donahue from National Grid donated hackberry seedlings for each one of our fourth graders again this year.

On Wednesday evening, our sixth grade students celebrated their DARE graduation.  This was a very exciting night as it was the culmination of a very important program.  Special thanks to Master of Ceremonies, Wrentham Police Sergeant Jeffrey Smith for running a fantastic program.  Please click here to learn more about the DARE program.

Brice, Nicholas, Seth, Stephen, Sarah, Neha, Marin, and Allison did a remarkable job reading their DARE essays.

Thank you to Ian in Mrs. Sabitini's third grade class.  Ian wrote me a persuasive letter stating why we should use a monorail to get to school.  Ian's letter included super supporting arguments and was extremely well written.  I will be sure and pitch this idea to Dr. Cameron!  

On Thursday, Miss Phipps’s class dissected owl pellets in order to better understand the flow of energy through forest ecosystems. This activity also helped the students make connections with the novel they are currently reading, Poppy, in which a Great Horned Owl and a deer mouse face-off in a battle of wits and adventure.

SAVE THE DATE…

The 10th annual S.W.I.S.H. (Student with Illnesses Score Help) Charity basketball game will take place on Thursday, May 28th @7:00 P.M. in the Gibbons Gymnasium. Over the past 9 years the community has raised over $50,000 for Wrentham students dealing with serious illnesses.

There will be a few changes this year:

• Families will order tickets online ONLY.

• Students will also have an opportunity to fundraise using the new website to help support this great cause.

• Students will earn prizes as they fundraise: VIP Seating, Guaranteed Foul Shots, Red Sox tickets and more!

• The S.W.I.S.H. website will be up and running on Tuesday, May 5th.

• Directions regarding how to use this website will be sent home with students on Tuesday and via email to families.

Parental Input Letter

As a reminder, parental input letters are due back by Friday, May 8th.  E-mails were sent to all families (Grades 4 and 5) on Monday, April 27th that included the guidelines for the letter.  If you did not receive the email or need an additional copy of the letter, extras are available in the offices. 

This week, 4th graders in Mrs. Poirier's and Mrs. Thornton's class built their very own terrariums to observe the water cycle over the next few weeks. The students had fun planting their mini pumpkin seeds and look forward to watching them grow. They won't even need to add any water! Using their observation journals, students will be able to record what their terrariums look like each week. Thanks to the water cycle, these kids will have plenty of pumpkins for Halloween!

Next week begins the Math and Science, Technology, and Engineering MCAS Administration for our fourth, fifth, and sixth graders.  Grade five will begin on May 5th.  Thanks for making sure the students are well rested, in school on time and ready to take the MCAS test on their MCAS days!  Please refer to our district calendar for grade-specific dates.  

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

Enjoy the weekend,

Stephen S. Grenham, Principal