Dear Bates Families,
Thank you for your support in making our Magnificent Day of Play a wonderful event for all the students at Bates. The day was filled with creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, communication and lots of fun. We appreciate you sending in materials, helping your child plan for the day and transporting his or her creation home safely. I’d also like to give a special thank you to the more than 70 volunteers who helped out in classrooms and during the big cleanup effort at the end of the day. We could not have done it without you.
Toward the end of the Magnificent Day of Play, teachers asked students to reflect on what went well, what they would do differently next time and what they noticed about working with others. I would like to share a few of their reflections here:
- “I learned you can create anything you can imagine.”
- ” A cardboard box can be turned into anything you want.”
- “I noticed that you have to trust others and their ideas.”
- “I learned that working with others can be a lot of fun and get you further in your project.”
- “I learned that you should keep trying.”
- “It was an awesome day.”
Some of you may be aware that Bates has a 5th grade student council. Fifth graders take turns serving a five-week term on the student council during which time they collaborate to identify a need in our community and plan a project that addresses that need. The first student council identified helping children and families in need as an area they wanted to address. The council did a tremendous job and raised over $400 for the Ed Walsh Foundation by selling handmade bracelets as well as t-shirts and hats at the Pumpkin Fair.
The current student council has identified food waste as an area of concern. The council created, and plans to share with the Bates community, a video on ways we can reduce food waste at Bates. In addition, they will create a “share table” that will be in place during lunches next week. The share table will be an area for students to donate uneaten food that would otherwise be thrown away. The items collected will be donated to a local food pantry.
If you are interested in learning more about reducing food waste at school, please consider joining the Green Schools team at Bates. Wellesley Green Schools is focused on reducing our schools’ ecological footprint. You can find out more about Wellesley Green Schools here. Please contact me if you are interested: jolleya@wellesleyps.org.
Some of you have noticed the absence of the crossing guard at the intersection of Elmwood Road and Weston Road. Officer Evan Rosenberg has informed me that he is working very hard to fill this position. In the meantime, please be aware that there is a crossing guard near Fells Market, but there is not currently a guard at Elmwood Road.
With the onset of the cold and flu season, I ask your help with the procedure of notifying the school when your child is absent. Please either call or email the office or include Maureen Herzig, the school secretary, on any email communication you send to your child’s teacher. In addition, if your child is being dismissed early, providing advance notice to the office is appreciated. This will greatly help our efforts to streamline communication within the school, follow up on absences with our safe arrival program and dismiss students promptly. The office email is: batesoffice@wellesleyps.org. Thank you.
Finally, please note the upcoming dates for vacation. There will be no school from December 24 through January 3. In addition, please mark your calendars for the annual Winter Concert, which will take place on January 15 at 9:00 a.m. We welcome all families to join us for this concert, which showcases the band, orchestra and fifth grade chorus.
I wish all of you a wonderful vacation and Happy New Year.
Warm regards,
Toni Jolley
Important upcoming dates:
Friday, December 18 Bates Spirit Day
Wednesday, December 23 Dismissal for yearend vacation
Monday, January 4 School reopens
Friday, January 8 Walk to School Day
Wednesday, January 15 Winter Concert, 9 a.m.
