Fiske Families,
The Fiske Falcons had a great start to the 2017-2018 school year! It is such a pleasure to see all the students back in the school and enjoying their days.
I would like to take a moment to welcome our new school secretary, Sue Drayton, to Fiske. Previously, Sue worked at Sprague as a TA and assisted in the office. Additionally, Sue was a medical secretary in a pediatric office in Framingham. Sue has been an amazing addition to our outstanding staff. Sue has enjoyed meeting parents/guardians, children and staff as they arrive in the office. When visiting the school please take a moment to introduce yourself to Sue.
Welcome to our new families! It was a pleasure meeting many of you at the Kindergarten and New Families Lemonade Parties. A new resource for all families is the new Insider’s Guide to Fiske. This resource, along with many others, can be found on the Fiske Website: https://wellesleyps.org/fiske/back-to-school-packet/ . Please take a moment to review this document for information on arrival and dismissals, lunches, health guidelines and other important information. The Wellesley Public Schools also has a Student Handbook K-5 that can be found at: https://wellesleyps.org/ under the “Student and Families” tab. Please do not hesitate to call or email me with any questions you may have.
Phone Number:781-446-6265
Email: mcgregorr@wellesleyps.org
Before the students returned to school, our staff started off our first faculty meeting with music teacher, Julie Verret, teaching us a traditional folk dance and school psychologist, Sharon Grossman, leading us through a mindfulness activity. It was wonderful to start the year off with teachers sharing their practices with their colleagues.
This year we are excited to announce the extension of the iPad 1-1 program for third and fourth grade. During the first few days of school students were exploring new apps such as Explain Everything, Popplet, Dream Box and iMovie. We are also happy to have our Spanish FLES program extend to third grade. Megi Cavo will continue to teach our Spanish classes.
A few quick reminders!
School Arrival
School arrival begins at 8:15 a.m. Please do not drop your child off before that time as there are no adults supervising the playground before 8:15 a.m. From 8:15-8:30 a.m. there is a supervised before school recess. The school day begins at 8:30 a.m. so please make every effort to have your child to school on time.
Four Legged Friends
Although we love our Four legged friends, in order to ensure the safety of students and staff, dogs are not allowed on school grounds during school hours, including arrival and dismissal times, as well as at school-approved events and facility rentals. Service animals are allowed under the provisions of the Animals in the Classroom policy. Dogs are allowed on school property outside of these times subject to the provisions of Article 47 of the Town Bylaws. Violations of said bylaw are subject to a fine.
Car Line
The car line is off to a great start. Please remember to stay in your car and move to the end of the circle. Do not pass or pull around cars in carline as this makes for a very unsafe situation for students and staff. Carline signs for dashboards were sent home this week. Please put your sign, with your child’s name written on it, in the front window of your car so it can be easily seen.
We are looking for two new School Council parent members
Site-Based Councils were mandated by the Education Reform Act of 1993 as part of the Act’s decentralization of decision-making. The Fiske School Council is composed of equal members of elected teachers and parents, together with the Principal and a community member. Members serve for two-year terms. The role of the Fiske School Council is to advise the Principal, especially in creating and evaluating the School Improvement Plan. The School Council meets several times during the school year. Minutes of all meetings are published on the Fiske website.
The Fiske School Council currently has three parent representatives; Kenneth Largess, Danielle Nixon and Priya Datta. We are looking for two more parents to join the School Council. If you would like to nominate yourself, or a friend, please contact PTO President Manisha Varma at atulandmanisha. The PTO will run an election for interested parties during back to school night on Wednesday, September 13th.
Recycling at Fiske
Last year, in conjunction with the Fiske Green team and the Fiske staff, the Fiske students started a lunch recycling program. Children place trash and recyclables in the respective containers after eating their lunch.
Our Kindergarteners will begin this program on Monday, September 11th. We are looking for parent volunteers to help the Kindergarteners learn the recycling procedures. Please consider volunteering for a 20 minute lunch session to help with this exciting program. Volunteers must have a current CORI form on file. To sign up please go to the signup genius: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/30e0d4ea5a623a6f85-come
Thank you for helping our Kindergarteners with this program.
Thank you all for a great first three days at Fiske. Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to seeing you at Back to School Night on Wednesday, September 13th from 6:00-7:30 p.m. Enjoy the Labor Day weekend! See you on Tuesday.
Important Dates:
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Monday, September 4th- Labor Day – No school
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Wednesday, September 6th – Instrument Demos Grades 2-5: 8:45 a.m.
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Monday, September 11th—Kindergarten students begin full days
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Wednesday, September 13th—Back to School Night: 6:00-7:30 p.m:
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6:00-6:30 p.m. Grades 3-5 classroom visits
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6:30-7:00 p.m. Meet with the Principal and PTO in the gym
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7:00-7:30 p.m. Kindergarten – grade 2 classroom visits
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Monday, September 18th – PTO Meeting: 8:45 a.m.
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Tuesday, September 19th—School Picture Day
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Thursday, September 21st – Rosh Hashanah – No school
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Saturday, September 23rd -Fiske Wild West Day:10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m.
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Friday, September 29th – Principal’s Coffee: 8:45 a.m. in the library
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Tuesday, October 31st – Halloween Parade on the back field: 9:00 a.m.