January 5, 2023
Dear PAWS Families,
Happy New Year and welcome back to school! It has been wonderful to see the children back at PAWS and getting back into their school routines!
I wanted to share the news with you that we will be saying farewell to our current school Nurse Zinta on Thursday, January 12, 2023 as she is moving to New Hampshire and will be starting in a new position as a school nurse in Newburyport Public Schools. Please join me in thanking Nurse Zinta for supporting us through Covid and for working with the children, staff and families at PAWS to help keep everyone healthy during the past few years! While we are sad to say farewell to Zinta, we are happy for her as she moves on to exciting new adventures with her family and we wish her well!
We are pleased to welcome Susan Mangiacotti who will be our new school nurse at PAWS! You may recognize Sue as she has served as a substitute nurse at PAWS and also lives in town. Here is a welcome message from Sue:
Hello! I’m excited to join the PAWS community as your school nurse. I bring eight years of nursing experience at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as well as recent school nurse substitute experience in both the Wellesley and Natick Public Schools. I’ve been a Wellesley resident for the past 18 years, with three children in the Wellesley Public Schools: Hannah, grade 10, Emily, grade 8, and Daniel, grade 5. In my free time, when not shuttling children to various activities, I enjoy trips to the library, hiking in New Hampshire, cooking and reading.
I look forward to joining the PAWS team, and supporting the health and wellness of our youngest learners!
Sue Mangiacotti, RN, BA, BSN
Sue will be shadowing Zinta this week and next as she learns all about PAWS and our students. Please extend a warm welcome to Susan Mangiacotti when you see her! As always, reach out to me with any questions you may have.
Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Program
Parents have asked me if there is a formal way to recognize and honor their child’s PAWS classroom teacher. I reached out to DESE which is our guiding organization at the state level to inquire about the Massachusetts Teacher of the Year Program to clarify if public school preschool teachers were eligible to be nominated, and they are! It is an involved process, but if you would like to honor your child’s PAWS teacher, you may want to start to think about this option. More application information is coming from the State a little later in 2023.
Thank you!
Thank you to the Pocon-Ramos Family for the donation of staff snacks and for the large box of office supplies that arrived for the staff to enjoy before the holiday break! Thank you to the Aguilar-Reardon Family and the Ortega-Colson Family for their donations of snacks and seltzer for the staff! Your ongoing kindness and care is greatly appreciated!
Resources to Share
As you continue to enjoy the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten book bags, please read this article from the Child Mind Institute describing Why Reading Matters that you may find interesting and/or useful.
Here is a Language Activity Calendar that may have a few activities you might like to explore at home with your preschooler.
As always thank you for your positive support and partnership with all of the faculty and staff at PAWS! Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2023!
Best,
‘Becca Z.
Important Dates:
Monday, January 2, 2022 – Tuition Due
Tuesday, January 3 – School Reopens
Monday, January 16, 2023 – Martin Luther King, Jr. Day – No School
Thursday, January 19, 2023 – Tea with – ‘Becca 9:30-10:30
Thursday/Friday, January 26/27 – SPIRIT DAY – wear something BLACK & WHITE