Dear Sprague Community, The snow is so deep on our field that many kids chose to stay near the play structure today at recess simply because it is such a challenge to walk through the deep, deep snow on the field. The snow certainly is pretty, but it has left us with many challenges related to clean up and safety. As always, we ask that you drive VERY carefully in our parking lot. It can be tricky to see children and even parents with the very high snow banks. With so many people driving to school for drop off and pick up, it is especially important to be mindful of our procedures so that we can be efficient and courteous. At drop off and car line pick up, vehicles should ALWAYS pull as far forward as possible and stay in the lane. Students should exit and enter vehicles from the passenger side only. Students should NOT walk in our parking lot without a parent. If you pick up or drop off, please do so in the car line area. This is for the safety of all. Thank you! After School Programs:
Global Child after school language classes began the second session today. This is the last week for the Drama Club. Parents are invited to attend the session on Thursday in the music room. Kara Sullivan will offer another session soon. Look for the flyer after vacation. A Few Words about Reading:
In school, your child spends a lot of time focusing on the development of reading skills. We assess each child’s reading skills on a regular, informal basis and also more formally two or three times per year using the Benchmark Assessment System which was developed by Fountas and Pinnell. Your child’s teacher helps him/her choose ‘just right’ books so that your child can read books that provide an instructional challenge without being frustrated. Our youngest students first work to decode text, but quickly transition to the important task of understanding what they are reading. When teachers work with students, they are continually assessing and reinforcing specific literacy skills. Generally speaking, teachers work with students in three areas: thinking within the text, thinking about the text, and thinking beyond the text. When we ask students to think within the text, we want them to read fluently with good rate, phrasing, and intonation, monitor and correct for accuracy, and be able to summarize/remember important information from the text. When we ask them to think about the text we want them to think critically about the text and analyze it by noticing aspects of the writer’s craft and text structure. Thinking beyond the text is the most challenging for students. We are asking them to predict what may happen next, make connections between the text and personal knowledge, synthesize new knowledge, and be able to infer. You can reinforce important skills by asking your child questions about books he or she is reading at home. Dates to remember: Feb. 11: Kindergarten Roundup in the library from 3-6 pm Feb. 16-20: School vacation week Feb. 23: School Council meeting @ 3:15 pm March 4: Walk to School Day March 4: PTO meeting (Math coaches will present about Common Core Math Standards—all are welcome to attend) @ 9:00 a.m. March 6: Open House from 8:00-9:30 a.m. March 7: (Saturday) Kindergarten Roundup from 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. in the library March 23: MCAS testing begins March 25, 31, April 1, 8: Parent conferences
Wellesley Public Schools would like to continue connecting with you via email. If you prefer to be removed from our list, please contact Wellesley Public Schools directly. To stop receiving all email messages distributed through our SchoolMessenger service, follow this link and confirm: Unsubscribe If you need to update your email address or phone number, please contact the secretary at your child’s school. SchoolMessenger is a notification service used by the nation’s leading school systems to connect with parents, students and staff through voice, SMS text, email, and social media.