Dear Sprague Community, Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Parent Conference time is coming soon. Please be sure to make an appointment with your child’s teacher if you not already done so. He/she is looking forward to sharing highlights of your child’s progress and partnering with you in your child’s continuing education. We are so lucky to have such a caring group of wonderfully skilled teachers at Sprague! I marvel at the growth in students I have seen so far this year. Many are reading at much higher levels. Many are showing maturity and increased kindness towards classmates. And ALL of them look taller to me already…especially the kindergartners! They are really starting to look like first graders! At Sprague, teachers work with children to develop strong academic, social, and emotional skills. We believe that children want to learn and do well each and every day. The belief that teachers have in your children is real and kids can feel it. The kind of environment described in a recent article from Teachers College Record is what teachers strive for and why we teach and support our H.E.A.R.T. values every day. The summary from the Marshall Memo describes how the authors compared schools that controlled student behavior and regulated performance with external contingencies (an emphasis on rules, punishments, and rewards) with schools that worked to create climate that emphasized student autonomy, competence, and relationships. They found that schools that promoted the latter had higher levels of academic achievement in math. They identified 4 key factors: faculty trust in students, students’ trust in faculty, students’ perception of strong academic emphasis, and self-regulated learning.  (“Self-Regulatory Climate: A Social Resource for Student Regulation and Achievement” by Curt Adams, Patrick Forsyth, Ellen Dollarhide, Ryan Miskell, and Jordan Ware in Teachers College Record, February 2015) Lego Robotics Club The grade 1 section is full. There are still a few spaces left in the grade 4 section. This club will meet on M, T, TH, F from 3:05-4:00 the week of April 27th. Mr. McManus and Mrs. Bartelloni will be the instructors. Dates to Remember: March 20: Hero Art with Rob Surette  March 24: Wingmasters program-grade 1 March 25: Walk to School Day (keep your fingers crossed this time!) March 26: Grade 5 Parent Night at WMS April 9: Gr. 5 vs. Faculty Basketball Game at WMS June 11: Field Day June 16: Field Day raindate   Parent Conferences: March 25, 31, April 1, 8   MCAS ELA March 23, 24: Grade 4 March 26, 27: Grade 5 March 30, 31: Grade 3 April 2: Grade 4 Long Comp. (April 9 make up day) Grade 5 Parents: Don’t forget the WMS Parent Night on March 26th!  There will be an additional offering for parents of special education students during the day in early April. We will let you know that date soon. 5th grade parents should mark their calendars for the “Moving On Ceremony” on Thursday, June 18th at 9:00 a.m. Sprague 5th graders will attend the Hale Reservation program on June 3, 4, and 5, 2015. Parents should be receiving communications from Anne Allieri regarding the program and online payment system. Please see two dates below for additional parent information: Hale Parent Information Night Date: Thursday, April 30, 2015 Time: 7:00 P.M. Location: Middle School Auditorium Tour of hale Reservation Date: Saturday, May 2, 2015 Time: 9:30-11:00 A.M. Location: Hale Reservation RSVP to Anne Allieri by April 24, 2015 allieria@wellesleyps.org  

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Weekly note from Ms. Snyder–March 17, 2015
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