Dear Sprague Community, We will have our first Walk to School day in quite a while tomorrow, Wednesday, March 25th. The weather should cooperate and sidewalks are pretty clear. We hope this is a sign of improving weather! On Friday, we were treated to a wonderful “Hero Art” assembly, by Rob Surette, thanks to our wonderful PTO. Rob is a talented artist who painted portraits of Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Albert Einstein, and Abraham Lincoln right before our eyes, while also delivering a message of peace, hope, perseverance, and effort. He told students that they can accomplish anything if they work hard and put in effort. His program was also full of references to historical figures and significant events in history. It was an inspirational assembly! I hope your children enjoyed it and talked about it when they got home on Friday. If not, ask them what they thought now! Last week, students in grades 4 and 5 had an MCBA Voting party. What is MCBA, you might ask if you are a parent of a younger child? MCBA stands for Massachusetts Children’s Book Awards. Each year, a list of 25 books is recommended to children and schools. At Sprague, reading these titles is promoted in classrooms in grades 4 and 5. Students are encouraged to read as many as they would like. We make sure to have titles available at our Book Fair. Additionally, classroom teachers have different requirements, but all require students in grades 4 and 5 to read at least 5 of the books. On March 13, we had a voting party and recognized students who had read more than the required number of books. Students who read 10, 15, 20, or even ALL 25 titles received recognition, a small prize, and a certificate. The most popular of the books, as voted by our students, was “Lions of Little Rock.” The statewide vote is not yet in, but will be announced on March 30th. We are waiting to hear if our favorite was also a state favorite! Students also sang a song, “MCBA” to the tune of YMCA and viewed some video trailers created by 5th graders. Many thanks to our Assembly Committee and special thanks to Mrs. Mandel and Ms. Gradwohl for leading this effort. If you are wondering how to best raise a child who not only reads well, but LOVES to read, check out this article from the NPR website: mailto:http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2015/03/17/387774026/q-a-raising-kids-who-want-to-read%3Futm_source=npr_newsletter%26utm_medium=email%26utm_content=20150317%26utm_campaign=npr_email_a_friend%26utm_term=storyshare Yearbooks Your PTO dues pay for a yearbook for each student. The Yearbook committee is working VERY hard to put together this year’s book. Yearbook ads are a fun Sprague tradition. Many parents like to put in an ad from their family for fun or put one in to thank a teacher or class for a great year. You can reserve your ad by clicking on the attachment in the PTO news email or picking up a paper form in the lobby. Grade 5 vs. Faculty Basketball Game The big game will be here soon—April 9th, to be exact. This basketball game is something that fifth graders look forward to each year. It will be held in the Middle School gymnasium so that all Sprague families who wish to attend can be accommodated. This will be my first game, but I am told that Sprague School spirit will be in abundance! Students can make signs to cheer on their teachers or they could cheer on the 5th graders. Some of the 5th graders are planning a short half time show too. I’d like to point out that the faculty team has some new talented additions in Mr. McManus, Ms. Viscomi, and Mr. Marder, as well as already established team members like Mr. Craig, Mrs. Bender, and Mrs. Drake (to name just a few)! The evening begins at 6 and is guaranteed to be over by 8 p.m. as the Middle School needs their gym back by then. All are welcome to attend. Gentle Reminders: If you need to drop off items for your child during the school day, all visitors MUST check in at the office and sign in. When dropping off items, please let Mrs. Becker know your child’s name and classroom and we will make sure that they get to the classroom. We place a high priority on instructional time and do our best to avoid interruptions. This is true even at the beginning and end of each day. Students being dropped off in the morning should exit vehicles in the car line lane ONLY. Please do not drop off by the cross walk in the parking lot or in the actual parking lot (unless an adult is accompanying your child in the parking lot). We ask this in the interest of student safety and efficient drop off for all. Thank you. Boks Program We are in need of more volunteers in order to start our Spring BOKS program. We need parent volunteers on Tues/Thurs mornings from 7:30am-8:15am. If you are able to help, please contact Elaine Marten: elaine@themartenfamily.com Peer Mentoring: The Peer Mentoring program pairs selected high school students with interested Sprague students in grades 3-5. Once a week, high school mentors come to Sprague to help students with homework. This is a great opportunity for your child to receive additional help with homework after school on a regular basis! For Whom: Sprague students in grades 3-5 Where and When: At Sprague every Monday from 3:05pm to 4:00pm. This program will run from Apr. 6 to May 11. These are the scheduled dates for the program: Apr. 6, 13, 27; May 4, 11. Note: The program will take place in Ms. Blumenthal’s room (Room 120). She will be supervising the students each Monday. Your child may bring a snack if they would like. If you are interested in having your child participate, please email Ms. Blumenthal (blumenthall@wellesleyps.org). Once she knows the exact number of high school students that will be volunteering, she will begin accepting Sprague students. It will be on a first come, first serve basis. Pick up will occur at 4:00 p.m. sharp in car line. 5th Grade
- Basketball game is April 9th. Practices begin this week on Wed. at 2:15.
- Don’t forget about yearbook submissions and ads.
- WMS Parent Night for 5th grade parents is Thursday, March 26th.
- Due to the conflict between the Sprague basketball game and the MS Special Education Parent Informational meeting scheduled for April 9th, there will be another Informational Meeting for Sprague Parents of 5th grade students with IEPs. This meeting will be held at WMS on Thursday, April 16 at 8:45-9:30 AM.
- Farewell Assembly on June 18th @ 9:00 a.m.
A FANTASTIC LUNCHEON FOR ALL OUR TEACHERS AND STAFF SPONSORED BY THE 3rd, 4th AND 5th GRADES! ~ THANK YOU to Carrie Brown, Jenn Caiazzo, Kate Connaghan, Katy Comstock, Julia de Peyster, Danae Foley, Jill Fischmann, Jennifer Friedman, Angie Gakidis, Glynis Gould, Eunice Groark, Nur Hamzaogullari, Leslie Laud, Weiwei Lin, Anne Marvan, Maura Miele, Josephine Okun, Amy Paladino, Carla Panell, Aileen Russell, Andrea Scampini, Mason Smith, Shannon Smith, Jaquie Stathis, Sandra Thorbjornsen and Jennifer Voldins for making anotherTeacher/Staff Appreciation Lunch such a success!! Many thanks ~ Angie Hemmerle and Becca Cahaly, Co-Chairs, Teacher/Staff Appreciation Dates to remember: March 23, 24: Grade 4 MCAS March 25: Parent conferences March 26, 27: Grade 5 MCAS March 27: School Gathering at 2:15 p.m. March 30, 31: Grade 3 MCAS March 31: Tuesday early release for Parent Conferences**** April 2: Grade 4 Long Comp. MCAS April 3: No school: Good Friday April 1, 8: Parent Conferences June 11: Field Day
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