Dear Sprague Community,
Sprague School offers after school enrichment opportunities in a variety of ways. We partner with both the Wellesley Recreation Department and a language instruction company called Global Child. Since we offer Spanish instruction during the school day in grades K-3, the Global Child class offerings are for students in grades 4 and 5 only. Global Child registration is done directly through them via their website or sending a check by mail. Classes meet at Sprague. The Recreation Department sponsored after school enrichment classes at Sprague have a fee and enrollment is done online using the Recreation Department’s site. We will be offering the following classes: Chess Club, Drama Club, Lego Master Builders, Lego Robotics, Movement—Let’s Move, and Home Alone. Specific information about days, dates, times, fees, and grade levels will be sent in a separate email. Online enrollment will begin on Monday, October 3rd. You will also see an opportunity for a Peer Mentoring program for students in grades 3-5 below. This is offered free of charge.
Each year, students in grades 3, 4, and 5 take a state assessment called MCAS. Students in each grade are tested in English Language Arts (ELA—consisting of reading and writing) and Math. Students take the test in the Spring and scores are reported the following fall. Parents of students who took the MCAS tests last year can expect their child’s score report to be mailed home via U.S. Mail in early to mid- October. School and district accountability reports are available online on our website. This year’s reports were released this week and will be posted on the website soon. In the meantime, they are available on the Dept. of Education website. I have scheduled a meeting on Wednesday, October 19th at 9:00 a.m. to present our school results for interested parents.
Peer Mentoring
The Peer Mentoring program pairs selected Wellesley 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 Tuesday from 3:05pm to 4:00pm. This program will run from Oct. 18 – Nov. 29. These are the scheduled dates for the program: Oct. 18, 25; Nov. 8, 15, 22, 29. The program will not meet on Nov. 1 due to it being a half day.
Note: The program will take place in Ms. Blumenthal’s room (Room 113). She will be supervising the students each Monday.Your child may bring a snack if he or she would like.
If you are interested in having your child participate, please email Ms. Blumenthal (blumenthall). 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.
From Mr. Marder, our school psychologist:
Dear Sprague Families,
Starting this month, students throughout the grade levels will be invited to join weekly “lunch bunch” groups with their peers. These groups provide an opportunity for students across classes to get together in a small group for lunch to meet new friends and discuss a variety of topics related to establishing positive friendships. From year to year, the topics vary depending on student participation and presenting issues. Lunch groups are designed to reinforce social thinking and social problem solving which is taught through the Open Circle/Social Thinking curriculums in the classroom.
While everyone is welcome to participate on a rotating basis, students are also invited to lunchgroups based on a teacher or parent’s recommendation and sometimes by random draw. However, this program is entirely optional and students are not required to attend.
If you have any questions about lunch bunch or do not wish for your child to participate, please contact your classroom teacher by Friday September 28, 2016.
Thank you all so much and I look forward to another great year supporting your child!
Best regards,
Scott Marder
School Psychologist/Counselor
marders
From the Nurse: Welcome!
As Sprague School’s nurse, I’m glad to welcome you and your children to a new school year. It seems like we’ve had a great beginning to what I am anticipating will be a wonderful year!
At Sprague, nursing coverage is provided during all school hours. I am here four days each week, with Nancy Falb in the nurse’s office on Fridays. Our goal is to help your child(ren) take full advantage of the many educational opportunities here at Sprague, so please contact us if we can be of any assistance. If your child has any specific health concerns or serious allergies, if his or her health status changes, or if there is any way in which we can help, please be sure to let us know. Then we can all work together to provide the best environment for your child.
Health information
As you may know, several members of our Sprague community are allergic to latex. This is a serious condition and we need to follow recommended precautions to maintain safety.
Briefly, latex is a major ingredient in many rubber products; only certain rubber products have been found to be a danger to the approximate one percent of our population that is allergic, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Someone allergic to latex doesn’t even have to touch the item; the rubber particles in the air can trigger a reaction. The only effective strategy in the treatment of latex allergy is avoidance. Therefore, we request that people do not bring latex balloons to Sprague, to prevent exposure to latex. Mylar balloons (the shiny metal ones) are fine since they do not contain latex. We appreciate your cooperation in this serious matter.
Similarly, some members of our community have environmental allergies and are sensitive to chemicals and perfumes. Therefore, we ask that you be aware of these products and avoid their use or use them sparingly while at Sprague.
Frequently students come to me to borrow clothing after spills or mishaps. I ask that you launder and return these garments so we can maintain a supply of available clothing. When you are cleaning out drawers please keep in mind that we can always use socks, undies, and bottoms of all sizes.
Guidelines for School Attendance
When making a decision about your child(ren)’s school attendance, please be mindful that several members of our Sprague Community are at an increased risk when exposed to communicable illnesses. This is what I recommend:
(1) Fever-free for 24 hours without using fever-reducing medicine (acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil), etc). This means a morning temperature no higher that 99.4 when taken orally. (Please note that children and teenagers should never be given aspirin for a fever and that ibuprofen should always be administered with food.)
(2) On antibiotic therapy for 24 hours when being treated for a contagious bacterial infection (such as strep throat). Ear infections are not contagious, so school attendance is dependent on the child’s level of discomfort.
(3) An ailment such as a cold needs to be evaluated carefully. If your child has copious nasal discharge, frequent cough, or a fever, he or she is best treated by a day of rest and drinking fluids at home. However, if the cold does not affect activity tolerance and the nasal discharge, sneezing and coughing are only occasional, the child is fine to attend school.
(4) Stomachache is a very nonspecific term and is often difficult to assess. A child with vomiting and/or diarrhea should be kept home until symptoms have resolved for at least 12 hours and he or she is able to keep down food and liquid. Be sure to call your physician if fever and stomach pains persist or if your child has poor oral intake and appears dehydrated (dry mouth, no tears, urinates less than 4 times in 24 hours).
(5) A good night’s sleep the night before – if your child is awake much of the night (vomiting, diarrhea, coughing, etc) then he or she will most likely not have a productive school day. Generally, any complaint that causes your child to lose a significant amount of sleep is a strong indicator that a day home from school is warranted.
The education of your children is our top priority here at Sprague. However, if your child is not able to concentrate because he or she is too tired, or is frequently coughing or sneezing, or is in and out of the classroom going to the nurse’s office, then chances are high that not much learning is taking place. In addition, the illness is most certainly spreading to others in the classroom.
As always, please feel free to call me if you have any questions or concerns.
Sharon
Dates to remember:
Oct. 3: No school—Rosh Hashanah
Oct. 10: No school—Columbus Day
Oct. 12: No school-Yom Kippur
Oct. 18: Walk to School Day
Oct. 18: Fall Festival
Oct. 19: MCAS presentation @ 9:00 a.m.
Oct. 24, 25, 26: Scholastic Book Fair
Nov. 1: Early release (Tuesday) for parent conferences
Nov. 8: Late start (10:30) Election Day