Dear Sprague Community,
We had a nice Comfy, Cozy Day today!
It sure looks like the snow might be really coming our way this weekend! Please enjoy the long weekend and stay warm!!!!
Grocery Gift Card Drive
When it is cold and snowy, we are often reminded of how lucky we are to have a nice warm home with plenty to eat. This year, Sprague has been fortunate to work with the district social worker, Sara Berenson. Sara has helped us remember the needs that exist right here in our community. We are grateful to those who donated gift cards and toys before the holidays and would like to hold a more formal Gift Card Drive to collect grocery store gift cards. Sara can help distribute them to families in need and hold onto the extras to give out as needed. Please consider donating a gift card from a local grocery store for the benefit of a Wellesley family. We will collect them in the office any day from Jan. 22-Jan. 31. Sara has also asked if there are any families that may have a Washing Machine they could donate to a family. If so, please let me know. Thank you!
Goodbye Jill Webb
Jill Webb, Sprague Cafeteria Helper extraordinaire, will be leaving us to move on to a different job helping kids in Dover. Jill have served up meals with a smile for 8 years at Sprague. Students are very fond of Jill and notice her kindness, helpfulness, and friendliness. Students made a book for Jill and fondly remembered many of the ‘little’ things she has done for them. They noted things like helping them on days they may have forgotten their home lunch, giving some extra pepperoni on the pizza, finding extra syrup on pancake day and many other things. Thank you, Jill! We will surely miss seeing you each day!
Progress Reports
In Wellesley, we send home written Progress Reports two times per year and schedule Parent Conferences two times per year. The first written Progress Reports will be sent home with students on Friday, February 1st. Our teachers have been working with students on academic skills, social skills, and critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills. Students develop skills at different rates, so it is common to expect to see that many areas are still developing at this point in the year. You will also notice the addition of Spanish FLES to the Progress Report.
Geography Bee
Congratulations to all of the Sprague School Geography Bee participants. All of the students did a fantastic job! Each student answered difficult questions and we had many tie-breaking questions. Here is an example:
Deforestation is a major concern in the populous Asian country bordering the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. Name this country. (India)
Special congratulations to 4thgrader, Alex Ho, for winning the Sprague School Geography Bee! His name will be added to the plaque outside the alcove in the front hallway and he will take an online qualifying test to see if he advances to the state level Bee held in Worcester, MA.
Energy Efficient Lighting Project
You will notice a large dumpster and a storage container near the Sprague Garden. This will house materials for the project in which energy efficient lighting fixtures will be installed in Sprague hallways, Cafeteria, and Gymnasium. The work will not disrupt the school day in any way and will be completed between 3:30 and 11:00 PM for the next 4-6 weeks.
Dates to remember:
Jan. 21: No school—Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Feb. 6: Kindergarten Roundup #1 from 3-6 PM at Sprague library
Feb. 18-22: School vacation week
March 2: Kindergarten Roundup #2 from 9AM-12PM in Sprague library
MCAS Testing Schedule 2018-2019
Elementary Schools
Grade 3
Thursday, April 25th—English Language Arts
Friday, April 26th—English Language Arts
Friday, May 10th–Math
Monday, May 13th—Math
Grade 4
Thursday, April 4th—English Language Arts
Friday, April 5th—English Language Arts
Thursday, May 16th–Math
Friday, May 17th—Math
Grade 5
Monday, April 8th—English Language Arts
Tuesday, April 9th–English Language Arts
Monday, May 6th—Science, Technology, & Engineering
Tuesday, May 7th—Science, Technology, & Engineering
Tuesday, May 14th–Math
Monday, May 20th—Math
Please see notice from PAWS:
Please help P.A.W.S. Preschool Collect 1,000 Books !
The Preschool At Wellesley Schools (P.A.W.S.) is starting the process of developing a 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program! The goal of the program is to provide families with easy and convenient access to hundreds of high-quality children’s books, of all different genres and titles, in order to ensure students have the best advantages and access to the many benefits of reading prior to entering kindergarten.
They need our help in order to make this dream a reality! From now until April vacation, we will be collecting new and gently used children’s books for the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten Project at P.A.W.S.! As you and your friends, neighbors, and relatives start to do spring cleaning, or begin to tidy your homes and are ready to say goodbye to books that don’t serve your family any more, please bring your books to school and place them in the box in the hall marked 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten.
They will take board books, ABC books, nursery rhymes, fairy tales, song books, fiction books, nonfiction books, paperback, hard cover, counting books, shape books, any books!!
Thank you in advance for helping with this project, and please pass the word along to your friends or to your social media groups! The goal is to collect 1,500 books by April vacation!
Rebecca Zieminski
Director of Early Childhood
Wellesley Public Schools
Wellesley, MA 02481
781-446-6222 phone
781-283-5728 fax