Dear Greenwood Families,
Happy Monday and Happy November! It was so amazing to see what looked like most of Greenwood School arriving to the Halloween Monster Mash on Friday night! A gigantic “thank you!” to the members of the Greenwood PTO who spearheaded the planning, provided the hype, and handled all of the expected and unexpected tasks that go along with any such event with humor and grace. A fantastic time was had by all!
Early Release - Wednesday, November 3rd
Our next early release day for students is on Wednesday, November 3rd. All students will be dismissed at 11:55am in order for WPS staff to hold conferences in the afternoon. Please note: there will be a scheduled lunch block for students prior to dismissal.
Updated District Calendar/Additional Early Release Days
In order to facilitate our much-anticipated fall conferences, the Wakefield School Committee approved an additional early release day on Wednesday, November 17th. An additional early release day has also been scheduled for Wednesday, April 6th to be used for spring conferences.
Here is the most updated version of the WPS Calendar, which reflects these changes.
Conferences
The first two blurbs also address this topic, but just to be clear, conference days for families to speak with teachers about how the year is going so far are coming right up! Times are available on Wednesday, 11/3 in the afternoon/early evening and on Wednesday, 11/17 in the afternoon. You should have received a communication from your child’s teacher about signing up - please reach out to them if you haven’t booked a time slot yet. We all need to work together to support student learning and growth!
Dress for the Weather
This is my periodic reminder about making sure that your child is dressing appropriately for the weather...even though that can be quite the challenge even for us adults sometimes! The doors do not open in the morning until 8:30am, so students arriving before that time will be waiting outdoors. Please also know that we make every effort possible to get the kids outside for snack and/or lunch recess unless it is actively raining. And if you’re thinking, “I don’t know where my child’s sweatshirt has gone,” please have them check the school lost-and-found. We have collected quite a few items!
FYI - 3rd Annual Pumpkin Drop Off!
The Environmental Sustainability Committee of Wakefield has been given the okay to hold the 3rd Annual Pumpkin Drop Off, for all your Halloween and fall pumpkin composting needs!
On Friday, November 5th, a tarp will be placed outside each participating school where students (and teachers!) can drop off their pumpkins when they arrive at school. Our Greenwood tarp will be in the same location as last year, out on the blacktop behind the school. Black Earth Compost will pick pumpkins up the afternoon of the 5th. Please see the linked flyer for more details about what can and can’t be composted.
Wakefield Academy November Enrollment
We are happy to let you know that our Monthly Enrollment Schedule for November is now open. We thank you for your patience as we awaited some calendar changes. Please note that there is an additional early release day on November 17th for PreK through 4th grade only. Use the link below or go to our website to complete your child's monthly schedule today. If you are new to WA or have not completed your Annual Registration, this must be completed first before your child can be registered in the monthly enrollment schedule. If you are new to WPS, the steps for joining the Wakefield Academy Extended Day program are listed below. These steps must be completed for your child to be fully registered in Wakefield Academy.
How to Register in Wakefield Academy:
1. Complete the Annual Registration Form and Payment ($50 registration, max of $80 per family)
2. Complete the Monthly Enrollment Schedule and Payment (unless payment arrangements have already been made)
It is very important that this two-step process be followed in order for Wakefield Academy to have all emergency contact and health information on your child. Thank you for entrusting your child(ren) to us and we look forward to another amazing month together!
Crossing Guards/Van Drivers Needed
The Wakefield Public Schools is looking to fill some positions! They are in need of three Crossing Guards and two 7D Special Education Van Drivers and asked us to help get the word out. Anyone who is interested in more information can email our WPS Transportation Coordinator, Deidre Sandonato, or you can check out the job postings on SchoolSpring.
Greenwood School Social Media
We are on Facebook and Instagram! If you follow us already, you got to see some pictures from K9 Samy’s visit to Greenwood on Wednesday morning. Check us out - @wpsgreenwood on both Instagram and Facebook!
Health Reminder - Stay Vigilant!
Thank you for supporting us in our efforts to keep everyone safe by practicing and promoting safety precautions, which include hand hygiene and mask-wearing according to current guidelines. We continue to ask you to keep children home if they are experiencing any of the following symptoms:
Fever of 100.0 or higher, chills, or shaking chills
Cough (not due to other known cause such as chronic cough, asthma, allergies)
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
New loss of taste or smell
Muscle aches or body aches
Sore throat, when in combination with other symptoms
Headache, when in combination with other symptoms
Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea, when in combination with other symptoms
Fatigue, when in combination with other symptoms
Nasal congestion or runny nose (not due to other known causes, such as allergies) when in combination with other symptoms
Our school nurse, Mrs. Doherty, is always happy to answer any questions you may have or provide clarification.
As always, please do not hesitate to reach out with questions. Thank you for everything you do to support your children and their learning! Let’s have a great week!
Tiffany Back