Dear Greenwood Families,
Today might be April Fools’ Day, but it is absolutely no joke how quickly the month of March flew by! It just goes to show how busy all of our classrooms and learning spaces were with teaching, learning, conferences, Authorfest, and a multitude of other interesting events. And if you glance at the length of my letter this week (before you read it in painstaking detail, of course), you can see that April is shaping up to be quite lively as well!
Early Release Day
Just a reminder that Wednesday, 4/3 is an early release day for students. Lunch will be served at school before we dismiss at 11:55am.
Forum - “Raising Resilient Children and Adolescents”
The 4th Annual Wakefield Community Mental Health Forum will take place on Wednesday, April 3rd from 7:00-9:00pm in the Galvin Auditorium. There will be a keynote presentation by Dr. Robert Brooks describing how children and adolescents can learn to deal with stress and develop resiliency and outline specific strategies that parents and adults can use to nurture responsibility, hope, kindness, and resilience. This free lecture and book signing is designed for parents, grandparents, teachers, professionals, and anyone else who cares for/works with children in grades K-12. Please see the flyer for more information.
Parent Conferences
Last Wednesday was very busy around the hallways and classrooms as families came in for conferences, and we’re looking forward to another lively afternoon this Wednesday! If you have not yet scheduled a conference, this is an important opportunity to hear about your child’s progress in school and share information with the teacher. Most of the Greenwood specialists were here last Wednesday, but Ms. Drago, our art teacher, will be here on Wednesday afternoon if you’d like to check in with her.
International Night
The 5th annual International Night will be held on Friday, April 5th from 6:30-8:00pm at the Galvin Middle School. Hosted and sponsored by the Wakefield METCO Program and Wakefield Public Schools, this is an evening for all families and staff members to come together for an evening of cultural music, food, dancing, and learning. We hope to see many of you there!
Gator Gallop
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that I’ve been hearing about the Gator Gallop ever since I began the interview process last year, and now Saturday, April 6th is practically upon us! I hope the weather is good and that we have an enthusiastic crowd of both participants and supporters to make this event a success. My own running routine has been a little shaky this year, but I’m registered! See you on Saturday!
WEF Celebration of Learning
Congratulations to our 4th grade students, parents, and staff members that will be honored at the WEF Celebration of Learning on Wednesday, April 10th at the Galvin! This wonderful celebration highlighting excellence in education is sponsored by the Wakefield Education Foundation, with a theme this year of Community Engagement. The following students were nominated by their peers as students that best represent our school’s core values: Nicholas DiFrenna, Emma Santoro, Westin McNeilly, and Isabella Burns. Parent volunteers to be recognized as having made significant contributions over the years to the Greenwood School Community are Sarah DiFrenna, Charlotte Quimby, and Christina Dill. The staff member nominated by her colleagues to be honored this year is 1st grade teacher, Kristen Harper. We are so lucky here at Greenwood to have many deserving nominees!
All-School Meeting Date Change
The All-School Meeting to be hosted by Grade 3 will now be held on Monday, April 29th at 9:00am. This avoids a conflict with the Wakefield Visual & Performing Arts Day, which is on Friday, April 12th.
Wakefield Visual & Performing Arts Day
All Wakefield elementary school students will enjoy a visit to the Galvin Middle School on Friday, April 12th to see art exhibits and music performances as part of the annual Visual & Performing Arts Day. Greenwood has time slots early in the day, so buses will pick up students here at 8:50am and return them to school around 10:30am. If your child does not have a “Walking Field Trip Permission Slip” on file, we will be sending home a form to fill out before we go. Please contact me with any questions.
MCAS
The dates were sent out a long time ago, now MCAS is almost upon us! The third and fourth graders will be testing here at Greenwood on the following dates:
ELA - Thursday, 4/25 & Friday, 4/26
Math - Tuesday, 5/21 & Wednesday, 5/22
FYI - all testing will start at the beginning of the school day.
Thank you for everything you do to support your children and their learning!
Tiffany Back