From the Principal: 9/11/2023

Dear Greenwood Families, Happy Monday! We’re off and running! And the forecasted temperatures seem much more to our liking than the “beach weather” of Thursday and Friday. Kids and adults alike did a great job seeing it through though! A special shout-out to the brave volunteers who joined us for lunches on the first two days - if you want to be part of the fun, check out the link toward the end of this message.

I mentioned this last year, and I’ll say it again: amidst all the hubbub of the opening of school, I want to take a moment to stop and reflect on the anniversary of 9/11. Everyone remembers where they were that day, and for me, that was Day 8 with my 5th graders in my second year of teaching. There is so much one could say about that day and the following days/months/years, but I will leave it at this: educators spend a lot of time building classroom and school communities where children feel safe, supported, and secure every day so that when bad things happen, we can move forward together. As I said to my 10- and 11-year-olds on Day 9, “Your parents wouldn’t send you to school if they didn’t think it was safe.” We take that responsibility very seriously at Greenwood and throughout WPS, and we deeply appreciate your faith and support in our work.

Rolling Arrival It was a lot of fun to see all of Greenwood School lined up out back on the first two days of school! That being said, if you were there you also saw that it *can* be a little overwhelming. Not to mention that it takes a long time to get everyone inside! So on Monday morning, we will begin our “rolling arrival” procedure. Please note that there is no supervision outside prior to 8:30 a.m. - any student arriving before that time will wait outside until the doors open (bring those umbrellas on rainy days!).

● 8:30 am - 1st bell rings, back doors open, students enter the building and go to their classroom

● 8:30-8:40 am - student arrival window

● 8:40 am - 2nd bell rings, back doors close

Students arriving after 8:40 a.m. must enter through the front door of the school and sign in at the office. (They do NOT need to be signed in by a parent/guardian.) They will then proceed to their classroom with a tardy slip.

We will have staff members at the back doors ready and able to support students as they enter. Getting to greet students as they arrive makes for a wonderful start to each and every day!

Greenwood Back-to-School/Curriculum Night The kids have been here, and next, we are looking forward to welcoming families to our “back to school” night on Thursday, September 21st. This will be a night for adults to spend some time at Greenwood, meet staff members, and hear from classroom teachers about classroom procedures and grade-level curriculum. The whole evening will run from 6:00-7:30 p.m., with staggered times for K-2 and 3-4. We’re still tweaking the exact schedule, and I will send that out by the end of this week.

Safety Practices Wakefield Public Schools is committed to reinforcing and improving our school safety practices and protocols. Our WPS District Crisis Team meets throughout the school year to plan and prepare for all things related to school safety. On the Greenwood side, our staff meeting this week will address this topic, and throughout the months of September and October, we will be scheduling dates for fire drills, shelter-in-place events, and ALICE drills. While we always hope that we do not need to utilize them in an actual event, it’s extremely important to know what to do just in case. We will keep families updated as appropriate (we cannot announce fire drills to families ahead of time, but we do give advance notice for other types of drills). If you have any questions, please reach out to me.

Lunchroom Volunteers

It’s a new year, and we are once again looking for adults to support students during lunchtime!

Do you have any free time between 12:00 and 1:10 p.m. on school days? Or 10:30-11:50 a.m. on early release days? Looking for a way to help out at Greenwood? Then join us for our lunchroom volunteer opportunities! If you’d like to come in and help support students while they’re eating lunch, please see the linked Sign-Up Genius to select time slots through the end of September. Single days, multiple days, one-time slot, the whole lunch block…we welcome any and all helpers!

Lunchroom volunteers will help students with those tricky thermoses, hand out napkins and utensils, support students while they sort items into composting/food rescue/trash, and help clean tables at the end of each lunch. Oh, and the most important thing - bring smiles and laughter!

NOTE: You will need to have a CORI form completed before coming in for any lunch shifts - please contact Ms. Paiva about the process or to check if you have a current one on file

Greenwood School Social Media

We are on Facebook and Instagram, and one of my personal goals this year is to show off the fun we’re having throughout Greenwood! Check us out - @wpsgreenwood on both Instagram and Facebook!

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