The Lawrence Elementary School​

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International Baccalaureate PYP Program

Principal's Corner

Principal’s Message for September 2019

We are off to a fantastic start to the school year. Developing a solid partnership with your child’s teacher will help your child tremendously. Strong and frequent communication between the school and home is essential. There are many ways of communicating with our school. Here are a few ideas:

• Contacting the classroom teachers through e-mail with any questions. All e-mail accounts use the teacher’s last name and first initial. Ex: Jim Gaudreau is gaudreauj@mpsct.org.
• Each teacher uses a regular communication system (Class Dojo, group emails, etc.). Sign up to receive reminders and updates from the teachers.
• Visit the Middletown Public Schools webpage for detailed descriptions of the curriculum and for all of our policies. The district and school handbook are also on our website.
• Read all communication between the teacher and home
• Attending Parent Conferences in November and March
• Tuesday folders: children in kindergarten – grade 5 receive folders every week. Inside are important notices from the school about upcoming events, the PTA, and family fun activities. If you have an important message to give to the school, you can put the note/message in the Tuesday folder. Folders are returned to school on Wednesdays.
• Volunteering in your child’s class or attending PTA events – be visible at schoolJ
• Attending PTA Meetings or Volunteering to Organize a School-wide Event
• Participate in our family book clubs – more information will be coming soon

The best way to create a positive school experience is for all families and teachers to work together. Our staff wants to support your children’s progress by working with you to help them reach their goals. 

PROMOTING A GROWTH MINDSET

“Whether you think that you can or you can’t, you’re usually right.”                          Henry Ford

Another priority at Lawrence School is helping to promote in students a belief that they can and will learn. Some new topics will be difficult for many students (learning how to multiply, learning science vocabularly, knowing sight words, etc.), but as long as students have a belief in themselves, then they can achieve and meet any goal. We emphasize the word YET – “I may not know how to subtract two numbers YET, but with a good attitude and a belief in myself, I can and will learn!” This mindset shift for some students is critical in their growth, so promoting this at home as well will help your children.

Daily Attendance is important. Our goal is ON TIME, EVERY DAY, ALL DAY!

Please do not forget to call the school when you are keeping your child home or you know your child will be late to school for an appointment. The best number to call is 860-632-2158.

In addition to calling your child absent, a hand-written note from the parent to excuse the absence is also required. The note can be given to your child to bring to school when he/she returns and can be given to the classroom teacher. Thank you for your support in writing these absence notes.

           Welcoming New Staff to Lawrence Elementary School

We are welcoming some new staff to Lawrence School. Please join in congratulating these talented educators to their new roles:

                Denise Kraft is our new Primary Years Program Coordinator for IB.

                Karla Calvo-Piedra is our new Spanish teacher working with K-5. 

                Wesley Ruimerman is our new Physical Education teacher. 

                Monique Nee will be our new second grade teacher. 

                Lauren Levasseur will be our new speech pathologist.

                Julie Fortuna will be our new Occupational Therapist. 

                Kelsey Simmons will be joining us as a building substitute teacher.

                Maria Gonzalez, Stephanie Goodrich, Marcella Waters, and Patrick Kane will be joining us as paraprofessionals, working with students from K-5.

                Deanna Stackhouse, Erica Gabor, Lourdes Ragel, and Alice Kutcher will be our new duty aides, monitoring the students during lunch and recess.

   

                                                  FIRST PTA MEETING

Our first PTA meeting will be Thursday, October 3, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the library. All families are welcome to attend, as we have free baby-sitting and light snacks. We love to hear new ideas and truly value your feedback, so please come by!                              

                        BIRTHDAY AND TREATS POLICY

We are asking all families for your support of the district-wide policy regarding food that can be brought into school by families. The BOE has adopted a policy that students will not be allowed to bring in cupcakes or treats other than fruits and/or vegetables for birthday celebrations.

Only fruits or vegetables can be brought in by families to be shared. We thank you in advance for your understanding and support as we work together to keep all children safe in our school community. 

                                RECYCLE YOUR TEXTILES

Lawrence School has a textile recycling bin in the back of our parking lot. We get a $100.00 for every ton of textiles we collect, so please bring your bagged items whenever you are cleaning out the closets.  Items for recycling include clothing, shoes, accessories (hats, scarves, etc.), and linens. These items can be in any condition.  All items must be bagged before putting them in the bin. Thank you.

           Lawrence School’s Morning Run Club

After our wildly successful first year, Lawrence School will again have our Morning Run Club, Monday through Wednesday mornings, starting on October 7. 

We invite our entire Lawrence School community to join us these mornings between 8:15-8:45 am to walk, run, skip, or gallop their way through the run!

CDC research shows that physical activity can have an impact on cognitive skills and academic behavior. 

In order to restart this club, we need a minimum of 3 additional adult volunteers to commit to volunteering one morning per week from 8:15-8:45 am. 

Please contact Kristen Jensen at 860.305.6026, text or call, to volunteer. Thank you!

                       Amazing Grace Food Pantry

The word of the month for September is Caring!

For over ten years now Lawrence School has sponsored monthly food drives to support The Amazing Grace Food Pantry. Amazing Grace is our local food bank serving over 1,000 Middlesex County families per month. During the 2018-2019 school year, we donated over 1800 lbs. of food. Each month we pick a “food of the month.” Then we send out a notice with a fun theme like Caring Day and ask families to donate a food item. The food of the month is just a suggestion. Any nonperishable food donation is greatly appreciated.

Our first food drive of the new school year will be 9/04-9/13.  When a student brings an item to donate, a heart will be added to the Caring Tree bulletin board. The food of the month is Tuna but other great options include canned beans, rice, canned fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, etc. Food donations can be dropped off in Nurse Kathy’s office anytime.

Food donations to Amazing Grace are a great way to show how much you care for your community. Thank you to the entire Lawrence Family for your ongoing support for this community service project!

  Meet Connecticut’s Kid Governor: Ella Briggs

Ella Briggs will be visiting Russell Library on Saturday, September 14, from 10:00 – 11:30 am. During Ella's visit, she and the Kid Governor team will discuss her platform, share information on how students in your community can get involved in Connecticut's Kid Governor, and lead a hands-on activity.  

No registration required, but space is limited to the first 75 friends who arrive that day! This event is presented in partnership with CT Kid Governor. Enjoy.

                                        International Baccalaureate Update

The Learner Profile is central to the Primary Years Program at Lawrence School. It represents the qualities of international-mindedness, which is the goal of our educational mission as we transition to an IB school. These ten attributes are taught and modeled by teachers. However, for children to embrace these traits, it is helpful if the traits are modeled at home, too. Please spend some time to become familiar with the profile attributes and reinforce these qualities by using this language at home. You might choose to post a list in your home as a reminder of these 10 important traits!

WORD FOR THE MONTH                            CARING

Students who are CARING show kindness to others and are sensitive to their needs. They think about the world and work to take care of their community and the environment. They remember to treat others how they themselves would like to be treated.

How can parents help to develop students who are Caring at home?

• Model the caring behavior you would like to see in your child. Your child has big eyes and ears and notices everything you and your family do. Using kind words, helping people without being asked, and being an active listener all show caring. Even a simple thing, like holding a door for someone, shows caring.  

• Think about how your family can get involved with community organizations. 

• Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. Sometimes this can be challenging, but make the effort to establish these habits in your home. By developing children who care about the environment, you are helping the future of the planet for us all. 

• After reading a book, spend some time considering how the people in the book acted. Was someone in the book caring? How could some characters become more caring? Were all of the characters in the book caring or just some of them? Some books to consider:

o Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes 

o The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein 

o Yertle the Turtle by Dr. Seuss 

o The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle

News from the Lawrence School

Library Media Center

Lawrence School now has its own MakerSpace! A MakerSpace is a space where learners can explore, tinker, create, and play to identify interests, solve real-world problems, and creatively collaborate with their peers and beyond. Our MakerSpace includes many tools for creating and problem solving, such as Keva Planks, Ozobots, Magnatiles, Cubettos, and 3D printers, as well as simple recycled materials and craft supplies. This space will allow our students to practice the steps in design thinking: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and test. I can’t wait to see what our students design and create during the upcoming year!

News from the Art Room

This will be a very exciting year in the art room as we, as a school, explore connections among subjects and to our IB philosophy.  As the year gets underway, please check the newsletter and/or the Lawrence Art website for more detailed information on what students are learning in the art room. 

The first few weeks in the art room will be dedicated to activities and art making related to procedures, rules and pre-testing for grades 2-5. Students in Kindergarten will have art twice a week on a regular basis.  All other grades will have art once a week.  However, we are in the process of developing a plan to rotate classes for additional art and to make class to art connections. 

Visit the Lawrence Art site regularly by:

Going to the Middletown Home Page.  Click on the staff directory circle.  Type, Alison Kaye, in the search bar, then click search.  Under my name you will see a small globe icon, click on this and you will be brought to the Lawrence Art page.

Please contact me with any questions throughout the year.  I am looking forward to all the amazing artwork your children will be creating with me this year! Thank you.                    Alison Kaye

                            News from Physical Education

Our new physical education teacher is Mr. Wesley Ruimerman, with some announcements for families.

#FitWithFamily - take a photo doing any physical activity with your family and bring it to Mr. Ruimerman to be put on the bulletin board in the gym. We are advocating for families to enjoy physical activities together.

The Family Fun Run, traditionally held in the fall, will be held April 4th this school year. More information will come as it comes closer. Our PTA will hold its own Fun Run on Sunday, Oct. 13, starting at 10:30 am at Lawrence. Please mark this date on your calendar, as a lot of fun is coming your way!

       ¡Hola Estudiantes! Bienvenidos a la clase de Español.

This year Lawrence School is including Spanish as one of the specials for our students. My name is Karla Calvo-Piedra (Señora Calvo). I am the new Spanish teacher at Lawrence School. I was born and raised in Costa Rica, a beautiful Central American country where our native language is Spanish. I will be teaching every class (from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade) once a week. We will start learning the basic concepts in Spanish, such as  greetings, introductions, farewells, numbers, colors, days, months, etc. Hopefully, we will do a successful progression toward acquiring conversational Spanish skills. 
If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or would like to visit our class one day, please feel free to reach out at calvopiedrak@mpsct.org or if your class utilizes ClassDojo, you can also contact me through that application. I am very excited about this new adventure with our students!

 ¡Adiós y Gracias!   

                                                   

Music Updates

Band

Fourth and Fifth grade students are invited to join the Lawrence School Band!  We had a great turnout at Open House where many students had the opportunity to try out the different instruments available to rent.  Ms. Otto will be doing demonstrations for the fourth and fifth grade classes during the second week of school, however, anyone who knows what instrument they want to play is welcome to rent it at any point (no need to wait for approval!)  School instruments are limited, so the best way to assure that your child plays the instrument of their choice is to rent it from the music store (for example: there is only one flute available to borrow).  We will start weekly lessons on September 9th.  Please contact Ms. Otto at OttoL1@mpsct.org with any questions.

Strings

Students in Grade 1-5 are invited to join the Elizabeth Swaim Strings Program!  This is an after-school program held at Keigwin Middle School.  There are designated buses from each elementary school to bring Strings students over to Keigwin at the end of their school day.  There is after-school care provided until the child's lesson time (4:30 or 5:15pm).  During the time before their lesson, children can work on homework, eat a snack if they've brought one, and play with the other children.  Lessons are in small groups based on the child's instrument and level of experience.  All staff are trained music teachers, including Ms. Otto from MHS/Lawrence and Ms. Gosterisli from Keigwin/Woodrow.  There are many scholarships available for both tuition and instrument rentals; we try to make it accessible to everyone!  Please contact Ms. Otto at OttoL1@mpsct.org with any questions.

    Grocery Shopping Can Help Support Lawrence School

Four EASY ways you and your family/friends can help Lawrence School earn money and school equipment:

Shop Rite: enroll your card online at www.shopriteforeducation.com; click Price Plus Card Registration; you will first enter your Price Plus Card number (12 digits); the school code for Lawrence Elementary School is 53415.  By shopping at Shop Rite during the program accrual period (October 1 – April 25), when you use your Price Plus Card, you will earn credits that will help us earn free school equipment.

Stop and Shop:  go to www.Stopandshop.com; if you are already signed-up for the Stop and Shop A+ School Rewards program, you do not need to sign-up again.  Otherwise, sign-in to your online Stop and Shop account or register for one if you don’t have one already; once signed in, Go to My Account, Manage Your Account, Rewards & Savings; in the A+ School Rewards section, click SelectSchool(s); the School ID for Lawrence Elementary School is 11147.  You can designate up to two schools, so if you have an older student(s) at Keigwin, Woodrow Wilson Middle School or Middletown High School, you can assign your card to accrue points for them as well.  By shopping at Stop and Shop using your savings card between September 6 and March 14, your purchases help to earn cash for our school. 

Price Chopper: Go to https://www.pricechopper.com/savings/tools-schools/; scroll to the middle of the page and click on “clicking here” in number 1. of the program description.  Then enter your 10-digit AdvantEdge number in the first box, followed by our school ID, 39635 to select Lawrence Elementary School.  By shopping at Price Chopper during the program accrual period (now – December 28), when you use your AdvantEdge Card, you will earn credits that will help us earn free school equipment.

Box Tops for Education (BTFE): the BTFE program is transitioning to an app-based program for coupon collection/submission.  The new Box Tops mobile app (available on Google Play and the App Store) uses technology to scan your store receipt, find participating products, and instantly add Box Tops to our school’s earnings online.  Once you download the app to your phone, designate Lawrence Elementary School (School ID 426070) as your school, and then scan your receipts to automatically earn $0.10 per eligible product purchased.  Remember, BTFE products are available at numerous retailers, grocery stores and online merchants. 

NOTE: We will still be collecting coupons that have not expired this year.  So, if you’ve been saving them, and/or find coupons on your pantry items or even newly purchased items, please send them in to the school throughout the year.  We hope this easier method of submitting Box Tops will increase the total dollars Lawrence will earn this year. Thank you for your support!

Fondly,

Jim Gaudreau, Principal gaudreauj@mpsct.org   (860) 632-2158

VISION:

The Lawrence School is an inclusive community that supports and values the academic, social, physical, and emotional development of every student through an engaging and relevant transdisciplinary curriculum that fosters students as collaborators, communicators, thinkers, and global citizens.

MISSION STATEMENTS:

1. We foster students’ emotional intelligence because we believe social-emotional learning is key to the development of the whole child.

    

2. We cultivate a growth mindset among students, families, and staff because we believe in the value and importance of perseverance, varied learning dispositions, risk-taking, goal setting, and reflection.

    

3. We foster a safe and welcoming environment that promotes a mutually-supportive school community of empathetic and collaborative individuals who are globally responsible, curious, and action-oriented.

    

4. We engage learners by purposefully planning lessons that encourage inquiry and critical thinking, value student interest, and promote collaboration and discourse among all students.

    

5. We value a balanced and comprehensive arts and physical education program that enhances the core curriculum and allows students to explore, experience, and appreciate world cultures and language experiences while encouraging creativity, curiosity, and healthy movement.

    

6. We provide rigorous challenges so students take ownership of their learning as they use reasoning and thinking skills and academic risk-taking in order to develop creativity, perseverance, and recognition of their role in the global environment.

  Social and Emotional Learning Opportunities

 CLICK HERE FOR THE LATEST SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL NEWSLETTER

We emphasize the importance of students being able to recognize their emotions and to learn strategies on how best to regulate their emotions. The staff has been trained in the RULER, a strategy from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence (ei.yale.edu).

                R      Recognizing                  Identifying emotions in ourselves and others

                U     Understanding             Knowing the causes of emotions (why do we feel the way we do)

                L      Labeling                           Knowing feeling words to help us communicate feelings accurately

                E      Expressing                     Learning how to display our feelings and act in the school setting

                R      Regulating                     Developing strategies to manage our feelings

Your children will be coming home and will most likely be using some of the vocabulary and strategies we teach at school. You may hear about the META-MOMENT or TRIGGERS or your children may talk about breathing techniques and strategies. We will send home for you copies of the strategies and vocabulary we use so that you can also reinforce this at home if you so choose. Thank you.  

Statement of Non-Discrimination

The Middletown Board of Education is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer, and it does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, age, marital status, civil union, military or veteran status, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or past or present physical or mental disability in any of its education programs, activities, or employment policies.  All educational programs and offerings, including vocational education and extracurricular activities, subscribe to this policy. Marco Gaylord, Director of District Operations, has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the district non-discrimination policies and may be reached at 311 Hunting Hill Avenue, Middletown, CT  06457; phone (860) 638-1485.