The Lawrence Elementary School

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2020 Summer MATH  and  2020 Summer READING are now available!!! Click on the two links to view summer assignments, challenges, and programs!!!

Please click here to see important information for 2020-2021 Incoming Kindergarten Students including a PowerPoint Presentation


Principal's Corner     

                                   Summer 2020 School Newsletter

I hope all of our students, families, and teachers are staying safe and healthy! COVID-19 continues to have an effect on our routines and daily lives. As district and school level staff and educators plan and collaborate on how to safely organize our re-entry to school, please know that we will continue to communicate with you through phone calls and email on decisions impacting your family. There are still a lot of unknowns and many details to organize, but we will communicate any changes to you.  ZOOM meetings will be scheduled in August for incoming kindergarten families and another for all families. Invitations for those meetings will come in August, as specifics of our re-entry plan will be available.

Summer Kindergarten and New Student Registration:

In a typical year, Lawrence staff and I would have already met with kindergarten families several times in the spring to help students/families with a smooth transition to kindergarten (orientation, registration, family kindergarten night). All of those planned events had to be cancelled due to COVID. I hope that there is some opportunity for in-person interactions prior to the start of school. I will let families know in August of any ways for us to connect. Kindergarten Families: please view the detailed Power point we created about Kindergarten. For access, go to our website (www.middletownschools.org), Our Schools, Lawrence School, click on red link for K Information, click Incoming Kindergarten Information Powerpt.   

Registration Steps: (If your child attended Snow Pre-K last year, please skip to step 3)

1.     Fill out required information found at this web address: https://ecollect.accelaschool.com/Middletown#!

2.     Create PowerSchool Parent Portal Account (If you have an older child enrolled in Middletown Schools and already have a Parent Portal Account, you add your Kindergarten student to that account)

3.     Log Into Parent Portal Account and Complete Forms

4.     Upload necessary documents (If you are having trouble doing this, please read below)

Please note: 

·       Step 1 is the initial step. Once you submit this, it will need to be approved by the school secretary. Once she approves it, you will be notified by email and directions will be sent with a code to set up your PowerSchool Parent Portal account.  Please only do this one time.

·       Registration Documents: If you have difficulty uploading some of the required documents, please plan to visit Lawrence School to drop off any of the necessary paperwork. August 11 and 12 from 7:00 am – 2:00 pm are days for families to bring in their registration documents to be reviewed by the school secretary. Documents can be dropped off or we can make copies for you of any required documentation.  

·       All incoming Kindergarten parents are required to complete online registration forms.

Please reach out to the school secretary, Mrs. Mosca, if you need help with any of the following:

·       You have not received an email saying your registration request was approved

·       You are having trouble setting up your account 

·       You cannot remember your login and password

·       You need help adding your Kindergarten student to your Parent Portal Account

·       English is not your first language and you think you may need support in completing the registration

·       Any other questions regarding registration 

Mrs. Mosca:     moscak@mpsct.org                            Lawrence School: 860-632-2158   Ext: 0

    Technology and Summer Learning for Families of Students in Grades K-5:

Your children were allowed to keep their IPads or Chrome books over the summer so that they can continue to access educational websites. The only students who needed to return their devices were students going to TEMS or families who were moving out of Middletown. 

I strongly recommend for students in grades 2-5 to access Pathblazer (literacy and math) and for students in K & grade 1 to access Footsteps to Brilliance. All of our returning students are familiar with how to log in and they all have their passcodes.

Math Summer Practice:

In addition to Pathblazer, below is a listing of fun, interactive on-line opportunities that your child can do at home in order to practice a variety of math skills.  We hope that these will assist you in supporting your child’s mathematical progress throughout the summer.

Two of our favorites that many teachers use are www.khanacademy.org and https://xtramath.org. Many of our students may already have accounts, so enjoy!!!!

SUMMER READING LOGS: Please keep track of all of the books that you read over the summer. You can list the titles on the summer reading logs you were given at school (or even on a piece of paper). All children who complete a log will be recognized for their efforts in September.  J

SUMMER PACKETS: At our Spring ZOOM meeting with families, many of you requested paper copy math and language arts activities. The teachers put together packets for each grade, which were distributed along with the personalized bags each child received in June. These are optional activities to complete. If you have not picked up your child’s personalized bag or the summer packets, please email me so that we can arrange a time for you to visit Lawrence School to pick up the items.     gaudreauj@mpsct.org

If you have any questions over the summer regarding technology, the district technology department can be contacted to offer free support. Email address: techassist@mpsct.org, for families to contact the technology department when having technical issues with the student devices. Their plan is to address issues with non-functioning devices by swapping out the student devices at the Grab & Go food sites.  The goal is to process requests daily, depending on the number of requests, then drop of replacement devices in the afternoon at the Grab & Go sites so families can get the device the next day. Families will drop off the broken device and get the new one at the same time.

Grab & Go food sites:  
  Monday – Friday           9:00 am – 1:00 pm      Breakfast/Lunch

Summer Lawrence School Office Hours:

Our school secretary is on vacation for most of July, so the best way to communicate with the school is through e-mail. You can email me (Principal Jim Gaudreau) at gaudreauj@mpsct.org and I will respond to your email as soon as possible. I will be on vacation for a couple of weeks, so I will respond promptly when I return. Any questions for the secretary regarding registration for incoming or outgoing students can be sent to Mrs. Mosca at moscak@mpsct.org.

Teacher Assignments for the 2020-2021 school year will be sent to all families near the end of August.  If Open Houses are permitted, a date and time will be communicated to all families.                           

                                          First Day of School: Monday, August 31, 2020

Bus Information will be available on our website (www.middletownschools.org) at the end of August. Even students who will not be taking the bus will receive a route and bus stop. All you need to do is visit the website under Transportation and look for prompts that lead to bus routes. Once you type in your street address, a bus stop with approximate times will be available. If you have a question, please contact the Transportation Dept. at 860-638-1418. 

SCHOOL SUPPLIES:                                    

              To get ready for the start of the school year, here is a list of recommended supplies your children will need for their specific grades. We try our best to provide almost all of the supplies the children will need at school, but we recommend that all children in all grades have a set of pencils, crayons, colored pencils, scissors, and glue at home to help with homework and projects.                  

Kindergarten:    backpack, lunch box (if needed), labeled bag with extra set of clothes (optional)

             Grades 1- 5:       backpack, lunch box (if needed)

All children will be assigned a locker, so the backpacks will need to be small enough to fit into the locker. Backpacks with wheels are not recommended.                                                            

Take care!    Jim Gaudreau, Principal

Update on Spring Events

Due to school being closed, there are many events that will need to be either canceled or postponed until we are either back in school or rescheduled until the summer. I will be in touch with families through mail or email if events are rescheduled. Events include …

          Kindergarten Orientation for Incoming Students

            Kindergarten Registration and Family Night

            Young Author’s Night and Science Fair

            Field Trips

CELEBRATE EARTH DAY & TV FREE WEEK WITH CREATIVE FAMILY PROJECTS 

Typically, Lawrence School organizes activities around these two annual events. Since we cannot do so this year, please engage with the activities at home. Enjoy and take pictures of what you have done. You can share them with your teachers.   

ARTS AND CRAFTS ACTIVITY

1. Nature Exploration: Go around your yard and neighborhood and collect as many different types of nature as you can find (leaves, twigs, grass, etc). Try and find examples that represent different shapes (triangles, squares), textures (smooth, rough)., and patterns.  
2. Nature Posters: Take one piece of construction paper and some glue and stick the items you found on your nature exploration onto the paper. Try and be creative as you move the items around the paper. You can make a pattern or arrange the items to make a shape.
3. Turn Trash into Art: Take a look around your house for recyclable materials. After you collect a bunch of objects, use glue or tape to connect the objects in order to make something. You can make an animal, flower, or person, or try to make something very tall. Try to turn your trash or recyclables into something creative and wonderful.

1. Making Collages: once you collect a lot of recyclable materials, peel off or cut off the food labels or pictures on the recyclable boxes or bottles. Use all of these words, designs, and pictures to create a collage.
2. Growing your own Garden: Start your own garden and watch the flowers/veggies grow.

Leftover seeds: use extra seeds as art. You can take construction paper and make a design. Using glue, you can attach the seeds to the paper in any shape or design you wish. The 3-D element of the seeds will add a lot of creativity to your designs. Acorns are also a great substitute.                                  

Creative Writing & Poetry

              Sensory Poem: Go outside and find a nice place to sit or lie down. While outside, make a list of everything you sense (see, hear, taste, touch, and smell). Try closing your eyes and feel the nature around you. After you make your list, write a poem about all of the things you sense; be as detailed as possible.

Example:            As I am sitting in my backyard, I can feel the wind blowing my hair.

                             I see two squirrels running around the yard after an acorn.

                             Flowers give a fresh smell to the yard, reminding me of grandma’s hand lotion.

              Acrostic Poems: write a key word or phrase related to Earth Day (SPRING, NATURE, EARTH DAY, etc.). Try and think of words or phrases related to your KEY WORD and write them next to each letter. EXAMPLE:

              Squirrels running in the yard

              Pretty flowers

              Rabbits

              Insects crawling on my leg

              Nature

              Green grass

Social-Emotional Strategies:

A focus at Lawrence School is in helping students to be able to recognize their feelings and to help them learn strategies to self-regulate and respond appropriately to triggers. Communicating their feelings in a constructive way is emphasized, and the Meta-Moment is shared with students.

We discuss that all of us – every student in the school, every teacher, every parent – we all have triggers, something that may get us angry or upset. Learning to recognize our triggers and the triggers of others helps us with our emotional responses. Taking the time to stop and think about the best way to respond to a peer or adult when one is triggered is emphasized.

Sample Strategies:     Take 3 deep breaths, Get a drink of water, Count to 10, Go to the Calming Corner [take a break], Draw, Write, Read a Book, Think of a Place/Person/Pet that makes you happy, Talk to someone you trust, Squeeze or hold a comfort object, Positive self-talk

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.

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.