The Lawrence Elementary School

Principal's Corner

                               Summer 2019 School Newsletter

I hope everyone is enjoying their summers! The teachers and I have been very busy this summer with participating in professional development on CHOICE, VOICE, and OWNERSHIP, central themes to the International Baccalaureate philosophy. As an official candidate school for IB, the teachers and I at Lawrence School are enjoying new learning opportunities around supporting students as inquirers and critical thinkers. We are collaborating on reorganizing our curriculum units around IB themes and finding ways to encourage our students to develop their global-mindedness by creating relevant and authentic learning opportunities.

As part of the IB philosophy, valuing students’ varied language and cultural experiences is important. I am excited to welcome Ms. Calvo Piedra as our new Spanish teacher. All students from Kindergarten – Grade 5 will begin learning Spanish next year. I also want to welcome Mrs. Kraft as our new IB Coordinator.  She will help support the teachers as they reorganize the curriculum units and plan lessons that encourage CHOICE, VOICE, OWNERSHIP, INQUIRY, and GLOBAL-MINDEDNESS.

I am so incredibly proud of our students for their positive academic and social growth throughout the school year. A strong sense of community truly makes Lawrence School a special place for children, families, and teachers. I know I can speak for all of the teachers in thanking the Lawrence families for supporting all of us as we work together as partners to help every child reach his/her potential. I look forward to sharing with families the data from Spring 2019 that shows the hard work and progress of our students.

Teacher Assignments for the 2019-2020 school year will be mailed home to all families the week of August 19, 2019. All families will have an opportunity to meet their children’s teachers on the evening of August 28, 2019, for our Open House.             

                                                 Kindergarten: 4:00 – 5:00 pm

                                            Grades 1-5: 4:30 – 5:30 pm                

                                  First Day of School: Thursday, August 29, 2019

Summer Kindergarten Registration:

For those families who have not yet registered for kindergarten, there will be 2 opportunities to do so in August. These opportunities are available to all incoming kindergartners in the district of Middletown. Please call to make an appointment if you have not already registered your child.        
August 1 & 2 at the Community Health Center

 675 Main Street                                                           860-346-7354

August 5 & 8 at Bielefield Elementary School        

70 Maynard Street                                                     860-347-4124

 To register, simply call the number listed above and make an appointment with the secretary. You will need to bring your child with you to the appointment. You can get a jump start on the registration process by visiting our website (www.middletownschools.org) and completing the online registration information. This will save you some time if you can complete this ahead of time.

Summer Registration for Grades 1-5: please complete the online registration on our website. Then, you can call Lawrence School to make an appointment to drop off the necessary paperwork (please see the website for a detailed list). You can call or leave a voicemail message for us at 860-632-2158 or email me at gaudreauj@mpsct.org. The secretary and I are not consistently in the office until mid-August, so please leave a voicemail or email and we will get in touch with you as soon as possible. Thank you.  

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 invited to participate in a special activity in September – we are going to keep this a surprise. J

Bus Information will be available on our website (www.middletownschools.org). 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 most 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)

                Grade 1 – backpack, lunch box (if needed), folders with two pockets, pencils

                Grade 2 – backpack, pencils, folders with two pockets

                Grade 3 – backpack, pencils, folders with two pockets

                Grade 4 – backpack, pencils, folders with two pockets

                Grade 5 – backpack, pencils, folders with two pockets

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.

CHANGE IN HOURS OF SCHOOL DAY: I want to remind everyone that the first day of school is Thursday, August 29, starting at 8:50 a.m. Parent drop off starts at 8:45 a.m.

**School will now be dismissed at 3:35 p.m. on full days, and 1:25 pm on early release days.** Please see the school calendar that is posted on our website.  

 I am looking forward to a great year. My door is always open if you ever have any questions or concerns. 

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.