From the Principal: 1/16/24

Dear Greenwood Families,

Happy Tuesday! I hope everyone had a lovely three-day weekend. Once again I am left wondering about a snow “event” as I’m writing my letter. You think I’d be used to this by now, but somehow it’s always a surprise!

From Wakefield Academy - Summer Camps

WoW Summer is back! We have a wonderful summer planned for your children. We’ll start with our amazing themed weeks, special programs, and many other adventures and activities! Your child will enjoy seeing their school friends, making new friends, and being surrounded by the friendly and caring Wakefield Academy staff they see at school every day. Our WoW Summer programs include WoW

Summer Camp, WoW Summer Academic Camp, and our WoW Summer PreK Program.

Do you want your child to retain, boost, or accelerate their academic skills in preparation for their upcoming grade? Join our WoW Rising 1st-6th Academic program! You can choose one or all five weeks for academic engagement, acceleration, and fun. WoW Academic Camp is geared around one-week curriculum blocks so your child gets the best educational experience. Our science curriculum will again be provided by our amazing WA enrichment vendor Wicked Cool Science. They have created comprehensive Massachusetts DESE Science Standards-based lessons to engage your child in a hands-on learning experience as they explore the scientific world around them. Our WoW Academic program starts July 8th and ends August 8th.

Does your child want the true “camp” experience without having to go away to camp? Join our WoW K-4 Summer Camp! We have our unique pick-a-day (morning or afternoon), or week-long (Monday-Thursday) options. This six-week program has been designed to engage your child in themed weeks of camp-styled activities, games, crafts, and programs. Your child will never be bored and you’ll have the joy of hearing “WoW what a fun day!” WoW K-4 Camp program runs from July 1st through August 8th.

We haven’t forgotten our littlest ones! Do you have a Pre-Schooler? Want them to have a classroom experience as well as a camp experience? Join our WoW PreK Summer Camp which is held in collaboration with our WPS Extended School Year (ESY) program. Your little one will enjoy a morning classroom experience working on their age-based social skills and learning. Want a full-day experience?

Join the WoW PreK afternoon program for your little ones to continue their camp experience and have fun playing with their friends, making new ones, and enjoying age-appropriate activities and fun! They will enjoy our PreK-themed weeks, programming, and engaging activities! All under the care of our amazing WA PreK staff! WoW PreK Camp runs from July 8th through August 8th.

We also offer extended day options to meet your scheduling needs, ensuring your family has coverage from 7:30 am to 5 pm! Please note that you do not need to create a new account if you already have a childcare contract in place. Enrichment programming will be released in February which will include programming for our K-8 population. Go to our website and click on “Camps” or use the link here to check out all that Wakefield Academy WoW Summer Camp programs have to offer your Rising K-6 or PreSchool child! WoW!

MPY Parenting Solutions Library

Just sharing this in case anyone is interested! Massachusetts Partnerships for Youth (MPY) is pleased to announce its new MPY Parenting Solutions Library. The MPY Parenting Solutions Library is offered at no charge (no login or password required), in partnership with Peace At Home Parenting Solutions, non-profit located in Mansfield, Connecticut. Peace At Home Parenting Solutions is a dynamic hub of trusted knowledge and compassionate support that inspires parents to create positive change for their children, their families and themselves. Through this new partnership, MPY is pleased to offer proven resources to help students’ families thrive.

Peace At Home Parenting Solutions specializes in empowering parents with evidence-based strategies to foster nurturing connections that safeguard their children's mental well-being. The trainings are presented by experts with advanced degrees and the trainings focus on child and adolescent development, including difficulties in school, mental health challenges, neurodiversity, LGBTQ+ identity formation, racism, and grief. These trainings present easy-to-use strategies for long-lasting change.

Lunchroom Volunteers

Thank you to all of the fantastically-dedicated volunteers who have been making lunchtime a little brighter! You are so greatly appreciated!!

Do you have any free time between 12:00-1:10pm on school days? Or 10:30-11:50am on regular 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 February. 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!

From the Principal: 1/8/24

Dear Greenwood Families,

Happy Monday! As I’m writing this, I’m still wondering which of the many weather forecasts will turn out to be the most accurate. I’m saving my shoveling for the early afternoon in hopes that the “second wave” doesn’t bring too much more snow - nobody likes Monday morning shoveling! (Okay, *I* don’t like Monday morning shoveling. Your mileage may vary.)

Greenwood All-School Meeting - Grade 4 Hosting

Just a reminder about our All-School Meeting on Monday at 9:00 am. Our 4th graders will lead us off to talk about “cooperation” and we would like to invite 4th grade parents/guardians to attend if you are able to do so. (Seating will be up in the balcony.) We look forward to seeing you!

NOTE: If there happens to be a weather-related delay, we will reschedule this meeting and notify everyone of the new date.

Early Release - Wednesday, January 10th

Our next early release day for students is on Wednesday, January 10th. All students will be dismissed at 11:55 am in order for WPS staff to have professional development sessions in the afternoon. Please note: here will be a scheduled lunch block for students prior to dismissal.

Reminder - Snacks

Right before the break we noticed a slight uptick in students who were coming to the office because they did not have a packed snack for their morning break. Please know that while school lunches are provided free of charge to any student who wants one, we do not have that same capacity when it comes to snacks. We appreciate your assistance with this!

2024 MCAS Dates - Grades 3 & 4

While we’re still a couple of months away from the testing windows, planning and scheduling for this year’s MCAS tests is underway! Students in Grades 3 & 4 will complete computer-based testing in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Math. There are two sessions for each subject area, and tests must be scheduled within the window provided by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. We are sharing these dates now in the effort to avoid scheduling appointments that would remove your child from school on the MCAS testing days.

ELA - Tuesday, April 9th and Wednesday, April 10th

Math - Tuesday, May 21st and Wednesday, May 22nd

If you already have a known conflict with these dates, please let me know ASAP.

Fall 2024 Kindergarten Registration

Do you have a child who will be entering Kindergarten in the fall of 2024? Do you know someone else who does? It’s just about time for us to start looking ahead and thinking about welcoming next year’s crew! Here is the general plan - more information to come!

In early January, WPS will send a mailing to all families of kindergarten-age children in Wakefield. Information will also be posted on WPS social media and in the Wakefield Daily Item. Families will be asked to complete the online registration between January 16th and February 2nd. (The WPS website will be updated once it’s ready to go!) There will be a virtual WPS District Kindergarten Information Meeting with elementary principals for families - this is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, March 21st at 7:00 pm.

Kindergarten screening dates will be in June - exact dates will be finalized and shared once we know the date for the last day of school.

From Wakefield Academy

The following note was sent out to all families last week by Estelle Burdick, Director of Wakefield Academy. Just in case you missed it:

“Happy New Year! We have exciting news! Our February Camp is now open for enrollment! We have such a great vacation camp scheduled for your child or children. Our February Camp is open to students PreK to Grade 4. All PreK activities take place on-site and include shows, activities, and lots of fun and games. Our K-4 students will enjoy field trips (yes, that includes our traditional trip to Altitudes and Prince Pizza!) as well as shows and activities on-site. Both camps have limited enrollment, so use the link here to see the details. Register today!

Our Winter Enrichment session filled up fast, but there are still openings in several programs such as Kids Test Kitchen at Walton, Wicked Cool Paws and Claws at Woodville, our Generals Ski Club and Art Club at Galvin...just to name a few! All of our Galvin Winter Homework Clubs grades 5 through 8 are now open for enrollment as well. Use the link here to check out our fantastic programs!

Save the date! Wakefield Academy WoW Summer Camp will be opening for enrollment soon! While we are still working out our costs, we do have the dates locked in. Our WoW summer camp will start July 1st and end August 8th. Our WoW Academic camp will begin July 8th and end August 8th. Both will be held at the Galvin Middle School. Our WoW PreK camp will run from July 8th through August 8th and will be held at the Doyle ECC. We will have lots of fun activities and themes for your child to enjoy! Thank you for your patience as we work out the final details!

Thank you for entrusting your children to us and we hope you and your family have a happy and healthy new year!”

Lunchroom Volunteers

Thank you to all of the fantastically dedicated volunteers who have been making lunchtime a little brighter! You are so greatly appreciated!! Do you have any free time between 12:00-1:10 pm on school days? Or 10:30-11:50 am on regular 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 February. 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

From the Principal: 10/1/2023

Dear Greenwood Families,

Happy Monday! And suddenly, it’s October! I know I’m not the only one that feels like September just zipped by - it just goes to show how much is going on around Greenwood these days. We love keeping busy!

School Lunches - October We have a lot of happy children choosing to participate in the school lunch program here at Greenwood! While we did a September survey to gauge numbers, now that we have a good sense of how much food we need each day you do *not* need to sign your child up for specific lunch days during the month of October. Here is a link to the month’s menu so you can plan ahead!

Walk (International Walk, Bike, & Roll to School Day) Safe Routes to School Massachusetts is once again encouraging schools to participate in this event on Wednesday, October 4th. Students and families across Massachusetts will walk, bike, and roll to school to enjoy a safe, healthy, and active lifestyle. Luckily, here at Greenwood almost every day is walk, bike, and roll to school day! We will have a table outside at arrival with stickers and bookmarks to distribute. It will be festive!

School Photo Day O’Connor Studios will be at Greenwood this Thursday, October 5th to take individual student photos, class photos, and the 4th grade group photo. You should have received an email from O’Connor about photo ordering options, as well as a paper ordering form that was sent home with your child. If you didn’t get either of these, we do have extra copies of the form in the office - just ask Ms. Paiva!

Please note: The 4th grade photo will start being organized around 8:45 a.m., so please make extra sure your child is on time.

Greenwood School Council The Greenwood School Council held its first meeting of the year on Thursday, September 28th. The School Council consists of parent and staff representatives and provides input/feedback for our school improvement plan, school budget, and educational needs/goals for Greenwood.

2023-2024 Members

Tiffany Back, Greenwood Principal Jeanine Campbell, Greenwood Grade 4 Teacher Samantha Giangregorio, Greenwood Parent (Kindergarten) Sarah Volkenant, Greenwood Parent (1st Grade)

Our first meeting consisted of reviewing the Greenwood School Improvement Plan, which will be shared at the Wakefield School Committee meeting on Tuesday, October 10th. Greenwood School Council meetings will be held approximately every six weeks. Please feel free to reach out to any School Council member for more information or with topics of interest.

No School - Monday, October 9th Just a reminder that all WPS schools and offices will be closed on Monday, October 9th in observance of Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples Day. Enjoy the three-day weekend!

Lunchroom Volunteers Do you have any free time between 12:00-1:10 pm on school days? Or 10:30-11:50 am 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 beginning of November. 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.

Updates from Wakefield Academy The following information was sent out to all WPS families by Estelle Burdick, Director of Wakefield Academy, last Thursday. Don’t miss out!

Before School Program/After School Program Schedules: ● Please do not create an additional contract for your child(ren) or use the drop-in day feature. You will use the change schedule option to add your future days. If you have a set schedule, you may add your needed days for October and any month beyond that. Please note: You will only be invoiced for one month at a time. *Online: Click here to view the steps to update your schedule. *Smartphone: Click here to view the steps to update your schedule. ● Be prompt with your payments or contact us for payment arrangements. Payment is due upon receipt of your monthly invoice. If payment is not received within 5 days, a $50 late fee will be applied to your account. Some families find it easier to add an automatic form of payment so they can make payment deadlines. ● Once the monthly invoice has been issued, you can no longer add or delete days for that month. You may request up to 3 monthly drop-in days, excluding early release days. You may also switch days as long as they are within the same month. ● Credits and refunds are only given if a child is absent for a long-term illness of 5 days or more.

Enrichment programs: ● Your child does not need to be part of our before/after school program to participate. Additionally, the time between the end of the school day and the start of the enrichment is covered in your registration. You must only sign up for ASP if your child stays with us after the enrichment program ends. ● New clubs! We added our well-known Art Club and Magic The Gathering to our Galvin Enrichment clubs. Use the link here to learn more. There are many programs with openings available, so join now! Enrollment closes October 2nd. ● Elementary and Pre-K enrichment programs are filling up fast! There are still many to choose from, such as Buildwave, Kidstock, Chess, Trivia at Dolbeare, KidzGroove, and lots more! Use the link here to check out all we have to offer. Hurry, enrollment ends October 2nd!

Wakefield Educational Foundation (WEF) Volunteers Needed WEF is looking for new volunteers!!! WEF (Wakefield Educational Foundation) is hosting an informational session for community members interested in becoming volunteers on Wed, Oct 11 from 6:30-7 p.m. The meeting is being held at the High School, conference rooms A and B located in the main office suite. Enter the building at the Savings Bank Theater entrance. We hope to see you there! Please email carymazzone@gmail.com or melissa.holmes@rcn.com with any questions.

Call for Artists - 12th Annual CoolScience Artwork Competition Cool Science is a free and public art competition held each fall for all K-12 artists. Cool Science is a collaboration between UMass Lowell, UMass Boston, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, University of Kansas, and Kansas City Art Institute. In 2019, Cool Science received a National Science Foundation grant that helped it expand the project beyond Massachusetts to Kansas, Missouri, and Southern New Hampshire. However, students from any location around the world are welcome to participate.

Challenge Questions This year, we are asking young artists to answer one of the following challenge questions with a visual work of art: 1) Sunlight is the largest source of energy on the surface of the Earth. How does sunlight fuel extreme weather (e.g., extreme storms)? 2) Increases in carbon dioxide in the air lead to more extreme weather. Animal homes do not make carbon dioxide on average (they are Net Zero). What can we learn from animals to help us get our homes closer to Net Zero?\ 3) What simple thing could you do now to better prepare for extreme weather in the future?

Competition Winners During this winter, we will select the best entries for display on public buses in Massachusetts and Kansas in 2024. The honorees will be recognized at our art exhibit celebrations next year.

To Learn More For further information about the contest, please visit: https://www.coolscience.net/artwork-guidelines-rules You can also join our community on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. You can also visit our website for further information about the program (www.coolscience.net).

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