January 25, 2013

Greeting Delaney Families,
I hope that you all enjoyed your extended weekend!  It has been a busy week.  On Tuesday, the teachers had a successful Professional Development Day in which they all collaborated on Mathematics and ELA.  Dr. Ribeiro joined us for Common Core math work and teachers in Grades K-2 examined the Reading Street and Fundations programs as they continue to work to align the two.  Classrooms were busy as the kids returned on Wednesday and as of today, we are all looking forward to (hopefully) some warmer temperatures over the next few days so that we can get outside and run around.
Enjoy your weekend!

Please mark your calendars...

Grade 3 ELA MCAS   

Wednesday, March 20th & Thursday, March 21st

Congratulations to the following students who were recognized this week for receiving Positive Referrals.  Each demonstrated outstanding decision making. Thank you for being such wonderful role models.

Garrett Akie, son of a former Wrentham Public Schools' Grade 4 teacher, came to share his knowledge and  Power Point of photos from a research trip to Antarctica in October 2012.  As part of the Kindergarten Reading Street program, the students read a Big Book entitled: If You Could Go To Antarctica.   Garrett's real photos looked just like the book and we were all impressed by the kids' many great questions!  Thank you Mr. Akie!

Thank you for reading!
Sincerely,
Melissa D. Peterson

January 18th

Greetings Delaney Families,

I hope that you all had a wonderful week. Please remember that this weekend is a long weekend with no school on Monday (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) or Tuesday (Staff Professional Development Day) for students.  We look forward to seeing everyone bright and early on Wednesday, January 23rd.

The following students were recognized this week for making outstanding choices.  We are so proud of each and every one.  They are phenomenal role models and truly represent the Core Values of respect, responsibility, communication, collaboration, and continuous growth & learning.  Well done!

Author, David Biedzrycki visited our Grade One students on Tuesday to share his stories and talk to the kids about how he writes and illustrates his books.  Mr. Biedzrycki's visit was made possible due to a WEST grant.  Thank you!

This morning Mrs. Nunes, Mrs. Carceo, Mr. Cederbaum, and Miss White presented an overview on the Reading Street reading program we use at our school. Thank you to our presenters.  They were extremely prepared and did a great job! Thank you to all parents who attended this morning's Principals' Coffee.  If you did not have the opportunity to attend today's Principals' Coffee, you can view the PowerPoint here.  Our next Principals' Coffee will be on Friday, March 15, 2013.  Our topic will be the placement process.  

Students in Kindergarten, Grade One, and Grade Two will be participating in the DIBELS Next (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Learning Skills) assessment over the next couple of weeks.  The DIBELS Next is used to identify students who may need additional literacy instruction.  DIBELS are administered in the fall, winter, and spring.  For general information regarding the DIBELS Next click here.  For specific information on your child's results, please contact their classroom teacher.

Thank you to the Project Blossom families who were able to complete and return the NAEYC program survey. We are in the process of analyzing the results and will be using this data to develop program goals and areas of focus.  Results will be available in the Delaney Office.  We are always looking for ways in which to improve our programs.  If you have any suggestions, please feel free to email me at petersm@wrentham.k12.ma.us.
Thank you in advance.

Have a wonderful weekend and thank you, as always, for reading.
Sincerely,
Melissa D. Peterson

January 11, 2013

Happy Friday Delaney Families!
Please enjoy reading about our week...


On Thursday, our third grade students visited "Star Labs" in the Gibbons Gym; a Museum of Science program sponsored by WEST. Students entered the planetariums and learned about constellations, galaxies, planets, and more.  Pictured below are students from Mrs. Tuft's class and the two MOS presenters; Donna and Emily. A huge thank you to WEST for providing this phenomenal opportunity for the kids.

On Wednesday, the Advanced Band performed their winter concert for students in PreK-3.  Congratulations and thank you to Ms. Salazar and the members of the Advanced Band for an amazing concert!

The Delaney and Roderick School Councils met on Wednesday.  Topics discussed included the continued work to develop the School Improvement Plan for 2013-2016, WEST grant recipients, school safety, and the After School Enrichment Program.  School Council meetings are typically held on the first Wednesday of the month at 3 p.m. All are welcomed!

Friday was Patriots' Spirit Day and the Delaney was a sea of red, white, and blue!  Go PATS!!!

Principals' Coffee - January 18th

On Friday, January 18th at 8:30 a.m. in the Vogel Auditorium, there will be a Principals' Coffee.  The topic of discussion will be the Reading Street program that the Wrentham Public Schools have officially adopted in grades K-6.  Teachers will be presenting various parts of the program across grade levels.  We hope you can join us!

Preschool and Kindergarten Informational Nights

Informational nights for the parents of children entering preschool or kindergarten in September 2013 will be held on February 6th (PreK) and February 27th (K) at 6:30 p.m. in the Vogel Auditorium.  Additional information regarding the programs and registration dates can be found on the Wrentham Public Schools' website.

As you may know, Project Blossom received NAEYC accreditation four years ago.  As part of the yearly renewal process, parents are surveyed and the results used to assess the program and make improvements when needed.  Thank you to everyone who completed the survey. Results will be available shortly. 

There will be no school on Monday, January 21st (Martin Luther King Jr. Day) and Tuesday, January 22nd (Staff Professional Development Day).  Please mark your calendars.

Have a fantastic weekend and thank you for taking a few minutes to read this week's blog.

Sincerely,

Melissa D. Peterson

January 4, 2013

Dear Delaney Families,

Happy New Year and welcome back.  I hope that everyone had a wonderful vacation.  It's been a short, but busy week here at the Delaney School and as January gets into full swing there are many things to look forward to.  Please enjoy this week's blog.  Thank you, as always, for reading.

Sincerely,
Melissa D. Peterson

Brrrrr!!! It's cold outside!  Please be sure to send your children with the appropriate clothing for outside recess.  If the temperature and wind chill are above 20 degrees, we go outside for some much needed exercise.  Snow boots and pants are required for play on unpaved areas.

                                   

Congratulations to the Wrentham Public Schools' Food Service staff! The Wrentham Public Schools are being awarded the Healthier US School Challenge Award (HUSSC) Bronze award.  The HUSSC is a recognition award for schools who have demonstrated a commitment to excellence to both nutrition and physical education to promote a healthier school environment for children. It is a wonderful accomplishment for the Food Service Department, the students, the school district and the state of Massachusetts.

                                

Principals' Coffee - January 18th

On Friday, January 18th at 8:30 a.m. in the Vogel Auditorium, there will be a Principals' Coffee.  The topic of discussion will be the Reading Street program that the Wrentham Public Schools have officially adopted in grades K-6.  Teachers will be presenting various parts of the program across grade levels.  We hope you can join us!

Preschool and Kindergarten Informational Nights

Informational nights for the parents of children entering preschool or kindergarten in September 2013 will be held on February 6th (PreK) and February 27th (K) at 6:30 p.m. in the Vogel Auditorium.  Additional information regarding the programs and registration dates can be found on the Wrentham Public Schools' website.

                                

Mark Your Calendars

January 9th - School Council Meeting (3PM Roderick Office)

January 18th - Principals' Coffee (8:30 AM Vogel Auditorium)

January 21st- No School - Martin Luther King Jr. Day

January 22nd - No School - Professional Development Day

January 25th - Spirit Day/Term 2 Closes

January 28th - Transitional Kindergarten (move to full day)

December 21st

Dear Delaney School Community,
It was wonderful to see so many of you in the building this week.  Thank you for your ongoing support. Please have a wonderful and relaxing winter break.

The following students (and classes) received Positive Referrals. They were recognized for being caring friends, using great manners, being wonderful role models, receiving several compliments about their behavior at Plimoth Plantation, and donating their own money to help others. 

These students are truly outstanding individuals and I am so proud of each and every one of them.

Students in Mrs. Wagstaff's Kindergarten class participated in a Hibernation Celebration in honor of the first day of winter.

On behalf of Project Mitten and all the families that are provided for, we would like to thank the following people for their generous support:                                 

The McCombs Family and their neighbors

The Gap at the Wrentham Outlet mall

Wrentham CoOperative Bank

The Pond Home

The Wrentham Developmental Center

Wampum Corner Wine and Spirits

The Lions Club

St. Mary's Church

The Wrentham Public Schools' Staff

On behalf of the entire Delaney Staff, I would like to wish you and your family Happy Holidays and Happy New Year.  We will see you on January 2, 2013!

Thank you for reading.  See you in the New Year!

Sincerely,

Melissa Peterson

Delaney School response to Newtown tragedy on Monday, December 17th.

Dear Parents,

As a follow up to Dr. Marsden’s email and Connect Ed message, I wanted to communicate how things would be handled at the Delaney School today in response to the Newtown tragedy.

This morning, I will be meeting with the Delaney Staff prior to the children’s arrival.  At this meeting, I will share that our job as a staff is to maintain as much normalcy as possible for the PreK-3 students.  Due to the age of the children in the Delaney building and the fact that many are unaware of Friday's tragedy, we will not be observing a moment of silence and teachers will not be discussing the happenings with their classes.  If a child makes a comment or asks a questions, responses will be succinct, and whenever possible made only to that individual child. For those in need, guidance services will be available.

I understand that such an unimaginable tragedy as the one that occurred on Friday is hard to comprehend.  As we work to process this as adults, please trust that our focus today will be on keeping your child’s routine as typical as possible.  Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Melissa D. Peterson

December 14th

Hello everyone,

The countdown to winter break is underway and classrooms are bustling.  It has been wonderful to see so many parents in and out of the school this week and we look forward to seeing more of you next week as well.  Please keep in mind that we have a full day of school on Friday, December 21st and will return after the new year on January 2nd.

Positive Referrals

Congratulations to Mrs. Sabatini's and Mrs. DeTrolio's classes for receiving a Positive Referral.  Both classes were recognized by the staff at Plimoth Plantation for their outstanding behavior and participation during their recent field trip.  Well done! 



Preschool students and parents worked together on Friday to create gingerbread houses. Judging from these pictures, a few of the treats may not have made it onto the houses...

Mrs. D'Egidio's first grade class has been working hard on their sentence writing.  During a recent activity, they imagined what it would be like if they lived in a snow globe.  Their pictures and creative ideas are on display in the first grade hallway and are being enjoyed by all!

Our thoughts are with the Newtown, Connecticut community.

Thank you for reading.  See you next week.

Sincerely,

Melissa Peterson