“To read a poem in January is as lovely as to go for a walk in June.”  -Jean-Paul Sartre

Dear Families,

I hope that everyone enjoyed the long weekend!  At Walnut Square, we value feedback from families and appreciate it if you could complete a brief survey about Walnut Square.  

This week, we honored Martin Luther King, Jr. with a peace chain and held a peace march inside our school.  You can view our video by clicking here.    To extend your child’s learning about Martin Luther King Jr., there are some great picture books you can read that are included in our January Picture Book List for Families to Read Together.  Click here to go to the Family Resources page. 

As the weather continues to change daily, there have been questions about indoor or outdoor recess.  There is a weather chart we use to determine indoor or outdoor recess that is available on the Walnut Square website under Walnut Square Routines.  

Students have also begun to take the second i-Ready® Diagnostic. The second Diagnostic is an important benchmark for understanding your student’s growth, which is why it’s so important they try their best. These results allow us to better support them in achieving their growth goals for the year.  The most important thing we can do is prepare students and motivate them to put forth their best effort. Here are a few things you can do to help support your child:   

• Make sure they get a good night’s sleep and eat breakfast in the morning.  
• Let them know you’re excited to celebrate their progress.
• Talk to your student about why the second Diagnostic is important. You can say things like:
  • The second Diagnostic helps you find out how much progress you’ve made since the beginning of the year.
  • It allows your teacher and I to celebrate your accomplishments!
  • Try your best, and do not rush—but don’t spend too much time on a question either.
  • Remember, questions on the Diagnostic change based on your answers to earlier questions. You will see some questions you don’t know. That is okay! Just try your best.

There is a virtual PTO meeting scheduled on Tuesday, January 25th at 6pm.  Here is the video call link: https://meet.google.com/tyq-abnm-zas.  We hope you will be able to attend!  New members are always welcome.  

Pool testing will be completed on Monday.  Here is the link for staff or families to sign up for testing:  https://www.cic-health.com/consent/ma?district=null. Individuals can choose to complete the form in a variety of languages.  For more options about vaccines and  testing, here is the link:  Free COVID-19 Vaccine and Testing Options January 2022.  

For other resources and information about Walnut Square, please go to https://walnutsquare.haverhill-ps.org/.   In addition to the Walnut Square School website, you can also “like” our Facebook page, Walnut Square Elementary School, and follow us on Instragram @walnutsquaresuperstars to get updates and see all of the fun and learning that happens at Walnut Square.  

Sincerely,

Jen Rubera, Principal

Here are other updates for the week:  

Mark Your Calendar!

• Monday, January 17th:  Martin Luther King, Jr. Day- NO SCHOOL 
• Tuesday, January 25th:  PTO Meeting 6pm (Google Meet) 
• Thursday, February 3rd:  Site Council Meeting (Rescheduled) 4:30pm (Google Meet) 
• Monday, February 7th:  K-8 Progress Reports 
• Thursday, February 10th:  K-8 Parent/Teacher Conferences 
• Tuesday, February 1th:  PTO Meeting 6pm
• Friday, February 18th:  Half Day (Dismissal is at 11:35 am)  
• Monday, February 21st-Friday, February 25th:  NO SCHOOL Washington’s Birthday/Winter Recess  

HPS Updates:  

•  Please click here to view the revised school calendar that was approved. 
• Vacation Academy    Vacation Academy Spanish   Vacation Academy Portuguese 
• HPS Preschool Resource Fair Information

PTO Recipe Request:  Do you have a favorite family recipe?  Share it with the Walnut Square Community!  Last year the Walnut Square School published a cookbook with favorite family recipes that our students brought to school.   It was such a big hit, that we have decided to do it again.  This is a school wide project where every family can participate.  All we need are one or two of your favorite recipes.  Please take the time to write your recipe on the sheet that was sent home on Friday, December 3rd and send them back to school with your child.  If you would like to send a picture of your child or a picture of the recipe, we will add that to our cookbook as well.  We will compile all the recipes and photos over the next month or so and publish a cookbook full of appetizers, entrees and desserts!   

• Recipes Flyer English
• Recetas Flyer Spanish 

 Student Supplies

Please send your child to school with the following supplies:  

• Water bottle (to refill at our water bottle station)
• Extra masks (can be kept in a plastic bag in backpack) 
• Extra change of clothes (can be kept in backpack) 
• Extra gloves 

What is i-Ready?

i-Ready is an online program that will help us determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth, personalize their learning, and monitor their progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows us to meet your child where they are and provides us with data to inform instruction.

The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions to suit your child’s needs. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning.