Dear Families,

Winter is here, and we will be celebrating the last week of school with a Winter Spirit Week!  Please click on the link below for the dates and daily themes.  Thanks to the support of the PTO, we will be able to complete whole school craft projects!

• Winter Spirit Week English and Spanish
• Winter Spirit Week Portuguese 
• Winter Spirit Week Haitian Creole 

Our community has been having many different events to celebrate the season!  Tomorrow, the Lions Club is hosting “Breakfast with Santa” at Maria’s Family Restaurant on Essex St. from 8:30-11:30 am.  You can bring your camera/phone to take pictures with Santa and enjoy a breakfast for $5 per person.  I will be going tomorrow at 9:00 am and hope to see you there!

Thank you to all who have completed the Fall Family Feedback Survey.  The results are in, and you can click here to read the results.  These results are shared with staff, Site Council, and PTO, and your feedback is greatly appreciated and valued!

Communication is listed as a area of strength, and it is also listed as an area to improve.  I’d like to share a few resources that may help improve the communication experiences for all of our families.  One of our first ways to communicate is the school website, https://walnutsquare.haverhill-ps.org/.  This direct link will show all of the weekly updates that are posted and shared with families.  Here are some other direct links with the information provided:

• https://walnutsquare.haverhill-ps.org/walnut-square-family-resources/:  Routines and procedures at Walnut Square, behavior expectations and discipline practices, social and emotional learning, and curriculum family guides.
• https://walnutsquare.haverhill-ps.org/school-improvement-plan/:  Walnut Square School Improvement Plan, Site Council agendas and meeting minutes, Title 1 Information (including our school-parent compact), and our school report card from DESE.
• https://walnutsquare.haverhill-ps.org/pto/:  Walnut Square PTO agendas and meeting minutes

Another way we communicate is through the use of the Remind app.  Staff use the Remind app to send out announcements as well and messages to individual families.  For the month of November, 25,802 messages were delivered on Remind!  If you are not using Remind or not receiving messages and would like to, please contact me so we can help get you signed up and using it.  If you have any suggestions for improving communication with your family, please let me know.

My favorite way to communicate with families is to share and watch the Walnut Square weekly news broadcast!  The students do an amazing job reporting on what is happening here at Walnut Square!  It is shared every Monday with families, and you can go to my YouTube channel, @jenrubera, to watch the videos.

Every day of school is an important opportunity for students to learn as well as connect to peers, their teachers, and support staff.  Thank you all for doing your best to get to school every day on time even when it isn’t easy!  Every day students are on time and in school is an opportunity to win a prize!  Haverhill Public Schools has been announcing weekly winners from the Attendance contest- please check our Walnut Square social media and HPS social media to see all of the winners from the district!  This week, Walnut Square’s winner is Hamida– congratulations on winning a new travel blanket that zips up into a carrying pouch!   More information about Attendance Matters is listed below under District and Community Updates and Resources.

The ST Math Challenge is in full swing!  I love seeing all of the decorated Jiji penguins in our main hallway!  Our ST Math Challenges will run through December 11th.  Two classes will be chosen to have a pizza party and extra recess.  The class that has the highest participation in bringing back a decorated JiJi will be chosen and the class that has completed the highest number of ST Math puzzles during the specified time frame will also be chosen.  If you have any questions please contact Jean Sargent at jsargent@haverhill-ps.org.

• Challenge 1:  This challenge will be done at home, and then returned to school.  You received a copy of a penguin (JiJi) from our ST Math program.  You and your child should decorate, color, and name your penguin.  You can also have your penguin participating in a favorite family activity by adding a scene to the penguin.  You may cut him out or keep him on the sheet provided.  The class that brings back the most completed penguins by December 11, will receive a pizza party and extra recess on December 15.
• Challenge 2:  This challenge will take place at school.  The classroom with the highest number of ST Math puzzles, starting on November 20 and ending December 11, will receive a pizza party and extra recess on December 15.

Please send a water bottle to school each day with your child.  We are also accepting donations of plastic cups.  Thank you for attention and help with this!

Our school nurses have started vision and hearing screenings. Parents will be notified if the student does not meet the school criteria.  If you have any questions, please contact Nurse Helene or Nurse Jillian. 

As with all family updates, this will be posted on our school website, https://walnutsquare.haverhill-ps.org/ and sent to you via School Messenger and Remind.  In addition to the Walnut Square School website, you can also “like” our Facebook page, Walnut Square Elementary School, follow us on Instragram, @walnutsquaresuperstars, and/or follow my channel on YouTube, @jenrubera, to get updates and see all of the fun and learning taking place at Walnut Square!   Please contact me if you have any questions.   Thank you!  

 Sincerely, 

Jen Rubera 

Principal

District and Community Updates and Resources

• Haverhill Public Schools Community Resources:  https://www.haverhill-ps.org/haverhill-community-programs/ 
• Haverhill Public Library:  Haverhill Public Library Kids Department and Schedule of Events 

• HPS Attendance Matters- Showing Up Together!   
  • Attendance Matters 2023-2024 (1) La Asistencia es Importante 2023-2024 (1)
• Haverhill SEPAC Information:  RSVP Now! On December 11th, the Haverhill SEPAC and the Dept. of Special Ed. will meet for a presentation on operations, procedures, and a glimpse into the new IEP coming soon. We hope to see you there!
• Mentors Wanted!  seeking mentors flyer_english seeking mentors flyer_spanish
• HPS District is adding text messaging to School Messenger:  Read more here:    https://www.haverhill-ps.org/district-is-adding-text-messaging-sms-to-schoolmessenger-communicate/

PTO News

PTO has  partnered with Cottage Gardens for a holiday fundraiser to order wreaths, kissing balls, and/or poinsettia.  50% of the profits will go to the Walnut Square PTO.  Order forms went home with students this past week.  Please look for them in your child’s folder.

For more information about the PTO, please click here.  

Mark Your Calendar!

December

• Wednesday, December 6th:  PreK-Grade 8 Report Cards Issued
• Wednesday, December 13th:  Early Release Day (Dismissal is at 11:35 am) 
• Wednesday, December 13th:  PTO Meeting (5:00-6:00 pm) and Site Council Meeting (6:00-7:00 pm)  **Both are held on Google Meet 
• Monday, December 18th:  Mitten Monday 
• Tuesday, December 19th:  Gingerbread Day 
• Wednesday, December 20th:  Winter Wonderland 
• Thursday, December 21st:  Sweater Weather Thursday 
• Friday, December 22nd:  Hibernate Friday and Early Release Day (Dismissal is at 11:35 am) 
• Monday, December 25th- December 29th:  NO SCHOOL- Winter Recess

January

• Monday, January 1st:  NO SCHOOL- New Year’s Day
• Tuesday, January 2nd:  Schools Reopen- Welcome Back!
• Monday, January 15th:  NO SCHOOL- Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 
• Wednesday, January 24th:  Early Release Day- Dismissal is at 11:35 am 

February

• Monday, February 12th- Friday, December 16th:  Book Fair 
• Tuesday, February 13th:  K-8 Progress Reports Issued 2nd Trimester
• Monday, February 19th- Friday, February 23rd:  NO SCHOOL- February Recess
• Wednesday, February 28th:  Early Release Day- Dismissal is 11:35 am