Dear Families,
Thank you all for a great start to the school year! It was so great to welcome our returning students and meet our new students at Open House and Kindergarten screening! As many of you know, I like to “show” instead of “tell” you how great this week was, so please check out our social media pages on Facebook and Instagram to see the learning and fun we had this week at Walnut Square!
To learn more about Walnut Square routines, learning standards, behavior expectations, and discipline practices, please visit https://walnutsquare.haverhill-ps.org/walnut-square-family-information/. Please let me know if you have any questions.
For our Superstars at Walnut Square, our monthly theme is safety. School is a safe place where all students can learn and grow. To stay safe, we follow school rules. School rules are basic expectations on how you behave at school. They are in effect at all times. We have rules to keep everyone safe and help everyone learn. We have two rules at Walnut Square:
1: Follow directions given by grown ups.
- Keep your hands and feet to yourself.
During the month of September, we will be teaching and reviewing rules as well as teaching routines (what students do frequently throughout the day and procedures (the steps students need to take in order to accomplish a routine). Discussing rules, routines, and procedures at home with your child is a great way to help support your child in school!
As with all family updates, this will be posted on our school website, https://walnutsquare.haverhill-ps.org/ and sent to you via Parent Square 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. Have a wonderful long weekend, and I look forward to seeing you when school resumes on Tuesday, September 3th. I’m also looking forward to meeting our new Kindergarten students on Wednesday, September 4th! Thank you!
Sincerely,
Jen Rubera
Principal
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Letter from our School Adjustment Counselor, Mrs. Cherie Rousseau
Technology: Please click here to learn more and sign up for the Device Waiver Fee: https://www.haverhill-ps.org/technology/device-waiver-fee/
Teaching and Learning: iReady
Walnut Square implements a Mathematics and Reading program called i-Ready. Students will begin iReady this month. Below, you will find information about the program and how we will be using it in the classroom.
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.
What can I do to help?
To help prepare your child for the i-Ready Diagnostic, encourage them to:
- Get a good night’s sleep and eat a full breakfast the day of the assessment.
- Try their best on each question and try not to rush.
- Try not to worry about questions to which they do not know the answers—remind them that it is expected that they will only get about half of the questions correct.
- Be respectful of other students who take longer to finish.
What happens next?
The i-Ready Diagnostic will provide results that helps us identify your child’s strengths and determine next steps for instruction. We look forward to sharing these results with you throughout the year and providing a learning experience that will engage your child while teaching important skills and concepts.
If you have any questions about i-Ready, please do not hesitate to contact us. You can also learn more about i-Ready by visiting i-ReadyCentral.com/FamilyCenter.
As always, thank you for your continued support and for being a partner in your child’s learning! It is much appreciated.
September Is Attendance Awareness Month!
Showing up matters for R.E.A.L because it is an opportunity to:
- Build Routines
- Increase Engagement
- Provide Access to resources
- Support Learning
Routines: Daily attendance routines can reduce stress, increase your child’s self-confidence, and lay a foundation for good attendance in later grades.
Engagement: Participation in school helps your child connect with other children and adults and get excited about learning.
Access to Resources: Schools can give you access to meals, physical and mental health care and other supports, and fun enrichment activities (sports, clubs, music, afterschool, and summer programs, etc.).
Learning: Children learn best from hand-on activities and through meaningful interactions with their teacher and other students.
DESE Survey:
HPS receives additional state and local funding to support learning for students whose families are identified as low income. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education identifies most of these students already based on their participation in public assistance programs, but not all.
We are sending this survey to families to help HPS begin to identify additional students who might be eligible to be counted as low income for school aid purposes. Please complete this survey by September 3, 2024.
**This is voluntary. Families are not required to submit this information.
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Community Health Needs Assessement:
Please click on the link to view the flyer:
English: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J4PpF11Ujx8U5ltUrTsvGN4OG_sCkmCL/view?usp=sharing
Spanish: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J5inP3mUohuTbr8UtPAdsKeK-vcWSwER/view?usp=sharing
Mark Your Calendar! **Subscribe to our Google Calendar!
September: