Dear Families,

Welcome back to school!  I hope you all had a wonderful winter break filled with joy, relaxation, and quality time with loved ones.  I enjoyed having the time to spend with my family and friends, and I also enjoyed having time to do one of my favorite activities- READING!  I love to read, and I also love to listen to books.  I frequently borrow books and audio books from the Haverhill Public Library and love to see Superstars there!   Reading every night with your child is a wonderful and important activity!  Reading together not only enhances children’s literacy skills but also fosters a love for books and storytelling. It’s a wonderful way to bond and explore new ideas. To help support this reading journey, I invite you to fill out the Superstar Book Review where you can recommend and rate books you’ve enjoyed together. Your suggestions will create a wonderful resource for our school community, encouraging more students to dive into reading.   Here is the link to complete the form after you read each book:  https://forms.gle/iDTbdMb6mkwBkmAu6.  Thank you for being such an integral part of your child’s education! 

As we return from break, I want to stress the importance of daily school attendance.  Daily school attendance is important because it fosters consistency in learning and helps students stay engaged with their education. Regular attendance allows children to build a routine, enhances their social skills through daily interactions with peers, and supports their academic growth by ensuring they don’t miss out on important lessons and activities. Additionally, attending school consistently helps develop responsibility and discipline, which are valuable life skills. It also provides an envionnment where social and emotional learning is supported.  In short, being present in school sets the foundation for a more successful and well-rounded educational experience.

Building the habit of daily school attendance is important, but it can sometimes be challenging to know when to keep your child home if they’re not feeling well.   When is sick too sick for school?  Here are the illness exclusion guidelines from HPS Health Services:

Staying Home When Sick

If a child’s needs while sick with an infectious illness would interfere with the school staff’s ability to teach and care for other students, the child should stay home.  Schools must balance the risk of infectious disease spread with educational, social and mental health needs of children when determining when students should stay home.

If someone has the following symptoms, they should stay home (or be dismissed):

• Fever, including a fever with a new rash
• Vomiting more than twice in the preceding 24 hours
• Diarrhea that causes ‘accidents,’ is bloody, or results in greater than 2 bowel movements above what the child normally experiences in a 24-hour period
• Skin sores that are draining on an uncovered part of the body and are unable to be covered with a bandage
• Respiratory virus symptoms that are worsening or not improving and not better explained by another cause, such as seasonal allergies

*The CDC definition of fever: temperature 100.4 or greater, or feels warm to the touch or gives a history of feeling feverish

Hopefully, we will have a healthy winter season!  Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Jen Rubera

Principal

ATTENDANCE:  SHOWING UP TOGETHER

KIDS CLUB AFTERSCHOOL PROGRAM AT WALNUT SQUARE

District and Community Updates:  

• Haverhill Community Resources:  This link provides many resources in our community to support families.
• YMCA Swimming Lessons Flyers in English and Spanish
• Family Literacy Opportunity!
  • English Family Literacy Flyer
  • Spanish Family Literacy Flyer
  • Portuguese Family Literacy Flyer
  • Haitian Creole Family Literacy Flyer
  • Arabic Family Literacy Flyer
  • Vietnamese Family Literacy Flyer 
  • French Family Literacy Flyer