 | | | A. Ward Spaulding School | April 2016 | | 945 Mountain Road | West Suffield, CT 06093 | 860-668-3826 | https://www.suffield.org | | |  | | | | | | | | Upcoming Events: Friday, April 1 Preschool Birthday Screening Monday, April 4 School Librarian Day Monday, April 4 -
Friday, April 8 Paraprofessional Appreciation Week Tuesday, April 5 NCCC Support Groups
5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
SMS C137 and C140 Internet Safety Workshop for Parents
6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
SMS Auditorium Suffield BOE Meeting
6:30 p.m.
SHS Library Media Center Wednesday, April 6 Art Festival
10:00 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.
AWS Auditorium Thursday, April 7 Art Festival
9:10 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
AWS Auditorium Friday, April 8 PTO Family Game Night
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
MIS Gymnasium Tuesday, April 12 Kindergarten Visitations & Assessment
8:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
AWS LMC PTO Board Meeting
7:30 p.m.
MIS Library Media Center Wednesday, April 13 Kindergarten Visitations & Assessment
11:45 a.m. - 2:45 p.m.
AWS LMC SPED PAC
7:00 p.m.
Suffield High School LMC Thursday, April 14 Kindergarten Visitations & Assessment
8:45 a.m. - 11:45 a.m.
12:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
AWS LMC Parent Literacy & Numeracy Night
6:00 p.m.
AWS Auditorium Monday, April 18 -
Friday, April 22 No School [All Offices Open] - Spring Vacation Monday, April 25 Earth Day Observed Wednesday, April 27 Administrative Assistants Day Kindergarten Visitations & Assessment
8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
AWS LMC PTO Board Meeting
7:30 p.m.
MIS Library Media Center Public Hearing on Budget
6:30 p.m.
SMS Auditorium Thursday, April 28 School STAR Assembly
8:30 a.m.
AWS Auditorium Friday, April 29 M&J Bus Lessons
8:45 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.
AWS Bus Circle
"If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, the excitement, and the mystery of the world we live in. " - Rachel Carlson
 2015 - 2016 District Calendar 2016 - 2017 District Calendar Spaulding School Menus Parent Student Handbook
| |  | A Message From The Principal | | I hope that our April newsletter finds you enjoying some sunshine and the spring season. The month of March was a busy one at Spaulding. We appreciated our time with you at parent-teacher conferences, celebrating student achievement and identifying next steps in guiding your children towards continued success. Additionally, we thank you for your contributions from the Spaulding Giving Tree, providing classroom teachers with necessary items (such as tissues and colored markers) that are used frequently with your children. Our annual Tradition events were successful and enjoyable! Whether  your child attended the gym event, bowling, movie night, or pizza bingo, I am confident that he or she had a wonderful time. We thank our Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) for their organizational efforts that made these events possible. And we thank the many teachers and staff members who attended and participated in these events that promote a positive and inclusive school community.  With pride and enthusiasm, I announce the Teacher of the Year nominees for Spaulding School this year: Megan Blais (kindergarten), Heather Goldstein (grade 1), Yvette Leahey (grade 1), and Cali McGinn (PBIS behavior coach). These deserving teachers epitomize dedication, skill, and a sincere care for children, and they represent all of the teachers at Spaulding School who also possess those traits. A school representative will be chosen from this esteemed group and subsequently a district representative who will participate in the Connecticut Teacher of the Year process.
 April will be a busy month with our annual Art Festival. Please refer to the Save the Date section! in this newsletter and upcoming information relative to this eagerly-anticipated event. We thank Patty Piellucci, our art teacher, for all of her efforts in providing our Spaulding Stars with a quality art education.
Thank you for the continued partnership that we share with you in educating and supporting your child. Happy spring! Sincerely, 
Scott P Dunn | April is Autism Awareness Month | | This represents an excellent opportunity to promote autism awareness, autism acceptance, and to draw attention to the tens of thousands facing an autism diagnosis each year. This year we want to go beyond simply promoting autism awareness to encouraging friends and collaborators to become partners in movement toward acceptance and appreciation. Let’s embrace a new perspective. For over fifty years, we have worked in communities (both large and small) to ensure that our actions, through our services and programming, supported all individuals living with autism. Let’s expand upon this work to focus on the rest of us – ensuring acceptance and inclusion in schools and communities that result in true appreciation of the unique aspects of all people. We want to get one step closer to a society where those with Autism Spectrum Disorders are truly valued for their unique talents and gifts. Our schools will have blue ribbons displayed for the month of April to show our support as well as April 6th has been designated as a day to wear blue in Suffield. The school communities are also developing other ways to raise awareness and support. | The Shining Hallways of Spaulding | |   Our teachers and students continue to decorate the hallways of Spaulding! Whether it is about three leprechaun wishes, what’s worth more than a pot of gold, or handprints and the power of kindness, our hallways showcase our Spaulding Stars. We thank our students and teachers for their hard work!
| SPED PAC Save the Date | | SPED PAC Agenda for April 13th at 7:00 p.m. at SHS LMC will include a presentation by Nancy Taylor on “A Model for Specialized Instruction - The Strategic Instruction Model”. The date for May has changed from May 11th to May 12th - location TBD. SPED PAC Agenda for May will include an opportunity to meet and hear from Dr. Mark Palmieri from the Center for Children with Special Needs. Dr. Palmieri’s team will be conducting a program review and redesign of the service delivery model at A Ward Spaulding School next year. | The Journey of a Shining Spaulding Star | | Each day our students are acknowledged for demonstrating the Spaulding character traits of respect, responsibility, and kindness. All teachers and staff members look for instances of positive behavior that exemplify these traits and then award the student with a Spaulding Star. The Stars are displayed on classroom doors until students are  called down to sign the Book of Fame in the auditorium. Once their act is cemented in the Book of Fame, the stars are posted on the Wall of Fame for all to see. The vibrant bulletin board showcases all the Stars awarded in various settings throughout the school. The stars are color-coded to denote a particular part of the school (classroom, cafeteria, playground, bus, etc.). This year we added a Principal Star that Mr. Dunn awards to students whose frequent acts of respect, responsibility, and kindness serve as a role model for others. The Wall of Fame contains treasured spots that offer additional awards for the Stars that land on them. For example, a Star may earn a trip to the treasure chest or an honorary lunch at a local restaurant with Mr. Dunn. Once the Wall of Fame is complete, the Stars travel home to be shared with family members. Please check out the Wall of Fame and support our Shining Stars! | | | | | | | | | | | Read Across America at Spaulding School | | |  If you visited Spaulding School recently, you would have observed green clothing, pajamas, crazy socks, and lots of reading! The Read Across America event, created by the National Education Association, is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in all towns to celebrate reading on March 2nd, the birthday of Theodore Seuss Geisel, the author of the beloved Dr. Seuss books.
 Teachers at Spaulding School created an exciting and motivating week of activities that promoted a community of avid readers. Students read Dr. Seuss books in class as well as books by other authors. Adding to the motivating nature of the  event was a spirit week filled with fun themes, such as wear your favorite hat (Cat in the Hat), wear something green (Green Eggs and Ham), and wear crazy socks (Fox in Sox). Additionally, several classes engaged in book buddies with other classes from different grade levels.
The school also organized a visit from the Wolk Pack hockey team to encourage students to participate in a reading challenge across the school. Students who read five books and returned their log to school earned a ticket to a hockey game. We are proud of our Spaulding Star readers! | | Spaulding Artists Honored | | |  The Connecticut Association of Schools [CAS] recently held the seventeenth annual Celebration of the Arts Festival. CAS honors two outstanding students in the highest grade in their elementary school whose leadership, cooperation, and achievement skills in the visual or performing arts are exemplary.
Two second-grade students were recently presented the CAS Arts Award at a banquet held at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville, CT. Nicholas Warren and Dalia Abouelleil, grade two students, were honored along with over 130 other elementary school students from around the state. Dalia was selected and presented by her music teacher, Mrs. Jespersen. She commented There is great joy in teaching a student who clearly deserves to be honored. Dalia is just such a musician. She leads by example in my class, sings beautifully, and gives her entire attention to the art of music. I'm sure music will be a part of her life long after she leaves Spaulding. Nick, chosen and presented by his art teacher Mrs. Piellucci, is also a deserving  awardee. He is an inquisitive and curious artist and a creative art student with a wonderful sense of humor. His enthusiasm for art and subtle leadership style are prime examples of what makes a quality artist! He will go far in whatever endeavors he pursues commented Mrs. Piellucci. The CAS Awardees’ classroom teacher, Mrs. Gauthier, Mrs. Jespersen, Mrs. Piellucci, along with Spaulding Principal Mr. Dunn, were in attendance that evening. It was a memorable evening with their parents celebrating these two exceptional children. The students were treated to a tasty menu buffet dinner with make-your-own-sundaes, a lively a cappela performance by the Yale group Mixed Company, face painting, arts & crafts, balloon sculpting, and complimentary caricatures to cap off a fun evening. Congratulations to Nick and Dalia! | | Teacher of the Year Nominees | | |  Congratulations to our Teacher of the Year nominees!
Yvette Leahey, Grade 1
Megan Blais, Kindergarten
Cali McGinn, PBIS Specialist
Heather Goldstein, Grade 1 | | Friendly Reminders | | | Drop Off: Please follow the Kiss and Go procedures that were sent to all families in September. Please do not exit the car and open doors for children. Our staff is there to support students upon arrival to ensure an effective and efficient drop off amid morning traffic. If your child is going to be a pickup, please remember to send in a note that morning with your child’s name, teacher’s name, date, and who will be picking up your child. If your child purchases breakfast, lunch, or snacks at school, please access the site: www.myschoolbucks.com to help you keep track of your child's account. Through this site, parents are able to check account balances, monitor daily purchases, and receive email notification of low account balances. We appreciate your efforts in keeping your child's account current. | | Supporting the Home-School Connection in Literacy and Numeracy | | | On Thursday, April 14 from 6:00 to 7:00 P.M. we will host a special evening for parents of students in grades PreK-5. This evening is entitled “Supporting the Home-School Connection in Literacy and Numeracy” and will be an opportunity to hear from our curriculum leaders and specialists on how our families can help support their child’s learning at home and at school. We are hoping for a record turnout for this first-ever event of its kind. An informational flyer will be forthcoming in students’ backpacks. | | Internet Safety Workshop for Parents | | |  INTERNET SAFETY ~ Workshop for parents by Scott Driscoll of Internet Safety Concepts
- Apps and programs children are using
- Cyberbullying, Sexting and Social Networking
- Creating a "digital footprint" (positives and negatives)
- Current on-line trends and potential dangers
- Tips on how to use technology in the safest way
- Strategies on keeping families safe
Where : Suffield Middle School 350 Mountain Road Suffield, CT
When : April 5, 2016 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. This presentation is for parents only. Flyer - PDF | | | | Suffield Public Schools
350 Mountain Road, Suffield, CT 06078
Phone: 860-668-3800 (Central Office)
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