April 6, 2017 

 Volume 26, Issue 11                                     Thursday, April 6, 2017

Important Dates
April 5, 7, 12, 14 Parent-Teacher Conferences—1:10  PM Dismissal

April 11, TEAM SRS Meeting

April 15, Run4KidsMA

April 17-21, Spring Recess

May 6, Student Council Pancake Run NEW DATE

May 20, Rabbit Run

 

NOTES FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK

Greetings,

This week we began MCAS testing here at Swift River, with Grades 3 and 5 scheduled for ELA tests. Next week, there will be a make up day scheduled on Monday, April 10, and Grades 4 and 5 are scheduled for ELA tests later in the week. Coming back from vacation, Grade 6 is scheduled for ELA tests. The testing window will continue through May. Please see the schedule attached to this issue of the Current to see when your student will be testing. As always, we ask that you help your student to get a good night’s rest and arrive at school on time to set them up for successful test-taking.

Parent-Teacher Conferences are in full swing this week, and will continue next week. Please remember that there will be an early dismissal next Friday. Students will be released at 1:10 PM, the same as a Wednesday dismissal. If you would like to sign your child up for Enchanted Forest, please make sure to do so as soon as possible as space is limited. Also, please be sure to alert the office of any changes to afterschool plans.

On Wednesday night, we were very fortunate to have a beautiful spread prepared for our teachers by several generous Dinner Angels. On a day when teachers are in the building for twelve or more hours, the support of our community members makes a huge difference. We send our heartfelt thanks to all of those who contributed to Wednesday night’s meal, whether by preparing food, and/or by setting up and cleaning up. We appreciate your efforts, and the delicious food!

We recently became aware that our school no longer qualifies for the CEP no-charge lunch program. Our qualification was based on the percentage of families who qualified for free lunch in our school district. After the state reviewed our numbers, we found that our free lunch percentage is too low to receive the reimbursement from the state that covered the cost of all school lunches.  While we can no longer expect to receive that money (unless our percentage changes), in the meantime, the school will continue to offer lunch at no-charge to families; the school will cover the cost to continue this program. However, we will welcome any donations to offset these costs from families who feel able to make them.

We plan to continue to offer lunch at no-charge next year, but only to families who complete the Free/Reduced Lunch Application. It is not necessary to qualify for free or reduced lunch, but we must receive an application. All families who submit applications will receive lunch at no-charge. By keeping track of these numbers, it’s possible that our percentage of families who qualify for free lunch will allow us to again receive state reimbursements in the future, since our numbers are very close. We thank you in advance for your support and consideration.

As many of you may already know, our School Secretary, Ariel Barilla, will soon go on a maternity leave that will last until the end of the school year. While we are not yet sure when her leave will start, at this point it could be any day! In her absence, the Office will be in very good hands: Jessalyn Zaykoski will step in as School Secretary, and Sarah Cadran will step in as part-time Secretary. Jessalyn will be in the Office from 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM Monday through Friday, and Sarah will be in the Office on Wednesdays from 8:30 AM – 1:30 PM, and on Fridays from 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM. Ariel will be back in the fall. We wish her the best!

At the end of this year, we will wish a very fond farewell to Sally Alley Muffin Stuffin, who will retire after 20 years of service to the Swift River community. Sally began as an Aide at SRS in 1996, and became the Art Teacher in 2006. In addition to her teaching career, Sally has devoted countless hours to creating art for the SRS Science Fairs, MCBA Books in Action parties, and earlier in her career, to writing, directing, and creating plays for student performances. We thank Sally for all of the hard work and creative energy she has bestowed on us and wish her a happy and relaxing retirement!

Fondly,

Kelley Sullivan

 

NEWS FLASH!

Congratulations to 6th grade student who competed in the Massachusetts State National Geographic Bee Championship on Friday, March 31.  He traveled to Elms College in Chicopee to go head-to-head against the top 100 geography students in our state. He blew us away by making it through the first 8 rounds with perfect answers. We are very proud of him for making it all the way to the Final Round and being one of the top 10 geography students in Massachusetts! His passion and curiosity for our world is an inspiration for us all! 

 

Library Lines

Sending belated thanks to all of the Swift River staff and parents who helped at the Books in Action Party on Friday, March 10. Many people from the other schools said that Swift River was an amazing host school!

Thank you to Swift River School staff members: Mike Cortina for the opening songs and fun karaoke; Jill Putala and Ms. Haggerty for windmill making; Danika Tyminski and Matt Colturi who were slapstick chicken judges; Sally Alley for the chicken art projects; Nate Gaetano for Minute-to-Win-It; Christine Morin for donut decorating; Trudy Smith and Robyn Vitello for help at the Streets of India Café; and Chris Wings for the Wonder Room!

Special thanks to our wonderful principal, Kelley Sullivan for helping with food preparation and spending the evening with us!

Thank you to parent volunteers: Dara LaPlante, Patty Savage, Shannon Santana, Jody Bird, Sarah Brouillet, Margie McGinnis, Jean Derderian, Ciji Cody, Shasta Slade, Celia Baxter, Natalie Reynolds, Sarah Bauch, Michelle Wolfe, Heather Barnes and Amanda Piper!!! We couldn't have an event of this magnitude without your help!

Special thanks to three local restaurants: Bombay Royale (http://www.bombayroyale.com/), India by Nature (http://www.indianbynaturema.com/), and Paradise of India (http://paradiseofindia.net/) for donating the delicious Indian food. The best way to thank them is to eat at their restaurants!

The Scholastic “Buy One, Get One Free” Book Fair will be held in the Library from Tuesday, June 6 through Friday, June 9.  Tentative hours are from 8:30 AM to 5:30 PM. I will need many volunteers to help with the Book Fair, so please mark your calendar.

April vacation is a great time to read and to visit your local libraries.  Many libraries have events planned during vacation week and offer free passes to area museums and attractions.  This is also the perfect time to do some “spring cleaning” of books your children no longer read.  Set them aside for the Swift River School book swap or donate them to a good cause.

Make time to read,

Betsy

 

The Student Council Scoop!

Don’t fret over the 2nd Annual Pancake Run and 5K being postponed last Saturday! We have a new date!!! On Saturday, May 6, SRS’s Student Council will host a delicious Pancake Breakfast for all of you to enjoy, along with a 5K run or walk.  All proceeds will benefit the Enchanted Forest Scholarship fund. Please see the enclosed flier for more details and to purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win our two awesome baskets: “Family Fun” and “Relax and Recharge.”

 

 

Let's Get Excited!!!!!!

Run4KidsMA

Saturday, April 15

10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

T.E.A.M. SRS Update

Come visit TEAM SRS at Run4Kids this Saturday, April 15, where we will have SRS tee shirts, sweatshirts and Dean’s Beans Coffees for sale. We also have a small inventory of Dean’s Beans Coffees for sale in the Office. Stop in to purchase:

SRS Blend for $10.50

Decaf SRS Blend for $11.00

Hot Cocoa for $7.00

Java Drops for $10.00

 

CALLING ALL PARENTS! TEAM SRS elections will be held at the next TEAM SRS meeting to allow for overlap with the existing officers. We highly encourage parents to get involved. Running for an officer position with TEAM SRS can be a great way to get your voice heard, plan events you’ve envisioned, and improve the school for students and staff. Nominations can be made in the Office if you are unable to attend the next meeting on Tuesday, April 25 at 6:30 PM in the Cafe. The available positions are:

President

Vice president

Secretary

Treasurer

We look forward to seeing you and thank you for your support!

 

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

These announcements and events are not school-sponsored.

 

STUDENT ARTISTS NEEDED!

Run! Walk! Cheer! The Rabbit Run is coming on Saturday, May 20! The Rabbit Run is a fun and challenging 10K (3 mile) race or walk through the gorgeous trails near Quabbin and the New Salem Common. And it counts towards the 100 Mile Club!

The Rabbit Run is an awesome race in many ways, especially because the race tee shirt is ALWAYS designed by Swift River students. We NEED your designs! Designs should be drawn in blue or black ink on white 8 ½” x 11” paper. Students: please submit your designs to the Office no later than Friday, March 31. Don’t forget to include your name and grade on the back of your design.

We also need students to create Awesome Mile Marker signs and Cheering Posters!  Any students who are interested should contact Carla Halpern at (978) 490-6606 and we will arrange a Poster Prep Party. All are welcome.

Any students, staff, or community members who are interested in running, walking, or volunteering at the Rabbit Run should also contact Carla Halpern.  Remember, if you want to volunteer AND participate, your registration fee will be waived!  This is going to be SO MUCH FUN!!!

 

New Salem Library News

Thursday, April 13: At 7:00, Neal Sanders, local mystery writer, popular public speaker and blogger of The Principal Undergardener, will share his unique and humorous observations on gardening and gardeners in his talk, "Gardening is Murder," at the New Salem Public Library. The program, sponsored by the New Salem Agricultural Commission and Friends of the New Salem Public Library, is free and open to the public. For more information, contact [email protected].

 

Neal, who lives and gardens in Medfield with his wife, master gardener Betty, is the author of several books which combine intrigue, gardening themes, and settings that might sound vaguely familiar to local audiences.  His books include: Murder ImperfectThe Garden Club Gang, A Murder in the Garden Club, Murder for a Worthy Cause, Deal KillerThe Accidental Spy, and the recently-published Cecelia’s Friends.  To learn more about Neal and his writing or to read excerpts from his books, visit www.thehardingtonpress.com or Neal’s blog www.ThePrincipalUndergardener.blogspot.com

 

Wednesday, April 26: Teens and Tweens! Get ready to make a movie!!! Start brainstorming characters, plot, setting…you know the drill. Our first production meeting with Director Bret and his worthy production sidekick will be at 3:00 PM.

 

For Parents of Wendell and New Salem Students at Mahar

The Wendell and New Salem representatives to the Mahar School Committee, Carla Halpern and I, have concerns that the lack of internet access in our towns may create problems for our students, especially on E-learning days (snow days). Please contact me to let me know if you have limited internet access in your home, so that we can assess the extent, if any, to which our students have difficulty completing assignments on snow days. We will not share your personal information with anyone, but we will be exploring remedies that Mahar might offer to families who need them.

Thanks,

Johanna Bartlett

Swift River School Committee Chair

[email protected]

 

The New Salem/Wendell School District assures that all programs, activities and employment opportunities are offered without regard to race, color, gender, age, creed, religion, national or ethnic origin, economic status, homelessness, sexual orientation and physical or mental disability.

Posted by On 07 April, 2017 at 2:52 PM  

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