Note from the PTO

Hi Members,

June is traditionally a busy time for year-end school activities.  The Pine Glen PTO has sponsored some popular events this month, in addition to the Pine Glen Barbecue highlighted in a previous email.

Children in grades 1-5 enjoyed a fun-filled Field Day on Thursday,  June 2nd.  Inflatable rides, water and pizza for volunteers were donated by the PTO.  We would like to thank former Principal Jane Dwyer for face painting many of the children.  Thanks also to PTO member Robin Hurley, for donating additional pizza when we ran out due to the great number of parent volunteers that came to help.  Thanks to all the volunteers and P.E. Instructor Christie Govoni, who chaired this event.  We received many priceless thank-you notes from the students.

On Friday, June 3rd, the fifth graders attended their final field trip together at the Cedardale water and recreation park.  The PTO funded the bus costs, water, and T-shirts for this trip.

David Biedrzycki an illustrator and author came to the school on Tuesday, June 7th.  He engaged the students with his stories on how his characters go from sketches to the cover of his books.  He also explained where he gets his ideas.  One place is the Harvard Museum of Natural History that was recently visited by the second graders; they thought that was really cool.  He was generous with answering the students questions at the end of the presentation.  Many thanks to Michelle Gaffney for again chairing the BEEP Enrichment Committee and for coordinating this day.  The PTO annually funds an author/illustrator visit.

Finally, the PTO provided and served refreshments to the 5th graders and their guests after the moving-up ceremony last Thursday, June 16th.  We would like to thank Lisa Crowe, Joanna DeFrancesco, Kristen Downie, Deb Murphy, and Kruti Thakkar for assisting me.  As parents of fourth graders, they were not planning to attend this event with their child, but came to the school to help run this PTO event - an extra effort.  Many thanks to Julie Gosselin for purchasing and delivering the refreshments.  The fifth-graders received yearbooks, purchased by the PTO, after the ceremony.  We would like to thank all the parents who worked on publishing a fantastic yearbook.  Especially, Michelle Gaffney, who also chaired this committee.  These books will serve as precious reminders of their days, friends and teachers at Pine Glen.  We wish them all the best in middle school.

As you can see, the PTO provides wonderful enrichment for all Pine Glen students.  We look forward to working with you next school year and hope that you will continue to support the fine work of the PTO.

Wishing you a terrific and relaxing summer break,

Maria Woods and the Pine Glen PTO Board

Mona Lisa Spoof Winners

From Miss Fallon:

Gasp! She's been mustached! Students at Pine Glen School have been learning about the Mona Lisa and her creator, Leonardo da Vinci. We have been studying her smile and the many spoofs played on this famous masterpiece. Students in fourth and fifth grade created thier own Mona Lisa spoof. Students carefully developed a concept using visual inventories. They sketched out their ideas and then moved to a final draft. All entries were randomly numbered for voting purposes. Our first, second, and third graders also known as our Mona Lisa Experts cast their votes for the best spoof. The results were tallied and here are the selected winners:

5th Grade

1st Place- Andrew Buxton for Mona Lisa 5 Star General

2nd Place- Kailey Lane for Mona Lisa Leprechaun

3rd Place- Melanie Thibodeau for Mona Lisa Queen

4th  Grade

Tied for 1st Place- Nimra Mian for Mona Lisa Wizard and Owen Magnuson for Mona Lisa Boogie Fever

2nd Place- Ryan Crowe for Mona Lucic

3rd Place- Kayla Baker for Mona Lisa Hundred Dollar Bill

Our finalists recieved art supplies and- of course- fake mustaches. Congratulations to everyone who participated. Leonardo would be very proud of you all!

Box Tops!

Thanks to the efforts of the Pine Glen PTO, here's a sampling of some of the items the library was able to purchase with our Box Tops for Education money this year!

Move-Up Day on Tuesday June 21, 2011

The four elementary principals are planning an elementary Move-Up Day on Tuesday June 21, 2011.  Students going to Memorial and to Fox Hill next year will be transported by bus to their new school to visit teachers and students for about an hour.  A bus will depart from Pine Glen with students at 9:05 and arrive at Fox Hill School at 9:15 am on June 21^st .  The bus will drop off students from Pine Glen who will be attending Fox Hill this fall.  The bus will then take students from Pine Glen already on the bus and pick up Fox Hill students to take them to Memorial.  Students will return to their respective schools by 10:30 am.  Teachers going to Memorial will ride the bus with students.  This will be an exciting day and will give students an opportunity to visit their new school.

Note from the School Nurse, Librarian and Principal: End of Academic Year

From the School Nurse:

Please stop in the health office by Tuesday, June 21, 2011 to pick up any medications that you brought in for your child.  After this date, the medications will be discarded.

From the School Nurse: Reminder to All Third Grade Parents: 

Updated Physicals are required by state law for students entering fourth grade.  Health forms were recently mailed to these students.  Please return this form to me (or a copy of a recent physical), as soon as it has been completed by your child's physician.  If you have any questions, please contact me at 781-270-1713.

From the School Librarian:

Please remember to return all library books.  

From the Principal:

Please remember to pay any outstanding debts to for lunch money.  Later this week I will need to start making personal calls to parents related to debts on outstanding accounts and missing school materials.  Also, please check the Lost and Found.   After the 22nd of June, all articles of clothing in it will be donated.

PTO Blog

Just a reminder that to keep up on latest PTO news please visit the PTO Blog (http://pineglenpto.blogspot.com).

Fall Kindergarten Orientation

Fall Kindergarten Orientation will be held on September 8th at 9:00 am and 10:30 am.  A letter will be sent home in August that will specify which time each family should attend.

Principal Notes: Kindergarten Screening

It has been wonderful and exciting to see so many future kindergarten students come in recently for the Kindergarten Screening.  I remember going through the same range of emotions two years ago with my own daughter.   I had a high level of excitement knowing she was beginning school but, also some sadness knowing she was growing up.  I am providing some information below that might answer some questions about Kindergarten Screening.

What is Kindergarten Screening?

Both the State Department of Education (603CMR28) now referred to as the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) and the Federal Government (PL 94-142) have mandated a screening of all children entering kindergarten.  This is one step in a process to identify any special needs a child may have in learning.  It is a non-intensive scan, not a readiness test of evaluation.  The screening is designed to find those children who should be referred for an evaluation and perhaps may need extra support.

Who Does What?

You my know your child better than anyone else, so you are requested to complete a questionnaire to share your knowledge with the screening team.  Members of the Pine Glen staff, including the guidance counselor, the speech therapist, special needs teachers, school psychologist, and other staff with help conduct the screening.  Students are asked to perform tasks such as jumping, answering some shape questions and playing some games.

What Happens after the Screening?

The large majority of the children will have a good time with the various tasks.  A few children will have trouble with some of the tasks.  If your child has any problems during the screening, our school guidance counselor, Jessica May, will contact you to discuss the results and the next steps we should take.

Our goal is for your child to have a pleasant experience with the screening, and an enjoyable year in kindergarten that will result in your child wanting to be life-long learner.  Should your child have a special need, we want to identify that need so we can work as a team to provide support and instruction that will help ensure your child will have a successful kindergarten experience.