Play Ball...update! SB 5-7-21
Ok, so the games and meets aren’t starting yet, but SB sports were indeed happening this week for the first time in over a year. Seeing the students dragging in sports bags in the morning and all of the activity outside in the fields has been promising. It also made a big difference in the afternoon pick-up for a few days since so many more students were staying after school...student activity and decrease in traffic...win/win :-)
Translations via Google Translate
We continue to look forward and in addition to making plans for end of year activities, we are also looking towards scheduling for next year. For families with students in Gr6 planning to enroll in a World Language next year in Gr7, please take some time to review this following presentation created by the World Language department in preparation for the selection survey which will be available next Friday. 2021 World Language Selection Process The World Language teachers are also discussing this process with their current students in the Gr6 FLEX program, as well.
Throughout the month of May we will continue to provide additional information to all of our Gr6 and Gr7 families regarding other aspects of the scheduling process for next year. Our goal continues to be able to provide every student with their team assignments and basic schedule for next year before the last day of school.
This week’s notes from the clinic brought to you by the seventh inning stretch…
Allergy season is in high gear. I do not stock allergy medications in the clinic. If your child takes Zyrtec, Allegra or Claritin on a daily basis and you would like to leave some in the clinic in case of a missed dose, please feel free to send it in with your child and I can leave it in my medicine cabinet. You can leave inhalers, eye drops or nasal sprays with me as well.
Thank you for all of the physicals and immunization records that have been sent in. 6th grade parents, please continue to send in the physicals your children have had since September-those are the ones needed for seventh grade. Pediatricians are aware of regulations and the necessary immunizations(Tdap and Menactra) are traditionally administered before 7th grade. Physicals are required in grades K, 3, 7 and 11-as well as annually in grades 6-12 if your child is participating in school sports.
We have had many students out this week with allergy related issues. Call me if you have questions about whether or not you should keep your child home. I am grateful that many of you have erred on the side of caution keeping your child home because of runny noses or congestion but it is not always necessary. If one sibling is home sick-and even being tested for COVID-as long as there is no known exposure, you can send the other siblings to school. There is a very good chart from the CDC on the WPS Nurse’s blog showing the difference between symptoms of allergies and COVID: https://westfordpshealthservices.weebly.com/blog
If your child has some symptoms and you want them to be tested to rule out COVID, please call their pediatrician. A rapid antigen test done at a local pharmacy can be false positive or false negative. It is imperative that an antigen test be confirmed with a PCR test. There have been way too many cases of False antigen positive tests that cause heightened anxiety only to be overturned with a negative PCR test. If you ever get a positive antigen test-the case will be revoked if you get a negative PCR within 48 hours of the antigen test. Antigen tests are less sensitive and specific than the Polymerase Chain Reaction(PCR) which remains the gold standard and preferred method of testing.
As always, call or email with any questions. Have a good weekend.
Sue Hanly, MSN, RN, NCSN
978-392-6974 (direct line)
Have a wonderful weekend!
Chris
Dr. Christopher Chew
Principal
Stony Brook School
STONY BROOK SCHOOL PTO Update
Stony Brook School PTO wishes you a Marvelous May!
THANK YOU AGAIN to our Stony Brook parents and supporters! The three filling stations were delivered to the school and installed quickly!
Teacher Appreciation continues from the Stony Brook School PTO. This week was Teacher Appreciation Week where we showed our gratefulness and support to our teachers and staff. THANK YOU to our amazing Stony Brook parent community for their generous donations for our teacher raffle. Wednesday we provided a special lunch from Feastivities Catering. Thursday there was a fun treat for our teachers and staff members to enjoy. And Friday the winning tickets for the teacher raffle were drawn; with our generous donations we had 91 prizes, so every teacher and staff was a winner!
Do you have a WMSPTO Amazon Smile account – it is closing down. Please change to the WEPTO Amazon Smile. Or if you use Amazon please sign up and Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases to Westford PTO no cost to you https://smile.amazon.com/gp/chpf/homepage?orig=%2F .
Interested in being more involved next year? The PTO Board is looking for a few new committee member for the 2021-2022 school year, including Co-President and Co-Secretary. Please email us today if interested. stonybrookschoolpto@gmail.com
If you would like to find out more about these events and other PTO plans, please join us at our next PTO Meeting on Tuesday, May 11th at 2:15. Please email stonybrookschoolpto@gmail.com for the meeting link or with any questions. You can also find the agenda for the meeting on our new website https://sites.google.com/view/stonybrookpto/ .
In addition to discussing staff appreciation, we will be reviewing our budget, discussing PTO support for an 8th Grade Student Activity this year, and planning for next school year including voting for next year’s Board Members. Everyone is welcome!
Westford SEPAC hosting May general meeting & basic rights workshop.
The Westford Special Education Parents Advisory Council (SEPAC) will be hosting two events in May:
Wednesday, May 5, 2021 7PM - 9PM: Westford SEPAC General Meeting for May. Agenda items are expected to include an update from the SEPAC Board of Directors on planned workshops, information about the upcoming Board of Director elections in June, an overview of the results of the Winter 2020-2021 survey, and a discussion on how the return to in-building education is going for families of students with special needs.The meeting will be held via Zoom; please email sepacwestford@gmail.com for the Zoom link.
Wednesday, May 12, 2021: 7PM - 9PM: Basic Rights: Understanding the IEP presented by Clare Vann, Esq. This presentation is free and open to the public, and is presented in collaboration with the Federation for Children with Special Needs (FCSN). For more information, see the flyer or email speacwestford@gmail.com. Attendees must pre-register to attend the presentation and receive handouts: https://fcsn-org.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcodeCoqzsrGtfjhqELBzbJNp1pyM...
What is the SEPAC? Massachusetts statutes and regulations require that every school district in the state establishes a SEPAC. This public body serves as an adviser to the School Committee on matters that pertain to the education and safety of students with disabilities. In addition, the SEPAC has a duty to meet regularly with school officials to participate in the planning, development, and evaluation of the district’s special education program.
For more information on SEPACs, please visit the Federation for Children with Special Needs’ “What is a SEPAC?”.
The Westford SEPAC also encourages community members to follow our Facebook page to get information about upcoming Westford SEPAC events, as well as topics that the SEPAC Board of Directors believes is of interest to families of students with special needs in our community.
Attention all middle school students and families!
The Westford Academy Ghostwriter will be hosting its second annual journalism camp for 6th to 8th graders this summer from August 23-27. This camp will be held in-person with social distancing guidelines at Westford Academy from 9am - 12pm each day. Students will explore a variety of different disciplines within journalism, including photography, interviewing techniques, news/feature writing, videography, social media design, and sportswriting.
If you are interested in signing up, please fill out this Google Form and mail payment to Westford Academy before June 1st. Please check out our website for more details on camp dates and information where we will be providing updates about the camp specifics as we sort through more information or email us at thewaghostwriter@gmail.com if you have any questions. Thank you and we hope to see some of you this summer!
The WA Ghostwriter Staff
Westford Summer Music Program - The Westford Summer Music program is pleased to return to in person music ensembles this July! We are now accepting registrations for band and orchestra students entering grades 5 through 9 in September 2021. Come join the fun for a week-long program where band and orchestra ensembles will rehearse daily from 8:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. at the Stony Brook School on July 12th through July 16th . During the week, the students will prepare new music and give a free outdoor performance (if the weather cooperates) on Friday, July 16th at 11 a.m. in the newly restored Stony Brook amphitheater!
· Summer Band directed by Ms. Trish Gately
· Summer Orchestra directed by Mr. Todd Hamelin
For more information and registration please visit: www.westfordk12.us/summermusic
For questions, please contact:
Julie Ottesen - jottesen@westfordk12.us
WA GIRLS' BASKETBALL SUMMER CLINIC
The WA Girls' Basketball program is happy to offer several options for outdoor basketball clinics at the Blanchard School this summer! Members of the Girls' Varsity basketball team are ready to teach all levels of players how to become better basketball players while participating in a fun, supportive environment. Please check out the new WA Girls' Basketball website for clinic dates and registration information. All proceeds go to the WAGB program account. Thanks for your support!
WA BOYS' BASKETBALL SUMMER SIZZLER CLINIC and THE 29th ANNUAL 4 on 4 SUMMER BASKETBALL LEAGUE:
The WA Boys' Basketball program is happy to offer several options for outdoor basketball clinics at the Stony Brook and Blanchard Middle Schools this summer! Members of the Boys’' Varsity basketball team are ready to teach all levels of players how to become better basketball players while participating in a fun, supportive environment. Please check out the Westford Academy Boys’ Basketball website for clinic dates and registration information. All proceeds go to the Westford Academy Boys’ Basketball program account. Thanks for your support! Email Coach Bramanti if you should have any questions at cbramanti@westfordk12.us or go to our website at https://www.basketballwa.com/
Join Westford Friends of East Boston Camps Walk on The Wild Side challenge and help raise money to refurbish Nashoba Lodge. The challenge will encompass the whole month of May to see how many trails or miles you can walk. Create a group with your friends or families and enjoy the beautiful scenery. Learn more about our event on our website westfordfriendsebc.org