Daisy Daily for the Week of December 18, 2017

Our fourth-grade students and their teachers enjoyed a very successful field trip to the State Capitol last Friday.

Thanks so much to Kim Godfrey for envisioning 

"It's SNOW wonderful to be here"

and for creating a wonderful, seasonal bulletin board,

 featuring staff members in "snow globes."

You all look utterly magical!

Daisy Friends,

Hope everyone enjoyed a wonderful weekend!

Here's a look at the week ahead.  (Don't forget it's Spirit Week!)

• Monday--Red/Green Day
• PTO Holiday Fair in Rm. 7
• Tuesday--White-Out/Snowflake Day

PTO Holiday Fair in Rm. 7

 No Grade-Level Meetings

Wednesday--Festive Sweater/Hat Day

• Ruth to Admin. Meeting @ C.O. (10 am-noon)
• PTO Luncheon for All Staff in Staff Lunch Room
• Grade 1 Team Meeting re: Math Data (2:05-2:45 pm)

• Thursday--School-wide PJ Day; Dismissal at 1 pm
• No Grade-Level Meetings 
• School-wide Sing-a-long at 12:15 pm in Gym
• (Please see revised lunch schedule for this day)

Please remember:

• Morning Bus Duty starts at 8:20 am.
• There is coverage for students being dropped off in the morning from 7:45 am on, in the cafeteria.
• Students from the cafe and buses are sent down to classrooms at 8:25 am in the morning.

Westbrook Public Schools will be closed for the following holidays:

• December 22, 25, 26 & January 1.

Daisy Ingraham School Office will be OPEN and Vacation Camp will take place (from 7 am- 6 pm) on the following dates:

• December 27, 28 & 29.

School will resume for students and staff on Tuesday, January 2nd.

As always, please click on our Daisy Staff Google Calendar for all events and details:

DAISY STAFF GOOGLE CALENDAR

Thank you.

Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays!!!

Warmly,
Ruth

Santa made a surprise visit at our

Staff Holiday Get-together on Friday.

Many thanks to Jackie for spearheading

the planning of this special event.

Thanks to all who came out : )

Daisy Daily for the Week of December 11, 2017

Daisy Staff,

Hope that you are all enjoying the snow-filled weekend.

Here's a quick look at the week ahead:

• Daisy Leadership Meeting on Monday, Dec. 11 at 8 am.
• Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 7 pm at Westbrook High School.  One of the agenda items will include a report on the SBAC Growth Model and state standardized evaluations, presented by school administers.
• Department-Based PLC Meetings on Wednesday, Dec. 13, from 3:15-4:15 pm.
• Grade 4 Field Trip to State Capitol on Friday, Dec. 15.
• Staff Holiday Party on Friday, Dec. 15, from 4-7 pm at Mediterranean Bistro in Westbrook.
• Please note the Spirit Days as noted on our Daisy Staff Google Calendar for the week of December 18th.
• Please also remember that the Holiday Sing-A-Long for Thursday, Dec. 21, will take place at 12:15 pm in the gym, prior to the 1 pm dismissal.  Lunches will be adjusted for that day so that all student lunch periods will be completed by 12:15 pm.  A special lunch schedule will be e-mailed out on Monday to all staff.
• The PTO Holiday Fair will take place on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 18-19 in Room 7.  As always, please consult the Daisy Staff Calendar for all events:

DAISY STAFF GOOGLE CALENDAR

• Thanks to all for the mountain of work that you put into producing our students' Report Cards for the first trimester, with special thanks to Ben and Tiffini for all the attentive technical expertise throughout the process.  Please be sure to share comments from families with me re: the new format and content and I'll do the same.
• Please note: Nurse Ed Albrecht will be with us on Monday and Tuesday, Dec. 11-12, while Bianca is away at Professional Development.

Let's make it a great week!

Ruth

Thanks so much to our staff members, Ellen Tucker and MaryJo Noonan, who organized our fourth-grade students from the garden club and their families to be involved in a community project to beautiful our town center.  On a beautiful day before the snow flew, they planted more than a thousand bulbs so that we will all be able to enjoy the
 beautiful flowers in the spring!  
Hope springs eternal : )

Thanks so much to our students and their families for their participation in this after-school event, connected with our local service groups.

Daisy Daily for Week of December 4, 2017

Greetings from the North Pole.....

Hoping that everyone had a wonderful weekend.

Our family kicked off the holiday season with our annual trek to the "North Pole," which was even more enjoyable this year 

with three grandchildren.

Daisy Staff,

Welcome to a full week of school ahead!

Here are a few highlights:

• Grade-level meetings, per usual schedule
• Staff Meeting on Wed., Dec. 6, 3:15-4:15 pm
• Report Cards to go home on Fri., Dec. 8.  (Please let me know any specific concerns that you have and I'll let you know as soon as the formatting is complete for printing.)

As always, please consult our Daisy Staff Google Calendar at the following link:

DAISY STAFF CALENDAR

Thanks and let's make it a great week!

Ruth

Our first-graders are enjoying their weekly

swim lessons at the "Y" in Westbrook,

a long-time tradition at Daisy,

made possible through a grant.

Daisy Daily for the Week of November 27, 2017

Daisy Friends,

I hope that you all enjoyed a very special, long Thanksgiving weekend with family and friends.

Welcome to the week of November 27.......

Here are a few reminders:

• Leadership Team Meeting will meet at 8 am on MONDAY of this week, due to multiple conflicts on our usual Tuesday meeting day.
• Marking Period 1 closes on Wednesday, Nov. 29.
• After-school School-wide PLC on Wednesday will feature time to continue work with evaluating student data and Report Cards/Progress Reports (3:15-4:15 pm)
• We have early dismissal this Thursday at 1 pm for students.  Professional Development from 1-3 pm will feature:
• Science NGSS with Clare Wurm for K-4 classroom teachers.
• PMT Update Training for designated staff members.
• Personalized PD for other staff members (Special Ed, Special Area Staff members)
• Thanks so much to all who donated non-perishables this Fall.  A delivery to the Food Pantry at St Mark's was made last week and was very gratefully received.
• Donations to our "Mitten Tree" outside the Computer Lab is ongoing.

As always, please consult our Daisy Staff Google Calendar for all upcoming events, found at:

DAISY STAFF CALENDAR

Wishing you a WONDERFUL WEEK!!!

Ruth

Many thanks to our incredible parent volunteers for their generous gifts of Thanksgiving breads to every staff member : )

Daisy Daily for the Week of November 20 (Thanksgiving Week)

Daisy Staff,

Start line at Daisy's 5K Gobble Wobble.

Thanks so much to staff members who came out on Saturday to support our Daisy 5K Gobble Wobble.  It was a successful event with a record number of runners/walkers.  Many thanks to our core Race Committee headed up by Jodi Oullette and supported by Jess Brown, Nicole Tarrantino, Tovah Vincent and others.  Lots of work accomplished behind the scenes helped to ensure that the event went off without a hitch.  It's the largest fundraiser of the year for our PTO and our students and families certainly enjoyed seeing our staff members involved as well.

Madeline & Pat completed the 5K, modeling health and wellness at its best!

Student artwork and posters provided encouragement for runners/walkers along the route.

Thanks so much to the fabulous 5K Race Team!!!

Students created Kindness Rocks.

Maria and Laura handled race registrations for participants.

As always, please consult our Daisy Staff Google Calendar for all the events of the weeks ahead at:

DAISY STAFF GOOGLE CALENDAR

A few reminders about the week ahead:

• We have a full day on Monday (11/20) with students, but on BOTH Tuesday (11/21) and Wednesday (11/22), students are discussed at 1 pm.  (Please remember to follow the early dismissal schedule, which includes adjusted times for Pre-school.)
• On Tuesday (11/21), certified staff members will be involved in Professional Development from 1:00-3:00 pm, working on:
• Finalizing revisions in Report Cards re: Standards and Traits of a Successful Learner
• Student Data and Assessments; Evaluating Progress; Creating Progress Reports; etc.
• Personalized Goals for specific areas/staff members
• We won't hold grade-level meetings in my office this week due to the change in schedules and the shortened week.
• Please remember if you are taking your class on a walking field trip to the Town Library, or if you are going outside for any reason, please notify the office and take a Walkie-Talkie with you.
• Donations for our Mitten Tree are now being collected on the tree near the Computer Lab.  Thanks so much to Kim Godfrey for organizing this effort.

As we race around to prepare for the upcoming holidays, please keep in mind that for some of our students, the holidays may be difficult and/or bring reminders of people they are missing in their lives.  Our students (and fellow staff members) may need some extra TLC during this time.

"Everyone you meet is

fighting a battle that

you know nothing about.

Be kind.

Always."

Wishing you and yours all the best in the busy weeks ahead and, as always, please let me know what you--and your students-- need.

Thank you,

Ruth

Daisy Daily for the Week of November 13

Thanks to all who helped to make our Veterans Day Assembly such a huge success.  We had a record number of veterans join us on Friday, many of whom are relatives of our students and staff.  Numerous visitors expressed how much this ceremony of appreciation means to them and how much they appreciate the words of thanks from our students and staff.  Two veterans attending even told stories of having had Daisy Ingraham as their teacher!

As always, please click on the link to our DAISY STAFF GOOGLE CALENDAR for the events of the weeks ahead:

DAISY STAFF CALENDAR!

 A few notes re: the weeks ahead:

• Daisy Leadership Team will meet this Tues., Nov. 14, at 8 am.
• Flu Clinic is Tues., Nov. 14, from 7:30-9:00 am in the Health Office.
• There is a BOE Meeting this Tues., Nov. 14 at 7 pm at WHS.
• Data Team meets this WEDNESDAY, Nov. 15, at 8 am.
• There is an EL Breakfast De-Brief Meeting this Thurs., Nov. 16, at 8 am in Rm. 5.
• We have a Pre-School Screening this Fri., Nov. 17, beginning at 9 am.
• The "Gobble Wobble" 5K Run/Walk takes place this Saturday, Nov. 18, starting at 9 am.  If you haven't already signed up, please consider joining us for this eventful morning!
• Next Tues., Nov. 21, features a 1 pm dismissal for students and Professional Development for certified staff.
• School will dismiss at 1 pm on Wed., Nov. 22 for the Thanksgiving Holiday.  There is no school on Nov. 23-24.

PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL OF THESE EVENTS ARE IN OUR STAFF CALENDAR, ALONG WITH WEEKLY GRADE-LEVEL MEETINGS, ETC.  I'm just highlighting a few events here  for everyone's.  As always please consult our Daisy Staff Google Calendar for all the events of the weeks ahead.

Our Grade K-4 Classroom Teachers had fun with the 

Next Generation Science Standards at Professional Development

 at Westbrook Middle School on November 7.

Wishing all a wonderful week ahead!

Ruth

Daisy Daily for Week of November 6, 2017

Daisy Staff,

Thanks to all for your flexibility and positive attitude as we switched our e-mail to Google Mail last Friday.  Everyone seems to be adjusting nicely.  Many thanks to Ben and Tiffini for making this transition happen so swiftly!

As always, thanks for your spirit in all you do!!!

We have a very full week ahead!  
Here are a few highlights, but please click on the link below to our Google Staff Calendar for all the important events ahead of us:

DAISY STAFF CALENDAR


Monday, Nov. 6 (A Day):

• 4:45-8:00 pm--Early Childhood Forum at Daisy

Tuesday, Nov. 7:

• Professional Development Day
• Regional PD as well as District PD; complete schedule will be e-mailed separately
• For those in district: 8 am - 3 pm
• 
  
• Election Day

Wednesday, Nov. 8 (B Day):

• 8 am Data Team
• No after-school meeting

Thursday, Nov. 9 (C Day)

Friday, Nov. 10 (D Day):

• Veterans Day Assembly at 1 pm in Gym
• (Please wear Red, White & Blue.)
• Time of day was changed so as not to conflict with WHS.
• Invitations will go out to all families & staff members who may want to invite Veterans to join us (via School Messenger, Daisy website and hard-copy invitations sent home)
• Please think about how your grade-level has contributed to the assembly in the past and we'll discuss this year's plans.
• There will be a reception for Veterans after the assembly in the Staff Lunch Room from 2:00-2:30 pm.  I welcome any staff members who would like to contribute a refreshment for that gathering as that would be very much appreciated.  Additionally, if anyone is available during that time, please stop by and thank our Veterans.

The complete schedule of Grade-Level Meetings is in the Google Staff Calendar.

Thanks,

Ruth

Daisy Daily for Week of October 30, 2017

Daisy Staff,

Thanks to all who supported "Dress Down for Breast Cancer Awareness" last Friday.  Our Daisy folks sure do look good in PINK!!!  Many thanks to Heather Gersz who has organized this event for the past several years : )

Can't you just feel the excitement building for October 31?

Please remember that we want to be sensitive to the wishes of our students' families (and staff), so if you have anyone who would prefer not to participate in the parade on Tuesday at 2 pm in the front circle, please let me know.  We will have an optional movement/art activity set up.  Also, some may prefer to watch the parade or walk with their class, without a costume.  Others may want to be festive, but may not have access to a costume.  Many teachers are addressing this by having a few festive items on hand, including things that students can make themselves, like spider headbands.  Please let me know if you have any concerns or need help with anything.

Please refer to the letter that went out to families and staff re: Fall Fun 2017, along with recommendations regarding the parade.  I will re-send that letter to all parties before Monday. 

A few notes about this week:

• In Grade-Level Meetings, we will have a final discussion re: SLO's and goals, so please have them ready for approval in EdReflect (formerly known as Bloomboard).
• As always, please check our DAISY STAFF CALENDAR for the events of this week and the weeks ahead:

DAISY STAFF CALENDAR

• Please keep in mind this week, we have:
• Leadership Meeting on Tuesday at 8 am.
• Halloween Parade at 2 pm on Tuesday (in front circle). Preschoolers will join the parade in the afternoon, but morning Preschool classes will also parade through the inside of the school in the morning at 10:15 am.  Families will be invited to sign in and view the parade from the "Pit" area.
• "Coffee & Chat" Breakfast Meeting for EL Families on Wednesday, at 7:45 am.
• Staff Meeting on Wednesday after school from 3:15-4:15 pm.
• Data Team on Thursday at 8 am in Room 1.
• Our Second-Grade Walking Field Trip to the Firehouse has been rescheduled to this Thursday from 8:45 -11:30 am.

As always, please let me know your concerns and let's work together to make it a great week!!!

Ruth

Many thanks to all who participated in the Parent Forum re: Sexual Assault and Abuse Prevention,

making it such a success!

Many, many thanks to Michele Hammond for her leadership on the SAAP Curriculum work and for all of our staff members who contributed to the writing of lessons for the successful implementation of this addendum to our District Health Curriculum.

Daisy Daily for the Week of October 23, 2017

Our Annual Walk to School Day was a huge success last week. Record numbers of students, families and staff members participated.  Thanks to all!!!

Daisy Staff,

As always, we've got a busy week ahead.

Here are a few highlights:

• Wed., Oct. 25:  School-Based PLC, 3:15-4:15 pm
• Thurs., Oct. 26: Parent Forum re: Sexual Abuse Awareness Prevention (SAAP) Curriculum at 7 pm at Daisy, for parents district-wide, PreK through Grade 12.  (This panel will be facilitated by Esther Bobowick.  Thanks so much to our staff members participating: Michele Hammond, Marilyn Brown and Seana Nygard, who will give a positive message to parents about the importance of this curriculum, along with Superintendent Pat Ciccone and Director of Student Services Madeline Illinger.)
• Fri., Oct. 27: PMT Training at Daisy, Room 7.

As always, please click on our Daisy Staff Calendar link below for all the events of the weeks and months ahead:

DAISY STAFF CALENDAR

RESTORATIVE PRACTICES TRAINING UPDATE:

We have numerous staff members signed up for the two training dates in January, which is wonderful!

I encourage those who have not committed yet to consider the October 30-31 and February 1-2 dates so that we can ensure coverage with subs for all.  For those who haven't signed up yet, please touch base with me so that we can discuss your plans.

Thanks and let's make it a fabulous week!

Ruth

Thanks to all who helped us recognized Down Syndrome Awareness last Friday, October 20th.
Thanks so much to Jackie, Jenna and Mel for organizing this important effort!  

************************************

We'll be going PINK again this Friday, October 27, as our Daisy Staff recognizes Breast Cancer Awareness and the importance of early detection!
Dress Down Donations this Friday will benefit the 
Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
Thanks to Heather Gersz for organizing this!
Here's a pic from last year........💕💕💕

Daisy Daily for Week of October 16, 2017

The Early Childhood Forum, hosted by WECC/WELL will take place at Daisy on November 6.

Please consider joining us!

A few notes about this week:

• Please review Lock-Down procedures with your students as we plan to schedule a Lock-Down drill this week.  (I'll send a separate e-mail with reminders re: protocol for these drills.)
• In Grade-Level Team Meetings, we'll discuss Math data from recent assessments in grades 2-3-4, as per our Assessment Calendar.
• Our High School has a busy week ahead as the visiting NEASC team will be onsite from Sunday through Wednesday of this week.
• Westbrook Board of Education meeting will take place this Tuesday, Oct. 17, in the WHS Library.
• There will be two additional China Informational Meetings this week: Tuesday and Thursday at 7 pm in Room 5.
• We have Department-Based PLC on Wednesday from 3:15-4:15 pm.
• "Walk to School" is scheduled this Thursday.  Families will meet in the Ted Lane Parking Lot near the Firehouse to walk to Daisy.  Please come out to welcome our walkers along the sidewalk up to Daisy and/or at the front of the school from 8:00-8:25, if you're available.
• Dress Down Days for the next two Fridays will recognize:
• Oct. 20---Down Syndrome Awareness (organized by Jenna Brady/Mel Davis/Jackie Cerase)
• Oct. 27---Breast Cancer Awareness (organized by Heather Gerz)

Here's the link to our STAFF CALENDAR for all scheduled events in the weeks ahead:

DAISY STAFF CALENDAR

As always, please let me know what we need to add to our Staff Calendar for the good of all and let's make it a great week!!!

Ruth

Fire Prevention time at Daisy.

Thanks to our volunteers at Westbrook Fire Department 

for bringing all of this important safety information

to our students!