Daisy Daily for the Week of November 25, 2019

Daisy Staff,

Welcome to the week of Thanksgiving!!! How could it possibly come so fast?  It will be a quick week, so here goes.......

Our Daisy Dash 5K was a resounding success on Saturday with a record number of runners (345) and staff members attending!  Thanks SO MUCH to all of our Daisy family who showed up to run, walk, help out, cheer on our students, run with our students, etc., etc.!  You all were fabulous and your presence made such a positive impact on our students and families!

Special thanks to our core group of PTO families who made this event possible.  Please thank the following parents, especially, when you see them: Jodi Ouellette, Cassie Morrison, Tovah Vincent, Clint and Melissa Bonner, Jennifer Finezza, Laura Furcola, etc., etc.  This is our biggest fundraiser of the year and without this dedicated team, it would not have been possible.

A few quick reminders about the week ahead:

• No Grade-Level Meetings this week due to adjusted schedules.
• Daisy Leadership Team will meet from 8:00-8:25 am on Tuesday, Nov. 26, in the office.
• "Good News" Assembly, focusing on Kindness, will take place on Wednesday, Nov. 27, from 9:15-9:45 am in the gym.  Teachers: please nominate 1-2 students to be recognized for showing kindness to others by emailing their names to me. We will also share some of our "BE KIND" posters at the assembly. Full agenda to follow....
• Trimester 1 closes on Nov. 27.  Report Cards will go home on Wednesday, Dec. 11.
• Dismissal on Wednesday, Nov. 27, is at 1 pm.
• November 28-29 are School Holidays and the school will be closed.

Wishing you and yours a most wonderful time of Thanksgiving!

Warmly,

Ruth

Mrs. Salerno's third graders wrote about all the ways they are grateful for their classmates.  Each student took home these wonderful messages from peers as an amazing keepsake.

Thanks so much to classroom parents, 

Corey Ehrlich and Tiffany Suski,

 for organizing this!

Daisy Daily for the Week of November 18, 2019

Daisy Staff,

Hope that everyone enjoyed a wonderful weekend!

Thanks to everyone who helped our students think about how to "BE KIND" last week while preparing classroom kindness posters.  They look absolutely priceless, posted around our school, where they serve as a reminder to all about ways to be kind.  We will feature some of this work at our "Good News" Assembly on Wednesday, November 27.

A few notes about this week:

• Team Meetings this week will feature a review/discussion of student data.
• Before-School Band will take place this Wednesday, from 7:45-8:25 am.
• Department-Based PLCs take place this Wednesday, after school.
• We'll have an all-staff Breakfast before school on Thursday, starting at 8 am, to wish Diane Fencil well as she starts a new chapter in her life, professionally.
• Daisy Budget Requests are due to Central Office this Friday, as we have discussed in Team Meetings.  I am asking PLC Leaders for their final budget requests to me by Wednesday.
• Friday, Nov. 22, is "FUN FLANNEL FRIDAY!"  Dress in cozy flannels, if you choose.  Also, an after-school district-wide social at Scotch Plains, from 3:30 pm on......
• Saturday, Nov. 23, is our PTO's largest fundraiser of the year: the Daisy Dash 5K.  The Kids' Fun Run starts at 9:30 am and the 5K at 10 am.  Please sign up to walk/run or help out!
• Thanks so much to Kim Godfrey for organizing our "Mitten Tree" (set up right outside the Computer Lab) again this year!  This is a wonderful, charitable event.

Notes about the week before Thanksgiving:

• We won't hold Grade-Level Meetings this week, due to the abbreviated week.
• Trimester 1 closes on Wed., Nov. 27.
• School is dismissed at 1 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 27, for the Thanksgiving Holiday.
• November 28-29 are School Holidays.
• School resumes on Monday, Dec. 2.

As always, please check our Daisy Staff Google Calendar for daily updates and please let me know about events that you'd like to see on the calendar for the good of all:

DAISY STAFF GOOGLE CALENDAR

Wishing all a wonderful week with our students and each other!

Warmly,

Ruth

Many thanks to all who helped to make our Veterans Day Assembly so moving, touching and important for our students, families and staff! 

Daisy Daily for the Week of November 11, 2019

• Our Veterans Day Assembly will take place on Monday, November 11, from 2:00-2:45 pm in the gym.  Please consider wearing Red, White & Blue, in support of our Veterans and active-duty heroes.  Guests (who have RSVP'd) who are related to our students will be escorted into the assembly by the students.  We will announce which students should join our special guests in the Staff Lunch Room prior to the assembly.  We have placed programs for the Veterans Day Assembly in classroom teachers' mailboxes to inform you of the order of your students' participation in the ceremony.

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The Early Childhood Forum, held last week at Daisy, was a resounding success, thanks in large part to the hard work of our Early Childhood Coordinator Alyssa Lindquist.

Thanks to all who volunteered for the event.

It was wonderful to see such a large Daisy contingent present!

A few additional notes about the weeks ahead:

• Tuesday, Nov. 12: 8:00-9:30 am: The VNA will provide flu shots for staff in our School Nurse's Office. (Please see email from Tina Bennett, RN.)
• Tuesday, Nov. 12: First Before-School Band Practice for 4th Graders
• Tuesday, Nov. 12, 7 pm: Westbrook Board of Education Meeting in WHS Library
• Wednesday, Nov. 13: WORLD KINDNESS DAY (E-mail to follow with specifics regarding this day.)
• Wednesday, Nov. 13: 8:00-8:30 am: Daisy Leadership Team Meeting (including a representative from each grade level)
• Wednesday, Nov. 13: 8:30-9:00 am: PLC Leader/Lead Teacher Meeting with Administration
• Thursday, Nov. 14: 1 pm Dismissal for All Students
• Thursday, Nov. 14: 1:15-3:15 pm: Mandatory Training for ALL STAFF MEMBERS!  Sexual Harassment Prevention Training will take place after students are dismissed, from 1:15-3:15 pm for all staff in the cafeteria. 
• Wednesday, Nov. 20, 3:15-4:15 pm: Department-Based PLC Meetings
• Saturday, November 23: Daisy Dash/5K
• Wednesday, Nov. 27: 1 pm Dismissal for Students
• November 28-29: Thanksgiving Holiday

Please remember to check our Daisy Staff Google Calendar regularly as we continue to update this calendar, daily, at:

DAISY STAFF GOOGLE CALENDAR

Wishing all a wonderful week with our students and each other!

Warmly,

Ruth

Thanks so much to all (students and staff) who donated Halloween candy for our troops!  Special thanks to Laurie Kukta, who has organized this effort for the past six years and to her class for counting the candy (by hundreds) and boxing it to send to soldiers.  Very special thanks as well to Child & Adult Orthodontics who helped cover the shipping costs!

Daisy Daily for the Week of November 4, 2019

 LOVE the spirit of our staff!!!

Daisy Staff,

Hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weekend and that you're ready for the week ahead!

Thanks to all who helped to ensure that October 31 was a safe, fun day for all with lots of learning experiences.  Special thanks to our special area team who provided alternative experiences for students during the parade.

Here's the low-down for the week/s ahead:

• Swim Lessons at the "Y" for first-grade students in Mrs. Nygard's class start this Monday morning and will run for 7 weeks, weekly on Mondays.
• Tuesday, Nov. 5 (Election Day) is a Professional Day for certified staff with No School for Students.  This is a Regional PD Day (outside the district) for some groups, with PD also going on in district through PLCs and with individual plans.  Here's the link to the complete plan for all, as distributed earlier:
• Daisy PD Schedule Nov. 5 & 14, 2019
• (Please scroll past first page to see entire schedule.)
• During Wednesday after-school meeting time (3:15-4:15 pm), please plan to work on finalizing goals, SLOs, etc. in EdReflect.  I will be available during that time to meet with teams and individuals.
• The Early Childhood Forum will take place on Thursday, Nov. 7, from 4:45-8:00 pm at Daisy.  Many staff members are involved in this and it looks to be a great conference!  A list of rooms that will be utilized for the forum will be forthcoming.
• Please mark your calendars for a mandatory training for ALL STAFF MEMBERS!  Sexual Harassment Prevention Training will take place on Thursday, November 14, from 1:15-3:15 pm for all staff in the cafeteria.  This is an early dismissal day for students, with dismissal at 1 pm.
• Our Veterans Day Assembly will take place on Monday, November 11, from 2:00-2:45 pm in the gym.  Invitations will be forthcoming so that students and staff members can invite family and friends--who are Veterans or in active service-- to attend this assembly so that we may honor and recognize them.

Please remember to check our Daisy Staff Google Calendar regularly as we continue to update this calendar, daily, at:

DAISY STAFF GOOGLE CALENDAR

Wishing all a wonderful week with our students and each other!

Warmly,

Ruth

The "Pink Ladies" of Daisy!