October newsletter
Rosanna Paribello, OST Director
Adriana Guereque, OST Assistant Director
Gina Miranda, Student Services Director
Dana Gordan, Clinical Consultant
Embedded Files
Parent Resources
Important Dates
Election Day program for students, register from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
No program on Wednesday, November 26
Financial Aid Assistance Information
In our commitment to making our program as available as possible, we continue providing financial assistance for families. If you need information, please contact Adriana Guereque at aguereque@k12.somerville.ma.us. You can also contact the Site Director at your child's school.
Thank you for all your support to Community Schools – being with your children makes us all happy!
Counselor's Corner
by Dana Gordon, Clinical Consultant
Happy October to all our Community Schools friends! We hope everyone is acclimating well to a new school year, getting into regular routines, and meeting new friends. Since healthy friendships play a pivotal role in students’ social and emotional lives, we are promoting and practicing strategies to help them build positive relationships and navigate social situations. With their afterschool friends and teachers, your students are learning and strengthening their social skills including effective communication, cooperation, problem-solving, and empathy. We love watching them build a sense of belonging and community with each other and how everyone benefits from this connection. Meeting and being good friends are skills to be proud of so be sure to ask your kiddos more about it!
Albert F. Argenziano
Albert F. Argenziano
Site Director: Elizabeth Bell
Assistant Site Director; Brianna Arevalo
Ileana Perlera, Etta Resnick, Ana Cortez, Sana Kazemi, Gianna Bottiglio, Jennalyse Charles, Brandy Ellis, Shruti Sood, Mary Bready, Zaita Antonio, Sophia Ortega
Happy October Argenziano families!! We are now almost halfway through the first session of clubs and are embracing the fall season and cooler weather. In some of our nature clubs and when we are outside the kids are observing the leaves fall & change into pretty colors. Let’s check out what each grade level is up to..
Parents/Guardians:
With the cooler temperatures, please ensure your children have jackets, sweatshirts, etc. and label all outdoor clothing and belongings. Items without name/label will be placed in lost and found.
Pre-K (Ms. Shruti):
Happy October! As the leaves have started changing colors and the air has become more frigid, we’ve celebrated this changing of the seasons by exploring all things fall! This past month, we’ve gone on a leaf hunt and made art with our findings, we have learned about the life cycles of different autumnal plants and animals, and we’ve celebrated Halloween by painting pumpkins and creating mosaic art of each of our costumes!
K-2nd grade (Ms. Sana, Ms. Elizabeth, Ms, Brianna & Ms. Etta):
This fall, students have been getting creative in Fall Fun Art and Recycled Creations! From making colorful leaf prints to turning everyday materials into unique art pieces, they’re learning to see beauty in nature and discover new ways to reuse what we already have. It’s been wonderful watching their imagination and teamwork come to life each week!
3rd-5th (Ms. Ana & Ms. Ileana):
Ms. Ileana- Here in the Minute to Win It club, the students are practicing in friendly competition where their main competition is themselves. For this week’s activity, we did a stack attack. For this activity, students worked in groups to stack cups into different shapes.
Arthur D. Healey School
Arthur D. Healey School
Site Director: Amanda Oppman
Assistant Site Director: Alexander Walters
Nicholas Triant, Suri Gonzalez, Christopher Thompson, Samuel Macmillan, Delmis Aviles, Rafael Santos,
Miriam Borges, Ryan Ribeiro-Bisetti, Maria Lima Da SIlva, ALEXA RYAN,
Happy October, families! We are well into the rhythm of our established routines, and the kids have been hard at work participating in their activities and clubs. Read below for updates on what has been happening for each group! As a reminder, please be sure you are making weekly payments to your account.
PreK- Ms. Suri
PreK has been enjoying learning all about fall this month. We have talked about the leaves and how they change colors by creating beautiful leaf collages. We talked about popular fall foods like apples and pumpkins. PreK has enjoyed exploring Pokémon and loves to decorate beautiful Pokemon coloring pages during free choice. We love listening to stories each day and have incorporated so many songs into our schedule. Ms. O loved watching quiet time with PreK as they all sang “twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and laid down to relax for 15 minutes. This group has done a lot of learning this month on how to be a kind friend and use safe bodies, we can’t wait to see how much they learn and grow!
K-2nd- Ms. Maria, Mr. MacMillian
Puzzle club- So far in this semester, we have been able to work on teamwork. Each week, we will build a puzzle as a team. There are always two teams, and in each class, they have to find the best way to work together to build the puzzle before the other team.
Comic book Masters - Each class, students work on creating their own comic book. They work both by themselves and in pairs to create their stories. Popular stories they have been creating are Star Wars and Pokemon.
Picasso class - In this class, they are using their imagination and following a tutorial to create drawings. The follow-along videos help the students develop their artistic abilities and motor skills.
Olympic Games- So far in this class, each week we have been practicing physical activity by playing games. I believe that the most popular game we have played so far is capture the flag. They really enjoyed playing and it also helped them improve their teamwork abilities.
All about autumn- In this club, we have been going on nature tours outside and going on scavenger hunts. We have also learned how plants and animals react to the seasonal change. As well as how different parts of the world have the seasons in different parts of the year.
World Travelers Club: World Travelers Club has been super fun so far. We have started by exploring the geography of the world gaining knowledge about various continents, countries, oceans, and more. Starting next week each student will receive their own mini passport that they will be able to decorate and use throughout the remainder of the club! We have exciting visits coming up including Australia and Italy! Each week the students will learn about various things from a certain country. Students will learn about the culture, traditions, food, and more!
Recycled Crafts Club: This club has been so much fun so far! The kids really seem to enjoy exploring their creative sides. We started by having some free exploration with the various materials where each student got to create their own masterpiece however they wanted. The following weeks involved making cardboard masks and decorating a cardboard person. It has been so fun seeing the children’s imaginations come to life! We have a lot of fun crafts planned for the future including houses, animals, and more!
Music and Movie Club: Music and Movie Club has been going great! The students get to enjoy various films with a new perspective. The goal is for the kids to understand the movies on a slightly deeper level by looking for themes and lessons being taught throughout the film. Thus far we have examined Elio, learning the importance of accepting yourself, and Up, learning about the importance of friends and family during challenging times and never giving up on your dreams. We have lots of fun movies to explore in the future including Inside Out and Soul! The kids do a great job with looking for times in the movie the lesson is being taught!
3rd-7th- Mr. Triant, Ms. Alexa, Mr. Rafael
Grades 3-7 are off to an amazing start so far this school year! I have the pleasure of teaching my students 3 different clubs each week. Each Monday in “The Joy of Painting”, students are welcomed into a calm, relaxing space and are invited to paint as we watch the legend Bob Ross. After letting their artwork dry, students are encouraged to take their paintings home to show their loved ones. In “Spanish Club”, Mr. T has taught his students some of the basics in Spanish, including how to introduce themselves, numbers, colors, and vocabulary about their families. We have had the privilege of using chromebooks to enhance our learning of the Spanish language. Lastly, in “Trivia Masters” we have enjoyed playing different themed Jeopardy games where the kids put their knowledge of random facts to the test. Participation is always encouraged, and students who show the most enthusiasm are almost always rewarded with a prize!
In SMART (Stories, Music, and Art), students dive into stories that inspire imagination and reflection. After watching stories with meaningful themes— they create hands-on projects to bring those lessons to life.In Autumn Activities, we’ve been celebrating the beauty of the season! Students have enjoyed outdoor scavenger hunts, nature crafts, and even picked their own trees to observe as the leaves change throughout fall.Our Around the World club has taken us on exciting cultural journeys! Students created passports, explored Italy by making mini pizzas, and traveled to Greece to learn about Greek mythology and ancient traditions.In Game On! students put their teamwork and problem-solving skills to the test through a variety of fun and educational games—including Jeopardy-style challenges that get everyone thinking and laughing! Lastly, in Stress Strategies, we focus on building positive coping skills and finding calm in creative ways. Students have made friendship bracelets and designed their own fidgets as part of our mindfulness and self-care activities.
In Soccer this month, we're running different drills per week and incorporating those skills learned with a scrimmage at the end. In Destination Imagination (DI) this month, we're doing Halloween-themed drawings like a spider, a tombstone, and a scarecrow. In Slime Scientists, we made chalkboard slime, thermochromic slime, magnetic slime, pumpkin slime, and ghost slime. In Minute to Win It this month, we're doing the Skittles and chopstick challenge, a string obstacle course, the keep the balloon in the air challenge, and we're going to make a bridge out of popsicles and test the sturdiness of it. In Emotionscapes this month, we're doing different academic escape rooms like executive functions, expected behaviors, growth mindset, and managing emotions.
Benjamin G. Brown School
Benjamin G. Brown School
Site Director: Kelsey Kent
Assistant Site Director: Justin penezic
Ashley Marks, Jessica Alvarenga Lazo, Marie Cheney, Grace Barton,
El Ark, Jesus Castro, Ryleigh Martell, Vijayalaxmi
Happy October everyone!! As always, each month we like to highlight the special clubs or activities that take place at the Benjamin G. Brown. This gives insight to what we like to do but also, some of the creative outcomes. Take a look at some of the clubs that are in full swing during the month of October!
Grades K-2 Clubs that we would like to highlight for our October newsletter are:
Ms. Ashley leads a club every day of the week for our younger kiddos. One is called Color me Autumn and this week the students were able to create their own scarecrow puppet, as well as learning about mixed media art! Another club that Ms. Ashley leads is called Friendship club, where students work on manners, friendship and perseverance! So far the clubs have gotten off to a resounding success!
One of our new favorite club activities is Student Council. In this club students help plan parties, and create “clubs” for our K-2 groups. This fall’s clubs from student council are How 2 Draw and Robotics. The kiddos saw a need for Robotics club for k-2 kiddos since there is only one for 5th graders.
Grades 3-5 Club that we would like to highlight for our October newsletter are:
Mr. El leads a handful of clubs for our older kiddos. One is called Wacky Words. This week the students in the club played telephone! The kids had a great time using their creativity and building comraderary among each other! Another one of El’s clubs is called Bored… Games!. This month in the club, students have been introduced to new and old favorite board games! The goal is to introduce the kids to essential skills for group learning and cooperative play!
Each club is designed to combine fun, creativity, and hands-on learning. We love seeing our students grow, explore, and enjoy learning beyond the classroom as well as seeing what peaks each student's interests outside the classroom setting!
With more exciting activities ahead, we’re looking forward to a month filled with creativity, movement, and discovery. As the momentum continues, we look forward to continuing to support, challenge and encourage our students to help reach their full potential!
East Somerville Community School
East Somerville Community School
Site Director: Yolanda Andrade
Assistant Site Director: tbd
Raymond Corsini Joanne Simon, Sonia Barahona, Mario Quiroz, Sharon Castellon, Ashley Castro, Michael Chiaravalloti, Mario Valladares, Jaime Albayeros, Taylin Smith, Olivia Oliveira, Devin Andrade, Bryan Rodriguez, Luzmila Magana, Bryan Rodriguez, Kayla Lopez, Virgilio Garcia, Jessy Munos-Palacios, Emily Posada
October at Afterschool: A Season of Growth and Fun!
Fall is a wonderful time for everyone as the leaves change colors and we transition into the crisp, beautiful autumn season. Students are enjoying sweater weather, exploring the outdoors, and embracing the cozy vibes that come with this time of year. This season also marks the midpoint of our clubs, and students are becoming more comfortable with their peers, teachers, and their environment. Here at afterschool, all students have been doing an amazing job following directions, sticking to our daily routines, and building friendships with one another.
As we move into October, we want to extend our gratitude to all our students, families, and staff for their continued dedication and hard work. The afterschool program has gotten off to a fantastic start, and it’s wonderful to see our students so engaged and enthusiastic. Together, we are creating a positive, safe, and supportive learning environment for everyone.
Our Pre-K friends have been enjoying a variety of art activities and creative projects. They explored their imagination through hands-on projects inspired by the Piggy and Elephant book series, experimented with small pumpkins, and discovered the sights, textures, and colors of fall. Taking their creativity a step further, they went on an exciting adventure by building a campsite with Mr. Mario and even had a picnic outside in the school courtyard. The students had a wonderful time exploring, creating, and enjoying the crisp autumn weather!
Our students in Kindergarten have been participating in a variety of fall-themed enrichment projects and activities, focusing on the changing season while building connections with one another. Through icebreakers, art projects, and social activities, students are learning more about each other while having fun.
Our 1st and 2nd graders have been taking advantage of the beautiful sunny days before colder weather arrives, enjoying some of their favorite outdoor activities. They’ve been playing soccer and practicing parkour-inspired physical games, staying active while having fun. In addition to outdoor play, students have been supporting one another with homework and reading, strengthening friendships, and working together to succeed academically.
In the Farrington Nature and Spanish Is Fun clubs, students had an absolute blast this month! They enjoyed cooking together and preparing delicious fall treats, caramel apples, and apple pie, using fresh apples picked right from our very own school garden apple tree. It was a wonderful hands-on experience that combined learning, creativity, and teamwork.
Our students in grades 3 through 7 have been thriving in their clubs. In Team Building, students are learning new games like Trick Shot Challenge, Whiffle Ball, and Earth Explorers, and practicing essential skills such as communication, collaboration, and teamwork. In the Story Telling and Creative Club with Ms. Joanne, students have been researching the origin of their names and where their names came from. They have also created self-portraits to go with the story behind their names.
Additionally, many 6th and 7th graders are getting involved in the broader ESCS community by joining clubs such as Debate, Creative writing, and Drawing with watercolors. We are proud to support our students as they develop leadership skills, independence, and a sense of community. It’s been an exciting month full of learning, growth, and friendship. We look forward to continuing this momentum throughout the year and celebrating even more of our students’ accomplishments!
Friendly Reminders:
This is a perfect opportunity to double-check if you have the Remind App! Again, this is the best way to get in contact with us for many things, especially in case of an emergency.
Link to Join: https://www.remind.com/join/east-2026
Please label your child's clothing, backpack, etc., as items are often lost or left behind. Lost or forgotten items can be found at the school's lost and found.
Michael E. Capuano Early Childhood Center
Michael E. Capuano Early Childhood Center
Site Director: Michael Horowitz
Assistant Site Director: Sarthak Khamal
Bryan Convey, Ana Treska, Neelam Sehil, Mei Idri, Joao Detoledo, Yesenia Real, Mamata Chalise, Latifa Mortady, Devin Baxter, Fanta Diawara, Rute Zephyr, Gabriela Miranda
From mid-September until mid-October, there have been plenty of warm sunny early fall afternoons. Capuano after-school students have been enjoying lots of outdoor play in the Capuano playground.
Children have choice time, which translates to: choose what you would like to play with. Children play with puzzles, cars, trains, Legos, Duplo, Magna-Tiles, plastic animals, plush toys, you name it!
Themes during this time period included many different subjects from All About Me to Fire Safety, with discussions in class about fire safety, and fire drills. The change of seasons also prompts us to concentrate on what is happening around us with themes like Fall, Apples, Pumpkins, and Fall Animals. Classes read books about Owls, Apples and Pumpkins. To go along with the books, the children made things like paper plate owls. Some other examples of activities include tissue-paper-decorated first letters of our name, leaf rubbings, leaf crowns, and fireman hats. Children also did relaxation activities like yoga.
All the students in after-school at Capuano have been very busy cutting, pasting, drawing, coloring, and playing indoors and out.
John F. Kennedy Elementary School
John F. Kennedy Elementary School
Site Director: Allison Pelletier
Assistant Site Director: Kelly Lopez
Nicole Tolbert, Savannah Paul, Maureen Nichols,
Liliam Borges, Christmary Orellana, Mary Lou Hodgdon, Laura Modhal, Silvana Dinka, Christopher Montejo
Welcome to October!
As the leaves begin to change and the air turns crisp, we welcome the beauty of fall and all the excitement this season brings. Let’s take a moment to enjoy the wonderful weather and the many fun learning opportunities ahead before winter arrives!
Pre K with Ms.Savannah:
Hello, pre-k families! Our new pre-k friends have settled in very well for their first month of school. This month, we learned about apples, leaves, and all things fall. We went on a leaf hunt in the tot lot, then used our leaves to create leaf rubbings with paper and crayons. We learned why leaves fall and how leaves can be different colors and shapes. We learned how apples grow and the different types and colors of apples. We made diagrams of an apple's life cycle and used apples to create stamp paintings. We had lots of fun using items from nature in our art!
Ms.Laura’s clubs:
Laura’s clubs have kicked off with lots of fun! Modeling Clay kids made small dishes and kawaii characters. In Musical Geniuses, we have been drumming with upside-down buckets and making thumb pianos. Pups and Kitties Need Our Help. Kids have made cat toys for an animal shelter donation. In Make it Up, we are making set designs and doing improv. In the Chill Out club, kids are relaxing to meditation music, listening to stories, and making watercolors. Older kids have been doing an amazing job as volunteer helpers! We thank them very much.
Ms. Dinka’s clubs:
Hi!
ASL Club
students are learning the alphabet and greetings. Learning basic signs helps children develop better communication and listening skills. I have noticed a lot of interest, and students are using signs even before or outside of club meetings. A few of them are helping their friends to identify or sign the correct letter. As a club, we have been listening to and viewing a variety of selected songs in ASL.
Art Therapy Club
I am totally surprised by the students' work. After every short conversation, they express themselves in art activities by using a mix of colors and shapes, and by signing their artwork. I am aware that students feel free to express themselves and find peace and pleasure in their art.
Ms. Kelly's clubs:
Craft and Chat Club: Students have enjoyed creating fused bead art and designing self-portraits or animal portraits.
STEM Club: Members have been busy making slime and are currently planning their designs for an upcoming egg drop challenge.
Board Games Club: Students have been playing a variety of games together, including Spot It!, Candy Land, and Uno.
Recycling Art Club: Students learned how to make fishtail bracelets from rubber bands and crafted hats out of paper plates.
Movie Critics Club: Students have been analyzing and discussing the film Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules, based on the book by Jeff Kinney.
Mr. Christopher’s Clubs
Magic: The Gathering:
We have been learning how to build decks in Magic The Gathering. We have even played mini-tournaments with decks being drafted in the same class.
Drawing Club:
So far in the drawing club, we have been doing a ton of figure drawing using students as models and coming up with funny poses!
Music Club:
So far, we have written lyrics to our own songs, and today we played percussion instruments and came up with performances.
Gym Club:
The gym club has been very competitive and fun. Kickball has been a favorite so far!
Drama Club:
It has been a big hit so far! Every class, we design, prepare, and write a Short play and perform for each other.
Winter Hill Community Innovation School
Winter Hill Community Innovation School
Site Director: Diana Posada
Assistant Site Director: Maria Henriquez
Tanty Koita, Nehemie Simon, Luz Janampa, Roxana Alfaro, Alaa boutkhurst Ruolx Dorvilier, Olivia coleman, nancy nimako, aryanna peart, olivia prophete
Welcome to October!!
This month we were super busy, learning about the change of weather, exploring emotions, and continuing the amazing clubs that teachers have prepared and outside providers plan. With the first couple of days in October that gave us some nice last summery-like weather, we took advantage and had lots of outside time to soak up in the sun. On the Wednesdays that were nice and sunny, we made our way over to the East playground to share the playground with them! Shoutout to ESCS for being welcoming and kind to us when we are there.
Some of our staff are also starting the week off with a huge smile because of the win that the Patriots have been having lately!! Let's hope this continues...
All of our groups have had an amazing month and are looking forward to November! Enjoy reading about what each group has been up to in their classrooms this month...
1st and 2nd graders are having a blast this fall season.. all of them telling us how much they love apple pie, apple crisp, and everything apple except for the apples they give for snack! What a mystery..apart from that, we have been reinforcing rules and expectations and reminding each other that we are a team... sometimes with so many kiddos with us, they look out for each other and remind each other of the rules they must follow while in afterschool. One thing we have noticed is how much they all love READING! Ms. Roxana and Ms. Diana are shocked at how silent reading time is or even when they ask for extra time!
This fall season, our Pre-K and Kindergarten students have been learning and growing in so many fun ways!
We explored emotions, learning how to express our feelings and show kindness to others, and reviewed shapes through creative games and activities.
We also had lots of fun playing Simon Says and enjoying both indoor and outdoor play as the weather began to change. It’s been a lovely month filled with curiosity, laughter, and cozy fall moments together!
This month in afterschool, our 3rd graders have been enjoying the beautiful weather with outdoor activities and plenty of fresh air. They’ve also been diving into their favorite clubs, whether it's sharpening their strategy skills in Chess Wizards, staying active in the Sports Club, getting creative during Time for Art, or exploring exciting tales in Story Seekers. In Story Seekers, students have been learning about fascinating myths and legends, and even investigating the mystery of Bigfoot, asking questions, examining clues, and wondering: could he really be out there? Our students have been having a great time after school.
Fall has finally arrived, and our 4th-6th grader wildcats are enjoying the last few days of nice weather. With fall comes the beginning of Club time and the kids have been having tons of fun with that as well. Whether it’s building rocket ships in Space Jam or learning the ins and outs of Softball, they have been fully engaged and ready to have fun with their classmates. We can’t wait for what’s next!
West Somerville Neighborhood School
West Somerville Neighborhood School
Site Director: Joshua Leibovitz
Assistant Site Director: Seana Read
Jane Fabiano, Darly Pierre, Gianna Amari, Joseph Amari, Rodrigo Rodriguez, Katherine Yanes, Henry Duarte, Teodor Todorov, Valerie Perez
Happy October!
The crisp fall air has arrived, and our afterschool program is in full swing! Students have been exploring, creating, and learning through hands-on seasonal activities that celebrate curiosity, creativity, and community. Here’s a look at what each group has been up to this month.
In Ms. Jane and Ms. Darly’s PreK group,
Our Pre-K friends have really settled into their routines and are loving their time in afterschool! They’ve been busy exploring activity stations from building bridges to creating the tallest towers, and playing favorite games like Fishy Fishy, Cross My Ocean. They also spent time discovering the colors and textures of the season through sensory play and art, using apples as natural stamps to create beautiful harvest paintings! Storytime favorites like Frog and Toad have inspired cozy reading moments and animal-themed yoga poses. And of course, everyone always looks forward to Show and Tell Fridays with their Kindergarten friends! This week, we saw some amazing things — from adorable dogs and baby pictures to a surprise DJ set! That’s right, one of our little stars shared that they’re a part-time DJ on the weekends!
There’s always something exciting happening for Kindergarten through 2nd Grade! In Mr. Rodrigo’s Dungeon Explorers club, students learned about medieval house banners and sigils, then designed and painted their own unique banners to represent their “houses.” Members of the Bug’s Life Club headed outside for a Fall Nature Scavenger Hunt to explore the changing season up close. In Fall & Frost Explorers Club, Mr. Joseph taught students how birds make strong nests, and the children built their own sturdy nests out of paper shavings, yarn, and popsicle sticks to keep their balloon “eggs” safe. In Magic Kingdom Club, Ms. Riley helped students design a Disney-themed photo booth, complete with Mickey ears and fun props — and the kids loved striking a pose while their favorite Disney songs played in the background!
Meanwhile, our 3rd–6th-grade students have been showing amazing creativity and leadership across their clubs. In STEM Lab, Mr. Henry guided students through a fun and challenging project where they designed and built their own hot air balloons using recycled cups and real balloons. Mr. Teddy’s Pokémon Masters Club has been a hit — students created their own Pokémon characters and became Gym Leaders for an epic Pokémon showdown! The older students have also been enjoying Parkour Club, where they practice balance, agility, and coordination through safe, guided movement challenges, and Spanish is Fun Club, where they learn simple conversational phrases and explore Latin American culture through games and songs. Our CinemaKidz program has rounded out the month by teaching students how to plan, design, and film their very own game show — complete with sets, hosts, and plenty of laughter behind the camera.
Reminders for Families
Please join our WSNS Afterschool class on the REMIND APP for the quickest updates. Email Josh or Seana for the code.
As the weather cools, please remember to send your child with a warm jacket for outdoor play — we’ll be spending as much time outside as possible enjoying the crisp autumn air.
Pack extra clothes for younger children in case of accidents or emergencies.
Afterschool does not have its own Lost and Found. We use the Lost and Found located outside the main office. Please be sure to check it regularly!
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