Embedded Files
Estabrook Connection
School News and Updates for the School Week ending March 25, 2022
Estabrook Schedule
Monday:
PM Estabrook
Tuesday:
PM Estabrook
Wednesday:
AM Estabrook
Thursday:
All Day Estabrook
Friday:
All Day Estabrook
Updates and Weekly "Wanderings" from Principal Martellone
Dear Estabrook Families,
Happy Sunday! This week was fun, busy, and reaffirming all wrapped into one! The week started with family math night for grades two and three, which provided me the opportunity to meet more families, watch students solve challenging math problems, and hear rich discussions about how to solve mathematics.
As you know, we worked to change our INTERNAL dismissal procedures, which should have not been super noticeable outside of the school other than some longer times (see more information below about dismissal changes). Creating new duty schedules, showing staff how to do the duties and then making adjustments kept a lot of us very busy during the week. It was a good busy, but nonetheless, busy!
Lastly, the week was reaffirming for me as to the level of staff commitment regarding change and making Estabrook a great place to be. Staff were willing to take on the changes of a new dismissal procedure during the first week of spring conferences and they were positive, flexible, innovative, and gave great feedback. Additionally, there was not one staff complaint....they were totally amazing and I am eternally grateful!
We have Parent-Teacher conferences again this coming week. If you have not signed up for a time with your child's teacher, please make sure you do so. We place a high value on parent and teacher communication, especial about student performance in school, so we want you to meet with your child's teacher.
Thank you for your involvement and support for the work we do collaboratively and the work we do at Estabrook. We always appreciate your partnership! I hope you've had a restful weekend!
Best,
Mr. Martellone
Afternoon Dismissal Changes
On Monday, 3/21, we began implementing a new dismissal procedure at the school to help accomplish a few things:
Keep students out of the elements (weather) as much as possible,
Make a less hectic end to the day for students,
Decrease the number of duties done by staff.
The largest parts of the new dismissal were to have students for each bus come to a common gathering space before heading out to the bus and to have car pick ups and students picked up by foot be inside and called from one space.
As the week went on, we adjusted processes to try and speed dismissal up. Bus dismissal went a bit faster due to fewer "moving parts" and by Friday, we had worked out many of the issues we faced by making adjustments every few days.
Estabrook has been one of the only elementary schools having students waiting out in the elements each day for live pick up. On a cold day (10-15 degrees), with strong winds, if you were later in the car pick up line, you could be quite cold. This was the opposite on extremely hot days. We think we now have students in a temperature controlled space that is better for them and the walk to the front dismissal is just under 1 minute.
Bus dismissal is now SIGNIFICANTLY less hectic, with students being walked down from the second and third floor by adults and all students on a bus leave from one location. We have far fewer students struggling to get to the bus on time and buses are loaded faster, which means students get home sooner too, even if just by a few minutes.
Lastly, for at least the past ten years, teachers at Estabrook did a duty every day, every week, while at other schools, there was a rotation for let's say, every other week. I'm happy to share that with the new system, we were able to have our teaching staff now do a duty every other week.
We've still got a few small facets to adjust, however, Friday was a good example of how it should look. All 7 buses loaded and dismissed in 9 minutes and all cars (with a couple of "hiccups") done in 17 minutes, which should be decreased as we go.
Thank you for your patience as we've worked to make these changes. I'm confident that as shared above, all situations for students and teachers will be improved!
A Few Dismissal Notes....
On Friday, we were able to get the data team who manages ASPEN to add another pick up field called "Pick up on foot". If you are a parent that picks your child up on foot, you should select that as an option. Previously there was nothing that specific, leaving us to wonder if students were being picked up on foot in the car area or when students walked.
If you have not updated your information in ASPEN, please do that, taking into account any changes you've made to your routines and the new information shared above.
Please have your child's dismissal information entered for each day's dismissal by 2:45. We run our reports to give to staff on duties at 3PM. If you should have an emergency come up, after, you can call the office. Dismissal changes after 3pm often result in challenges for students due to the last minute nature of the changes.
Exploring Elementary Math Pilot Programs
Hear about the process of selecting an elementary math program, experience activities from each program piloted, and learn about the data we will consider and next steps we will take in making a final selection. We look forward to seeing you on Thursday, April 7th from 6:30 -7:30 p.m.
This is a virtual presentation. A Zoom link will be emailed to all registered participants.
Sign up to attend at:
https://forms.gle/nMoZS783j931HfKKA
The LexSEPTA event is an in person event located at lexington High School. Please use the QR code embedded in the photo above to get to an RSVP link.
Student COVID-19 At Home Antigen Testing Reminder
We will be sending home antigen testing kits for students this coming week. We'll let you know when they go home so you can look in backpacks!
The district has provided this form for families to use to report a POSITIVE students at home antigen test. You only need to report positive tests. It is preferable that you report the positive test by 9:00 AM on Tuesday mornings, so the nurses will check the form after that 9:00 AM deadline. This is only to report POSITIVE at home tests via the LPS At Home Testing Program; if your child tests positive at any other time during the week, please call the school nurses.
If you have not already opted in, this is the form to use to opt in to the at home antigen test program.
Grade 2-3 Family Math Night Thank You!
A huge thank you to all of the Grade 2-3 families that took time out of their busy schedules to come to the Estabrook PTO sponsored family math night. It was great seeing so many families and students attending.
Additionally, a HUGE thank you to Liz Bettencourt and her helpers for getting everything coordinated and set up for families. We appreciate everyone's contribution in making this a great night for students and families to do math together!
The PTO Corner -- Friday, March 25, 2022
To join the PTO click:
Estabrook PTO - Home Page
Join the 2022-23 PTO Board!
We are currently looking to fill the following two positions on the PTO Board for next year:
Co-President
VP, Communications (website and social media)
If you are looking for a way to get more involved at Estabrook, meet more members of the community, and give back to the school, please reach out to info@estabrookpto.org for more information on these roles.
Math Night Thank You!
Thank you to all the families who joined us at the K-1 and 2-3 Family Math Nights! It was wonderful to see students engaged in cooperative math games and problem solving, and to see so many members of our community gathered together.
Math Night would not have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of parent volunteer Liz Bettencourt, who organized and ran both sessions. THANK YOU, LIZ!
Estabrook Spirit Wear Store is now OPEN AGAIN!
Back by popular demand- we are reopening the spiritwear store this Spring! Get ready to show your Estabrook pride on upcoming spiritwear days!
Pro Tips: All items listed as "sport tek" are made of performance material. Also be sure to click on each item as some come in multiple color choices.
The store opens today and will close Wednesday, April 6th. All purchased items will be delivered to your child's classroom. Please visit: https://estabrookspring22.itemorder.com/
Please contact Cindy Reuter (CindyRReuter@gmail.com) or Kristin Simon (kamcdonald77@gmail.com) with any questions.
Run of the Mill Registration is OPEN!
We are thrilled to announce that the Estabrook Run of the Mill 5K and Kids Fun Run will take place on Sunday, May 22nd!
Registration for the 5K is NOW OPEN! Register TODAY to get a free race t-shirt and start training to cover that 5k distance!
Mark your calendars for Two Deliciously Easy Ways to Support the Estabrook 5th Graders!
Wicked Bagel 5th Grade Fundraiser
On Friday, April 1st, and Saturday, April 2nd, the 5th Grade Class at Estabrook will be holding a fundraiser at Wicked Bagel! (171 Mass Ave, Lexington). For every dozen bagels and plain cream cheese purchased, Wicked Bagel will donate $5 to the 5th grade class! Present the flyer (sent home in your child’s home/school folder) at checkout, or mention this fundraiser at the store.
Estabrook x WECO 5th Grade Fundraiser!
WECO is a local dinner delivery company based in Acton. They cook fresh dinners each day and deliver every weekday, using ethically-sourced and climate-friendly ingredients wherever and whenever possible from farmers they know and love. They offer mains, bowls, apps, + kids meals, PLUS dessert. WECO is honored to partner with the Estabrook PTO and will give back 10% of all sales directly to the school (for 5th Grade Funds) after our upcoming event. You'll receive a menu on March 30th from the Estabrook PTO with a link to order dinner the week of April 4 through April 8! (and attach WECO flyer)
All proceeds from these fundraisers will be used to defray costs of graduation related activities!
Lunch Composting at Estabrook: We need your help bringing composting back!
Did you know that Estabrook was the first school to begin lunch composting in our district? Did you know that our cafeteria kitchen currently composts kitchen scraps? And did you know that Garbage to Gardens collects compost generated by the Lexington Public Schools? The last couple of years have been difficult to focus our efforts on composting at Estabrook. But now, many other Lexington Public Schools are composting successfully with the help of parent volunteers and it's time for Estabrook to get on board! We need parent volunteers to help kids sort their lunch compost and we'd like to start this spring! It's a great opportunity to get a chance to see "inside" Estabrook during the school day and even say hi to your child!
Please volunteer! Flexible scheduling! For 2022 we only need to cover lunch shifts from April–June. You can volunteer regularly, such as every other week, or choose single dates that work for you. One volunteer is needed for each shift, however we encourage you to volunteer with another parent if you prefer! You may also indicate in the comments when you sign up if you can only cover part of a shift. If you are new to composting at Estabrook, we will provide simple training that takes about 15 minutes. Sign up here!
Please help to ensure Estabrook kids are leading the way to a greener future! Sign up today! Please contact info@estabrookPTO.org with questions.
All volunteers must have a CORI (background check) on file. If you do not have a CORI, or are not sure that your CORI is current, please check with the front desk at school. Masks are currently optional while volunteering in school.
Rosie’s Place Donation Drive Update:
Thank you to everyone who has already contributed to our donation drive for Rosie's Place! With just one week left of our collection, we still have a ways to go to reach our goal of making 200 toiletry kits for the women at Rosie's Place. If you haven't contributed yet, our biggest need is for full-sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner. Toiletry donations and used book donations can be placed in the boxes in the Estabrook lobby.
Shampoo (Need 200; Have 47)
Conditioner (Need 200; Have 46)
Body Lotion (Need 200; Have 85)
Toothbrush (Need 200; Have 86)
Lip Balm (Need 200; Have 98)
Deodorant (Need 200; Have 98)
Toothpaste (Need 200; Have 117)
Bars of Soap (Need 200; Have 219)
Save the Date: Estabrook Talent Show Viewing Party
The talent show is back this year! We are excited to share that this year’s show will feature a hybrid format: students will submit their acts via video, and families will have the opportunity to gather together on Friday, April 29th, at 6:30 pm in the Estabrook Cafeteria to watch the completed talent show video together!
An email was sent last Friday with information about how to submit your video, as well as guidelines and the submission deadline.
Questions? Please email info@estabrookpto.org
Movie Night: Friday, April 8th
Bring your blankets and come join members of the Estabrook community for Movie Night on Friday, April 8th at 6:30 pm in the Estabrook Cafeteria! We will be showing The Mitchells vs. The Machines.
This is a picnic style event, so we encourage families to bring blankets to sit on. 5th Graders will be selling pizza and popcorn to fundraise for their end-of-year events. Space is limited–be on the lookout for a signup link through Membership Toolkit!
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