Embedded Files
Estabrook Connection
School News and Updates for the School Week ending April 8, 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 Weekend! I hope that this communication finds you doing well and that you get some time to rest and relax. I continue to enjoy my time at Estabrook and have found myself learning more students' names and getting to know more families (seeing you dismissal and pick up really helps)!
Below is a short update on the principal search, which has been finalized. We will be working with Mr. Martinez to find another time to come to Estabrook and meet with parents, students and staff again.
You may have noticed last week when I sent out the parent placement input form, that the form was not correctly shared initially! My apologies for that! I generally "test out" my links and forms with select people (sometimes my family and friends) to make sure that they work and the one time that I did not test before I sent it, mayhem ensued!
Again, thank you to families that have participated in parent-teacher conferences. We're glad to be able to share your child's progress with you. If you did not sign up for conferences, you can expect that you'll either receive a call from me or Ms. Gavin asking you to find a time to talk with your child's teacher.
We've been seeing a slight increase in some unexpected behaviors as we move towards the April break and further into spring. This is not uncommon, however, sometimes results in calls home. We'll continue to work with students using our Estabee Expected Behavior Matrix and providing generous reminders. I've shared that matrix with you in previous news and would appreciate you helping support us as we use it with students.
As always, thank you for all you do to support our work each and every day at Estabrook. It is greatly appreciated!
Best,
Mr. Martellone
Principal Search Update 4/8/2022
Gerardo Martinez has finalized his paperwork and is slated to begin his work in Lexington and at Estabrook on July 1st. He's already reached out to me and has created some Google folders which I can share information with him prior to starting.
Dr. Hackett announced his finalized candidacy in her last superintendent's report which came out on April 29th. We will be looking for another opportunity for him to return to Estabrook and to meet additional staff members and families.
Thank you to the members of the interview committee for your work!
Head Custodian Update
I am very excited to share with you that we have hired a highly qualified head custodian that will start this coming Monday, 4/11/22.
David McKenna has been selected to fill the Head Custodian position at Estabrook Elementary School. He has worked as a 2nd Shift Custodian at Lexington High School for the past four years.
Prior to working at Lexington High School, Mr. McKenna worked at Groton/Dunstable Public Schools where he held positions as a Custodian and Interim Head Custodian. He has also worked in the cleaning and construction industry as a supervisor for over 15 years.
Mr. McKenna has held various supervisory positions over his career, which include; Warehouse Manager, Office Furniture Installation Foreman, as well as owning and managing a furniture installation and moving company.
A Few Dismissal Reminders....
It is IMPERATIVE that you have your child's dismissal changes (if any) entered by 2:45 each day. It is also IMPERATIVE that you have a car sign in your vehicle each day if you are picking up by car. We're working to make bright orange cards that have last name, first name and grades of students on them. The consistent looking/formatted cards help make dismissal easier for students and faster for you! Thanks in advance for your help with these two items!
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.
We run our daily dismissal 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 notice.
Dismissal Cards for Cars
We've decided to standardize the cards used for car pick up so that they are a bit more streamlined. This makes them easier to see/read them, and by changing the colors each year, we can ensure that if someone comes to pick up and they have a different colored card, that we would ask questions before dismissing a student to them. It also helps to ensure that all cards have student first and last names. I've started to hand out some of the cards and I will make them over time and hand them out in line or send them home with students.
Thank you for your collaboration as we continue to make small improvements to our student car pick up process!
Student COVID-19 At Home Antigen Testing Reminder
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.
The PTO Corner -- Friday, April 8, 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.
A BIG Thank you for Supporting Rosie's Place!
Thank you to all members of the Estabrook community who donated toiletries and books to our collection drive for Rosie's Place, as well as to the close to 100 volunteers from Estabrook and Fiske who came together this past Sunday to assemble toiletry kits!
As a result of your generosity, we were able to assemble 215 toiletry kits for the women who seek support from Rosie's Place! In addition, we delivered over a dozen boxes of books and a large supply of travel toiletries. We received an update from the staff at Rosie's Place on Thursday that all of our toiletry kits have already been distributed to guests of their food pantry--so please know that your donations and time volunteering immediately made a difference in the lives of others!
THANK YOU!
5th Grade Commemorative Photo!
Hello 5th Grade Families,
The years have flown by at Estabrook and the students only have 60 days of Elementary school left! We are pleased to offer this 8x10 all class keepsake photo from Coffee Pond, our school photo company. It's a great way for the kids to remember their friends and memories before heading off to Middle School and a portion of the proceeds will help fund 5th Grade Activities.
The 8x10 photo can be purchased for $10.00 here. Purchased photos will be delivered to your child's classroom a few weeks after the fundraiser closes.
***The fundraiser will be open until Friday, April 15th****
Please contact Kristin Simon at kamcdonald77@gmail.com with any questions.
Thank you for the support!
-5th Grade Fundraising Team
Plastic Bag / Packaging Recycling Drive! Thursday, April 14, 2022
Bring your plastic bags and packaging to be recycled at morning dropoff between 8:30-9am on the Estabrook patio! We will be helping Diamond Middle School collect plastic bags for the TREX Recycling Challenge. Our goal is to fill three barrels for Diamond School!
Plastic bags are NOT accepted in Lexington's curbside recycling. Plastic bags and packaging get tangled in recycling equipment. Many local stores accept plastic bags for recycling and on April 14 we'll be collecting and recycling for you!
Types of CLEAN AND DRY bags and packaging accepted include:
• plastic grocery bags
• ziploc bags
• produce bags
• bread bags and other “stretchy” plastic bags
• cereal bags
• dry cleaning bags
• plastic packaging from paper towels, napkins, etc.
• plastic wrapping from packages such as Amazon deliveries (pillow packs must have the air released)
• any plastic bag with a recycling symbol on it
No frozen food bags or other heavy-duty plastic bags unless they have the recycling symbol.
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!
Estabrook Talent Show & Video Viewing Party!
ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT UNTIL THE DEADLINE! GET YOUR SUBMISSIONS READY, AND LET YOUR TALENTS SHINE!!
We are thrilled to announce it is time for the Estabrook Talent Show! For all those interested, please upload a TWO MINUTE or less video clip showcasing your child's talent by Friday, April 22nd. Use THIS LINK to access our Tribute page where we will be putting all of the videos together for an awesome show!
We will also be having a LIVE viewing party at Estabrook on FRIDAY APRIL 29th at 6:30pm. Everyone is invited to gather together and enjoy the show! In addition to all of the stellar acts to see, the 5th grade will be having a bake sale with snacks and drinks so you can have fun and help support our school at the same time.
With the video format, the sky is the limit for what "talent" can be. Our restrictions are only that the clips must be TWO MINUTES or less and that they must be appropriate for elementary school viewing. Group acts are always welcome.
Important information below:
- Send your video clip to https://www.tribute.co/estabrook-talent-show-83439/ by Friday, April 22nd.
- Please email Julie Lippert at: julie.e.lippert@gmail.com with the names and grades of all children performing in the clip and the name of their act. If your children feel comfortable, they can ALSO introduce themselves in the video, but it is very important to also include this in writing when uploading your video.
- One talent act per child. If your child performs in a group act, that counts as their one performance.
- Please use a video clip that can be viewed without any issues, and that is appropriate for the elementary community.
- By submitting a video clip, you are granting our school community access to your child's video. For some this will be fine, for others they may not be comfortable with this platform. Please make the decision that is best for your family. That said, as common sense, please please do not forward them or share them outside of family and our community.
- If you do not wish to partake in the viewing party the link will be live and available to anyone who wishes to view it at home starting on April 29th.
We look forward to the show!
Maker Night is Back!
We hope you will join us on Thursday, May 12th, from 6:30-8:30 pm in the Estabrook cafeteria for an evening of imagination, creation, and fun! Please refer to the email sent out on Thursday (from the PTO) and the flyer below for more information and ways you can be involved! Contact event chair Mary Carmichael at marycmillington@gmail.com with questions, for more information, or to volunteer to help with this event.
Estabrook PTO Movie Night!
It was great to see so many families come to our PTO sponsored Family Movie Night! Thank you to all of the volunteers that helped support the event. It feels great to be getting our Estabrook community back together in person! (Thanks for the photo, taken from Sara Sheikh's Twitter feed.)
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