September 12, 2025

Hello Room 19 Families!!

Your children have been working diligently over these first few weeks of school to learn the routines and expectations of our fourth grade setting while we’ve continued to build our classroom community.  Many acts of kindness have been observed on a daily basis as we continually work together to support one another and create an environment where every member feels comfortable taking both academic and social risks.  We are so proud of each and every member of our awesome Room 19 community!

Something new and exciting to us this year is a new platform/vehicle for facilitating communication between home and school in our efforts to be active partners in your children’s learning journey.  The platform is called Parent Square, and we ask that you be on the lookout in the coming weeks for more details about how we’ll be implementing use of this new communication tool.  Until then,  here is a link to our classroom website where you will find helpful information related to school and our Room 19 classroom, and here is a link to a parent questionnaire for you to complete at your earliest convenience so we can get to know your child even better from you as the experts.  

Please remember to reach out to both of us with any questions or concerns, and as always,

thank you for your ongoing support and partnership.

anne_johnson@waylandps.org

susan_olivier@waylandps.org

Best,

Sue Olivier, Anne Johnson, and Heather Bace

Start Time

Students start the day stronger when they are in the classroom by the time we take attendance at 8:01. Please allow enough time for your child to walk from the front of the building, so that they are in our classroom by 8:00am.

Wednesday, September 17 

There will be a 4th/5th grade health information session for families from 7:15pm-8:00pm and led by our health educator, Jenny Flynn, at the following Zoom link: 

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2324691198

Meeting ID: 232 469 1198

Important Dates

Tuesday, September 16 - Picture Day 

Tuesday, September 23 - NO SCHOOL, Rosh Hashanah

Thursday, September 25 - Curriculum Night 6:30-7:15pm (note change in time) 

Tuesday, September 30 - Garden Harvest Day 8:55-9:15  Volunteers needed for

   this time and other parts of this special harvest day!!  Volunteer Sign up Sheet

Thursday, October 2 - NO SCHOOL, Yom Kippur

Tuesday, October 7 - Book Fair 11:40-12:10

Wednesday, October 8 - SUPER Wednesday, dismissal at 11:30am

Monday, October 13 - NO SCHOOL, Indigenous Peoples’ Day 

Finalized Schedule for Instrument Lessons

Instrument lessons - Monday mornings from 10:25-10:55  

Percussion lessons - Monday afternoons from 1:50-2:20

Band/Orchestra - Wednesday mornings from 7:45-8:30 

Skills Lab - Wednesday mornings from 8:00-8:30

August 31, 2025

Dear Room 19 Families!

We hope you are enjoying this beautiful long weekend!

Our fourth grade journey has begun, and we had an amazing first two days of learning experiences and discussions in Room 19!  Thank you so much for sending in all the materials for your children and the extra items for the classroom so that we were all prepared to begin our adventures on day 1! 

Details about the heart map project that we will be working on in class next Monday (9/8) will be coming home in the homework folders on Tuesday, but please begin helping your child to gather any printable pictures of special people, pets, places, and/or objects all this week (or send them to us for printing out at school).  Please know that these pictures will be laminated so they will not be able to be returned. Thank you in advance for your help with this important project!  Also this week, be on the lookout for the Loker School Handbook that will be coming home in the homework folders.  Please review the handbook with your child and return the acknowledgement form that accompanies it with the required signatures.  Finally, we will be asking the students to bring in a special item to share on Friday.   

Below are some nuts and bolts about this year for your child:

Snack and Lunch:

Fourth grade lunch occurs each day at 12:30, so please be sure to send in plenty of nut-free, healthy snacks for your child as we will be scheduling a “chew and do” snack each day between 9:30 and 10:30 am.  Breakfast from the cafeteria is also available every morning, free of charge, and we have asked the students to pick this up on their way down to the classroom at arrival time so they can settle in and get their school day started. This will allow for the least amount of disruption to our morning routines.    

Homework:

Every student will be bringing home a boomerang folder to use in managing homework assignments/packets each week.  Fourth graders are expected to read 15 minutes each night and will also have some kind of math and spelling/ELA assignment to work on each night. Typically a homework packet consisting of these worksheets will be given to students on Monday and be due on Friday.   

Homework folders should be taken home every night, Monday through Thursday, and should come back to school every weekday morning so they can be stored in book bins and be accessible if needed during the school day. 

Band and Orchestra Lessons:

Tristie Keenan will be teaching band this year, and Kim Pisklo will be teaching strings.  Instrument lessons will occur for just our class on Mondays from 10:25-10:55 am.  All fourth graders taking a percussion instrument will have percussion lessons on Monday from 1:50-2:20. On Wednesdays, the entire fourth grade band and orchestra will meet from 7:45-8:30 am.  Any students not taking an instrument this year will have a skills lab session from 8:00-8:30 am on Wednesdays.  Instruments should come to school every Monday and Wednesday.  LESSONS AND BAND/ORCHESTRA WILL BEGIN THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 8TH.

Specials: 

This year we are fortunate to be sharing specials with Senora Maza’s 4th grade Spanish Immersion class in Room 16.  Each day, half of our students in Room 19 will join half of the students in Room 16 for one special, and the other half of Room 19 students will join the other half of the students in Room 16 for another special.  Below is the color coding of the groups and schedule which has been taped to the top of every student’s desk.  

GREEN Group

Monday   Tuesday    Wednesday  Thursday  Friday

                               Gym    Technology  Library     Music    Art

BLUE Group

                             Monday   Tuesday    Wednesday  Thursday   Friday

                           Technology  Library      Art         Gym      Music

Important Dates: 

• Loker Picture Day will take place on Tuesday, September 16th. 

• There is NO SCHOOL on Tuesday, September 23rd in observance of Rosh Hashanah. 

• Curriculum Night will occur on Thursday, September 25th from 6:30-7:15pm for grades K, 1 and 4. Specialists will be available for meeting and greeting in their offices/home bases from 7:15-7:45pm.  Jenny Flynn, the fourth and fifth grade health teacher, will have some kind of booth or presentation set up as well. Health classes will begin late September and will take place every Thursday in Room 19 from 9:35-10:15 am. These Thursday classes will run for 12 consecutive weeks. 

• There is NO SCHOOL on Thursday, October 2nd in observance of Yom Kippur. 

• Our first Super Wednesday of the year will be Wednesday, October 8th with a “grab and go lunch” and an early dismissal at 11:30am.

• There is NO SCHOOL on Monday, October 13th in observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.  

As always, please reach out to us by email with any questions or concerns.  Please include both of us (Anne Johnson and Sue Olivier) for all email correspondence at the emails listed below. Ms. Johnson, Ms. Bace and I are so excited to be partnering and working with all of you for your children’s fourth grade learning journey!

Best!

Sue Olivier, Anne Johnson (and Heather Bace)

anne_johnson@waylandps.org

susan_olivier@waylandps.org