Day School News
November 10, 2023
Dear Day School Community,
Respect is an important core value at the Day School. Recently, we have had reports of teasing and joking that have a gone just a step too far. The students sometimes refer to this as roasting. Recently, we shared the following message with the students in our morning announcements:
Some students have been participating in roasting each other. This starts out as good natured fun with insults that are supposed to be funny. Unfortunately, some students have carried this too far. This results in feelings being hurt and a sense that a person is being personally attacked. Sometimes the insults involve family members. We are banning roasting in school and on the bus moving forward. You can still joke with your friends, but you need to be kind.
Teachers have had conversations in their classrooms to reinforce our core value of respect. We ask families to have similar conversations at home so that we can all be on the same page as a community.
Sincerely,
Chris Louis Sardella, Principal
Chrissy Michaud, Assistant Principal
Norman E. Day Elementary School
May your life be as colorful, shimmering and magical as the lights of Diwali.
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Translations of this Newsletter Available
Did you know you can have this newsletter translated in multiple languages? Make sure you download the Chrome browser to your device. Then click on the three dots to the right of your navigation bar to choose Translate. From there you can choose any of the 133 languages. You can also download the Google Translate app for free on your mobile device. You can even translate PDFs of fliers by uploading the PDF to your app. If you would like help figuring out this technology, please contact the main office. We can also provide translations of this newsletter as a PDF in your preferred language.
The Westford Food Pantry NEEDS your help, so please donate! Thank you for your support!
The Westford Food Pantry needs your help!
The kids of the Day School are collecting items for the Westford Food Pantry. Donations are appreciated from November 6th to November 16th.
Please consider donating non-perishable and personal care items to those in need. These are very useful things and they deserve to belong to everyone. Please see below for suggested items. All donations should be brought to your classroom teacher. The last day to donate is Thursday, November 16th. Thank you for your support and willingness to help those in need.
What items should I donate?
Canned items such as baked beans, tomato sauce, stew, jelly, chicken breast, spam, Chef Boyardee, potatoes, peanut butter, hash, soup, etc.
Dry goods and condiments such as cereal, instant ramen, maggi noodles, Jello or pudding, sugar, coffee, flour, etc.
Personal care items such as toothpaste/toothbrushes, shampoo/conditioner, shaving cream/razors, deodorants, paper towels, dish soap, hand soap, feminine hygiene products, laundry detergent, household cleaning, etc.
Day School PTO
To get involved, find out what is going on, connect with us on Slack, or join our yearbook team, send us an email: dayschoolptopresident@gmail.com
School Apparel Store
Get your Day School SWAG today! Our Apparel Store is now open. SHOPPING NOW will ensure gifts in time for the holidays.
Gift of Giving
Westford Parent Teacher Organization (WEPTO) has partnered with the Paper Store in Westford for their annual "Gift of Giving" charity event that runs 11/20-11/26. Purchase their 2023 Gift of Giving Ornament for $3.99 and WEPTO will receive $1 and you will receive a 20% off coupon to be used during your visit. Please see the details on the flyer.
WECO
Already stressed for the upcoming holiday and tired of cooking?
Day School has teamed up with WECO to offer some delicious no-fuss easy to prepare meal options for the whole family! Order now through Nov. 17th!
Lancaster Celebration of Lights
We are so excited to be teaming up with the Lancaster Celebration of Lights this holiday season! Buy your tickets using this link and the Day PTO will earn $2 for each ticket sold!
Caring for Mental Health
National Alliance On Mental Illness (NAMI) - Ending The Silence Presentation
Learn about the warning signs of mental health conditions and what steps to take if you or a loved one are showing symptoms of a mental health condition. This presentation is designed for parents/guardians and family members of K-12 students. Presentations include two leaders: one who shares an informative presentation and a young adult with a mental health condition who shares their journey of recovery. Audience members can ask questions and gain an understanding of an often-misunderstood topic. Through dialogue, we can help grow the movement to end stigma.
Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2023
Time: 7:00 PM-8:15 PM
Location: J.V. Fletcher Library 50 Main Street, Westford MA, Main Meeting Room
Register: Email Brittany Nash, bnash@westfordma.gov
News from the SEPAC
SEPAC Meeting Nov 15th @7pm
Q&A with Dr. Chris Chew and Gerard Coughlin
Millennium Building Conf Room B
Please join the Westford SEPAC at our November meeting. Dr. Chris Chew, Superintendent of WPS and Gerard Coughlin, Director of Special Education and SEL, will speak on current topics regarding special education in Westford and answer any questions that attendees may have. Please consider submitting your question in advance HERE. You are welcome to submit a question even if you are unable to attend the meeting.
Virtual Option available if you are unable to attend in person:
Please reach out to the SEPAC with questions at sepacwestford@gmail.com
Festival of Trees, Wreaths, Creative Gingerbread, Gnomes, and More!
The Westford Family FunFest* and Westford Rotary Club invite the public and organizations to participate in and visit the 13th Annual Festival of Trees, Wreaths, and Creative Holiday/Cultural & Gingerbread/Gnomes Celebration. The festival will be held at the Westford Regency Inn, 219 Littleton Rd., Westford, from December 8, 2023, to January 2, 2024. The Westford Regency Atrium and Lobby and selected other areas will be decorated with trees, wreaths, and creative holiday and gingerbread/gnome creations.
Opening Night Celebration on Friday, December 8 from 6:30–8:00 pm with music, cookies, and hot chocolate too. Clarks will be open too. Saturday and Sunday, December 16-17, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Brunch with Santa, including a craft area by Westford Girl Scouts. Music presented by the Westford Girl Scouts. Free photos with Santa will be offered too (bring your own camera). For reservations for Breakfast with Santa, call 978-692-8200, ext. 520, or visit the Westford Regency website or Facebook page.
Visit www.westford.org/funfest for details and an application to be part of the festival. Check out the Westford Family FunFest Facebook page. Open to individuals, groups, organizations, and schools, come join in the FUN!!!
Literacy Informational Videos
Interested in learning more about our new literacy program? Click on the video link for more information from Erin Hogan, WPS 3-5 Humanities Curriculum Coordinator. It highlights the reason behind the switch, grading, and may answer questions you may have. Stay tuned for additional Literacy informational videos throughout the year! Click on link: EL Education and the Science of Reading
EL Education and The Science of Reading Caregiver Video: Oct 13, 2023 1:09 PM.webmWatch the video above.
Day School Library Wishlist
The Norman E. Day School Library has an Amazon Wishlist! Ms. McGann, our School Librarian, has created an Amazon Wishlist of books consisting of popular and award-winning titles, teacher recommendations, and requests by students. At this time, Ms. McGann is encouraging Parents/Guardians/Caregivers to help build our School Library Collection by donating a book from the List. Once a book has been received, it will be added to the Day School Library Collection and a personalized, permanent bookplate will be added to thank those individuals who donated the book. We greatly appreciate your generosity to our School community and thank you for your continued support.
Wishlist link: https://a.co/7QNNGQX
Day School Job Opportunities
Substitute Teacher Job Opportunity - Interested in being a substitute in WPS? We are looking for substitutes across all grade levels. If you are interested, please see the following application - Substitute Teacher Application
Night Custodian at Robinson and Day Schools Responsible for the custodial services and the supervision of the clean and orderly conditions of the buildings and grounds. Duties are to be completed through knowledge, sound judgment and resourcefulness consistent to the negotiated contract and School Committee policies.
Duties include but are not limited to:
Day to day cleaning of the building.
Cleaning bathrooms, classrooms, gymnasium, cafeteria and administrative offices on a daily basis.
Maintain corridors daily with floor machines.
Report any maintenance issues to the Head Custodian
Ability to lift furniture or heavy equipments
Set up for any and all events as needed for chairs, tables, desks and trash receptacles.
During winter months be available 24 hours / day for snow and/or ice removal, including sand and salt treatments.
All other duties as may be assigned
Substitute Nurses Needed
If you or someone you know is a licensed nurse and would be interested in finding out more about what a substitute school nurse does, please feel free to contact School Nurse Cheryl Carpenter by phone or email: (978) 692-5591 ext. 3655 or ccarpenter@westfordk12.us
If interested in applying to be a nurse sub, please contact Nurse Leader Joan Mitchell at jmitchell@westfordk12.us
LAST NIGHT
Westford Academy’s senior event, LAST NIGHT, is currently looking for more volunteers!
What is Last Night and why should YOU get involved?
Last Night is an all-night event for graduating seniors at Westford Academy, allowing them a night of safe fun after graduation! The event takes an army of 250+ volunteers to run each year and is a great opportunity to volunteer and support the community and specifically the graduating students of Westford!
If your children are elementary aged, this is the PERFECT time to begin volunteering for this incredible culminating event for seniors. This event has been in existence for more than 25 years and will ONLY continue if parents show up to volunteer their time. Parents of graduating seniors cannot attend the event making it the perfect opportunity for parents of younger students to step up and pay it forward.
Do you work during the day and have a difficult time volunteering for school events and book fairs? Last Night runs 10pm-5am Friday to Saturday morning in June. Perfect opportunity for day shift workers! Plan now!
Do you have young children at home and cannot secure babysitters to allow you to volunteer more? Alternate with your significant other or close friend and volunteer at Last Night each year until your children become seniors!
Do you have amazing ideas, traditions, or experiences that you can suggest making Last Night current, engaging and fun for students in 2024?
Bring your ideas, and cultural experiences to our upcoming Meet & Greet info night, or better yet, join our coordinators to help make the senior’s Last Night an event they will never forget! The coordinators meet one hour a month over zoom, making it very easy to participate. Please consider signing up for an open position and/or attending our upcoming meet & greet event to hear the many ways you can get involved.
The Meet & Greet will be held Tuesday, Nov. 14th, 7pm @ Tequila’s in Groton. See details and RSVP HERE.
Our coordinator volunteer sign up is HERE.
Additional info and general/event volunteer signup can be found HERE.
Darba
Diwali & Garba Celebration
The Westford Academy South Asian Student Association (SASA), will be hosting their second annual Darba (Diwali + Garba) celebration on Friday, November 17th from 6:00 - 10:00 pm in the WA Cafeteria. Aiming to promote South Asian culture within the Westford Academy school environment and providing a sense of belonging for all our students, Darba celebrates the holiday of Diwali, the festival of lights, along with a traditional Indian folk dance, Garba. With food, dance, and other activities, we expect another enjoyable and fun night for all!
Darba tickets are on sale now - you can purchase your tickets via Venmo (@wasasa). Please see the flier for more details.
You can follow SASA on social media for news and updates: @westfordacademysasa (Instagram) and https://www.facebook.com/westfordacademysasa (Facebook).
WEstford PRACTICEs
We are the MasterZ, a Westford Student STEAM/Robotics Team that wishes to make an impact on our community!
We want to see YOU Practice!! We were challenged with finding an innovative way to solve a problem related to our passion for musical instruments, so we are teaming with Westford CAT to create a show with students practicing their instrument. This will provide positive reinforcement and improve motivation! Please click here for more information.
Basketball season is almost here!
Westford Youth Basketball Association’s programs are open for registration. Programs available for students in grades K-12th.
Donate any gently used or new books to the Day School lobby.
Recycle Sneakers and Raise Money for Day School
Did you know that in the U.S., roughly 200 million pairs of shoes and sneakers end up in landfills each year?
Did you know that more than 600 million people worldwide don’t even own a pair of shoes?
The GotSneakers recycling organization will help us to recycle our sneakers! We will ONLY accept athletic sneakers and sports related footwear. Ideally, unused and gently used sneakers will raise the most money for our school. But, if you have sneakers with holes, mold/mildew or detached soles, GotSneakers will take them as well. By participating, you’ll help keep sneakers out of landfills while also putting shoes on the feet of people living in the Caribbean, Central America, South America, West Africa, and Europe. Some of the unusable sneakers will even be made into new athletic surfaces! Your old sneakers will make a huge difference; reducing what we throw away and raising money for our school is a win-win!
Please drop off all donations to the box outside near the Day School’s main entrance doors. We encourage you to bring all non-athletic shoes/boots to the drop-off bin in the St. Catherine’s Church parking lot, to Savers in Nashua, or to other local thrift shops for resale. Thanks so much for your support!
ATTENTION: Child Find Obligation
It is the responsibility of Westford Public Schools to identify any child who may have a disability who is either a resident of Westford or who attends a private school within the geographic boundaries of Westford even if the student is not a resident of Westford. This also includes students who are homeschooled.
Westford Public Schools is also responsible for the evaluation of those students to determine if they are eligible for special education or related services under Federal law, IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) or, Massachusetts State Law, 603 CMR 28 (Massachusetts Special Education Regulations).
Westford Public Schools is also committed to identifying children before their third birthday in order to provide early intervention services for three and four year-olds with disabilities. If you have questions or concerns regarding your child's development and would like to have them screened, please contact Gerard Coughlin, Director of Special Education & Social Emotional Learning, at gcoughlin@westfordk12.us
If you suspect that your child may need an evaluation to determine eligibility for special education services, you may request an evaluation, at no cost, through Westford Public Schools, Office of Special Education & Social Emotional Learning.
Please contact us at the following:
Westford Public Schools
Office of Special Education & Social Emotional Learning
23 Depot Street
Westford, MA 01886
gcoughlin@westfordk12.us