Taylor Made News

Taylor Made News

December 2015

Principal’s Message:

Thank you for all of your generous support at the BIT Auction last month. Thank you to our school coordinators: Taylor Co-Chairs, Gretchen Napoli and Dana Fosella, Business Donation Coordinator, Karen Hollis, Volunteer Coordinator, Selena Cote, Raffle Basket Coordinator, Michelle Rocha and our PTO Board; Michelle Paramoure, Dana Fosella, Jen Hillery, and Michelle Thornton. It was an outstanding night that allows for amazing programming to occur throughout the year and enrich the Taylor School students.

December’s Wacky Wednesday was another great success. Not only did we have great hats but 79 hats and 104 pairs of mittens were donated to the Foxboro Discretionary Fund! Thank you for continuing to be so generous, and providing opportunities for the children to help others.

Each year in December, I like to take this opportunity to remind families to plan properly for safety issues that may be present due to inclement weather, early darkness, and the cold. First, if you have changed any of your emergency contact information (phone, address, work…) you must send the updated information to the school in writing. This will insure we can contact you in the event of an emergency and it will allow you to receive the Connect Ed message during inclement weather. Hopefully you will not receive snow day calls from our Superintendent like last year. Also please speak with your child to review safety issues, such as: what your child should do if they come home and no one is home? Does your child know what to do if they arrive home and the house is empty or no one is home and they are locked outside? Please create/review these plans with your children. In addition with the school vacation approaching it is also important to discuss ice safety with your children. Knowledge is power in keeping our children safe.

As mentioned previously, with darkness occurring just after four o’clock, I want to take this opportunity to remind families about reading together. Children (or adults) shouldn’t always read independently, a great way to foster a love for reading is reading aloud to your child or listening to books together. By reading aloud to your child, you will improve your child’s reading fluency (the rate at which they read, and the accuracy in which they decode) by modeling the proper pace and pronunciation. Reading aloud also improves listening comprehension and allows children to listen to and understand more difficult books than they would read on their own. When reading, try to ask open ended questions rather than literal questions. Questions such as: What do you think will happen next? Which one of these characters would you want to be friends with (or not friends with) and why? How would this story be different if it took place in (change the time or location)? By asking these types of questions you child is more apt to connect with the book and develop a deeper love for reading. You can also take advantage of current technologies and download audiobooks for free from the Boyden Library. Our PTO has just supported the purchase of Playaways, audiobooks on a MP3 player. In January we will have 22 Playaways arriving for our students. Happy Holidays and enjoy the upcoming school vacation.

…Pete Regan…

Notes from the Nurse

Tis the season for many exciting happenings! It is also the season for colds and flu and other respiratory illnesses. Keeping our children and ourselves healthy during this time of year can be a challenge.

Have your children dress for the weather. During the winter our students go outside every day for recess. The exception is extreme cold; 20 degrees or less with or without wind chill and the children will have recess indoors. For outdoor recess the children need a coat, hat, and gloves or mittens. Snow pants and boots are needed when snow is on the ground.

Nutrition is very important is keeping healthy. Starting the day with a nutritious breakfast is a great way to fuel our bodies. Bringing a healthy snack to school keeps our bodies and minds ready for learning. Drinking lots of water during the day keeps our bodies hydrated and cut down on headaches and stuffy noses.

Having the pediatrician administer the flu shot or the nasal mist is an important step in keeping healthy. Though the arm might hurt after the injection, not catching the flu is a good outcome.

Strep is always in the air I say. Children can have Strep for a day or two before any symptoms present and coughing and talking can spread the germs. Strep must be diagnosed with a throat swab; you cannot see Strep as it is a microorganism. Students need to be fever free without medication and taking antibiotics for 24 hours before returning to school.

Colds are a nuisance. Runny noses, coughs, and generally feeling lousy makes all of us uncomfortable. But having a cold does not mean the child must stay home. If your child has a fever above 100.4 degrees, has a productive cough, and is fatigued it is suggested he or she stays home. Rest and hydration work the best to help us feel better when we have a cold.

Having the flu is a miserable time. Fevers, chest hurting, and body aches is not the way to spend a winter’s day. The only true was to diagnose the flu is with a nasal swab. Sometimes the pediatrician will make a diagnosis based on symptoms. Rest, hydration, and medication to reduce the fever and ease the body aches will make you feel better. Antibiotics does not help the flu.

Pneumonia is another common respiratory illness. Like Strep, we can have pneumonia for a few days and not know it. Ideally a chest x-ray should be done to confirm the diagnosis. However the pediatrician can diagnose pneumonia by listening to the lungs and symptomology. Antibiotics might be ordered, but again rest and hydration are the best remedies.

These respiratory illnesses really make a person feel yucky, which is a mother’s and not a nurse’s phrase. With some preventative measures, common sense, and taking the time to fully recover we can help our children feel better and return to learning and playing!

Reading News

The reading teachers would like to send a sincere thank you to all those who helped out with the book fair. It is a tremendous amount of work, but so worth it to make new books available to our students and families. Jen Hillery, Lauren Howe, Susie Taft, Karen Hollis, Lindsay Walford, and Jen Poellinger. These ladies went above and beyond by taking time out of their day to help us and we are extremely grateful.

WACKY WEDNESDAY

Thank you to everyone that contributed to Wacky Wednesday! As a result of your generosity, the Taylor School donated a total of 79 hats and 104 mittens to the Foxborough Discretionary Fund.

News from Guidance

Hello! It’s hard to believe the holiday season is already here! For the past few weeks, our Guidance Lessons have focused on feelings and self-regulation. In Kindergarten, we’ve been busy reading books about feelings, acting out feelings, and identifying feeling faces. Being able to identify feelings is a really important skill that helps students develop self-regulation strategies. In 1st grade, we’ve been focusing on making connections among our feelings, the size of our reactions, and different strategies to use when feeling upset. In 2nd grade, we’ve been reading

books by Julia Cook that teach us all about different feelings we may have in school and appropriate strategies to use in the classroom setting. In 3rd grade, the students just completed Feeling Maps – abstract drawings of specific feelings that represent how big that feeling is to them and what colors and shapes they associate with that feeling. In 4th grade, we’ve been learning all about VIBES – the emotional signals we give off to those around us through our body language and social interaction. In the coming weeks, each grade will continue to explore feelings and a variety of different strategies that help our bodies and brains feel calm and ready to learn.

You can now find information about guidance lessons, available supports, and much more on my new website (to access, go to Taylor School’s homepage and click on the guidance link or go directly to http://taylorschoolcounselor.weebly.com/).

Happy Holidays!

Mrs. Lazur

Wellness News

Allison Johnson (Director of Food Services) and Linda Mealey (Nurse Leader of the Foxborough Public Schools) are seeking parental involvement and would like to have two parents as part of the Wellness Committee.

We will meet several times in the Spring to review the current Wellness Policy.

If you are interested in serving on the committee, please contact either Linda Mealey () or Allison Johnson ().

Thank you!

Lost and Found

Missing an item your child wore to school? Check out this rack online every month. You can come in to retrieve it just inside the front door, or show your child the item in this picture for them to take home. Some other items not pictured are a water bottle and other hats.
Lost and found fills up quickly, so all items are donated to local charity if they are not claimed within a month. So check in every month at http://bit.ly/1Ml4R3a for your lovely clothes before they are gone!

Foxborough Public Schools

B.I.T. Kindergarten Registration

2016-2017 School Year

January 12th - 9:30 am – 3:30 pm

January 13th – 9:30 am – 3:30 pm

January 14th - 9:30 am – 6:00 pm

Please register, during the above hours, at the school your child will attend. If you are not sure which school district you live in, school district street listings are available at www.foxborough.k12.ma.us or you may call any of the schools below for more information.

Burrell Elementary – 16 Morse Street – 508-543-1605

Igo Elementary – 70 Carpenter Street -508-543-1680

Taylor Elementary –196 South Street - 508-543-1607

Children must be five years old on or before August 31, 2016

You will need to bring the following documents to registration in order to register your child:

1.  Copy of Birth certificate

2.  Proof of residency (i.e. current utility bill, mortgage receipt or lease agreement)

In order for your child to attend Kindergarten, he/she must meet the requirements set jointly by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Foxborough Public School Department. A current health record with recent physical and immunizations is needed prior to the first day of school in September.