March 25, 2020
Dear Saint Paul School Community,

On this Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord we ask Mary, our Mother, to pray for us! 

Today we pray also for our vulnerable populations: God, protect our elderly and those suffering from chronic disease. Provide for the poor, especially the uninsured.

Yesterday’s connection with students over Milk and Cookies was so much fun. I saw almost all of our student body – impressive! Grades 1-8 got the hang of it – everyone mute microphone - unmute when I say their name. A little rocky with the younger students (they were so excited) but still so great to see all of their faces!

The majority of students are missing school but filling their time with schoolwork (I’m told - just enough), playing basketball, puzzles, and board games (lots of varieties of Monopoly). There will be more “Meetings with the Principal” scheduled next week, this time small group by class. 

Yesterday, updated eLearning at Saint Paul School Student Information and Expectations were sent home via RenWeb email for Grades 3, 4-5, and 6-8. We are consistently learning, modifying, and providing clarity to expectations for students and teachers and hope this document is helpful. Please review with your student(s).

I encouraged students to step back from devices, try something NEW, and expand their hobbies and activities. This morning I sent a list of suggestions and also encourage you to try some of the items on the Principal Challenge.

Our “BUDDIES” at Saint Paul School are such an important part of our community. How about writing a note, drawing a picture, or sending a photo via the US Postal Service? Addresses can be found in the Family Portal of our SIS. 

Our teachers have been working hard over the last two weeks to provide you with not only course work but also additional resources for learning and discovery that all in your family can enjoy. We hope you are able to enjoy trying and discovering some of these ideas. Please share with friends and family as well.

Sincerely,
Principal

All SPS Parents are invited to join:
PRINCIPAL COFFEE for PARENTS
Thursday, March 26th @ 10a
New updates will be shared. Please use the following Link/ID /Password to join. 

Join Zoom Meeting

Meeting ID: 563 075 906
Password: 967588
MILK & COOKIES with Principal Fasano
Ms. Fasano's Milk & Cookies
Brin Abate (grade 7) created this delicacy!!
Eoin Skayne (PreK)
Clara Bailey (Grade 4)
Caroline Gudmand
(Grade 4)
DAILY PRAYERS
Our teachers and staff are sharing thoughtful prayers and reflections via our social media sites to start our school days. We look forward to sharing with you and welcome your sharing as well.
A Prayer for Saint Paul School
by Mrs. Woodgate

WEEK 2

Look at us!
We didn’t skip a beat!
Teaching and learning remotely.
Log on to the LMS,
Check those assignments,
Cookies with the principal...
Sure, why don’t we?

Chat on the class wall,
Post your questions,
How do I upload a file?
Eat snacks while we work.
It’s “snack time” all day!
Wrappers, plates, and cups in a pile.

Social distancing
Isolation
Stay at least six feet away
I love my mom
I love my dad
But, we miss our friends during the day!

Fist bumps with Vidhi
Jokes with Nick
A whimsical story from Finn
Ned being courteous
Michael’s bright smile
Ella’s perfect assignment passed in

Owen in his bow tie
Izzi throwing spirals
Mrs. Melcher’s marvelous greetings
Mr W wiping down the tables
Mrs. Breen’s little announcements
Now, we even miss tests and faculty meetings!

Because school isn’t school
Just because we do lessons
Saint Paul School can’t be replicated online
What makes us so special isn’t our curriculum
It’s the love in our hearts, yours and mine.

So we’ll do this for now
As long as we’re told
We know we must keep our minds awake.
But we pray to Jesus, to heal our sick world
Because it’s more than our education at stake.

Feeling connected
Bonding and joking
A wink, a nod, or a smile
It will go back to normal when we get back to school.
This will only last for a while.

Miss you guys! We got this!
Mrs. Woodgate
ONLINE LEARNING
Saint Paul School teachers are creating videos that inspire discovery and creativity for our school community and friends.
OUTDOOR DISCOVERIES
This week, Mrs. Jennifer Lightfoot, 
our Middle School Science Instructor started a bi-weekly video series designed to encourage all SPS students to explore and enjoy their yards and neighborhoods.

Check out her first outdoor adventure! 


STORYTIME WITH MRS. MONTGOMERY

Mrs. Montgomery is happy to share that she is reading a book a day and uploading it to the SPS digital classroom! We'll also be posting many of these on Facebook and Twitter.

Enjoy this break time and some of her favorite stories! Click on the story # below.

ART AT HOME

Mrs. Jackie Bruno inspires us to use our creative talents with items we can find easily in our home.


Mrs. Bruno also wants to share additional art resources:

CREATIVE GALLERY ( on Amazon Prime): An adorable and creative interactive show that follows the adventures of Artie as he travels the galaxy solving problems using art. It also includes a segment with children creating real art inspired by the program.

MAKING IT (on Hulu) ; An exciting and funny reality art show that stars Amy Poehler and NIck Offerman and features a weekly arts and craft challenge with both a simple and more complex project in each episode. Great ideas to maybe try at home.
    

TATE museum online: Tate Kids





For middle & high school age students:
  • BLOWN AWAY (on Netlix) : ..It's a glass blowing weekly challenge.
IDEAS FOR HOME LEARNING
from our School Counselor, Mrs. Donna Brown
COUNSELING RESOURCES
Hi Folks,
I miss you all very much. I have been looking at a number of resources, and I thought you might like to check some of them out. First of all, Ms Rogriguez from Hingham Public Schools shared Social Emotional Choice Board and week two counseling resources. (click on images below to review )

I have also found some fun activities that I wanted to sahre with you:

READING : “ Story Time from Space " which features astronauts reading stories while in space!


ART : Bestselling author/ illustrator Mo Willems is teaching kids how to draw at “ Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems ”

FIELD TRIP! : Lastly, let’s go to the zoo! The San Diego Zoo has live stream web cams of apes, elephants, pandas, and koalas. .

Stay safe and enjoy the opportunities to learn something new.
Donna Brown
School Counselor
Social - Emotional Choice Board
Counseling Resources
MESSAGE FROM PAUL EFFMAN MUSC
I wanted to make sure each student (parent/guardian thereof) had received an invitation to the MusicFirst platform that we will be using to continue our instrumental music program while we are experiencing our present “hiatus” from weekly in-person classes. 

Invitations were just sent out yesterday (3/24/20) via   MusicFirst.com   o r  PEMusic.com .

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding any aspects of this process.

I really hope that everyone will take the opportunity to register and be involved with this process.    

Sincerely,
Andrew Hickman 
IMPRESSIVE SCHOOLWORK
GRADE 1
Charlie Montgomery completing his Grade 1 science journal and observation of “leprechaun hair” grass. 
MIDDLE SCHOOL LANGUAGE ARTS
Mrs. Maggie Clark, our Midlde School Language Arts instructor is conducting LIVE classes via ZOOM every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for our Grade 6 ~8 students.
GRADE 6
GRADE 7
GRADE 8
PRINCIPAL'S CHALLENGE
During this time away from school, it is important for all of us to balance our body and mind. 
Each day Principal Fasano is challenging our students to take a break from their learning and see how many of her favorite childhood activities they can complete!
Below is a Principal Challenge Calendar with activities for all ages - what can you complete these next three weeks?
ADMISSIONS UPDATE

Saint Paul School will continue to process applications, render admissions decisions and respond to any inquiries.

During this time of school closure, tours will be postponed. We will plan to conduct screenings and Imagine Days for all prospective PS – Grade 8 applicants upon our return to school.  

We welcome you to contact us with interest and any inquiries by calling: (781) 749-2407 or email the Director of Enrollment, Jean Schnorr, at  jschnorr@spshingham.org
LEARNING IS FUN!
Keep sharing these great ideas and images of our students and families 
making the most of learning opportunities at home! 
Science Experiments!
Baking!
Woodworking!
For more resources, ideas and school updates from Saint Paul School, watch us on: