April 2021 Newletter

April 2021

Newsletter

April 7th - Early Dismissal, 11:00 a.m.

April 19th - 23rd - Spring Break, No School

Update from Mrs. Lawless, School Nurse

Ticks are found year round on Cape Cod but Spring and Fall are times when they are especially plentiful. Please be extra vigilant about checking your child for ticks every day as students may be spending more time in the outdoor classrooms and in wooded areas at recess.

Children should be taught to seek adult help for tick removal. Improper removal can increase risk of disease transmission. Do not prick, crush, burn or try to smother the tick as it may release infected fluids. Children can be bitten anywhere on their body, but are bitten more often around the head and neck. Inspect again at bath time for ticks you may have missed earlier.

REDUCE CHANCES OF A TICK BITE:

· Avoid tick-infested areas, such as leaf litter under trees. Avoid brushing against

long grasses on edges of paths.

· Wear light-colored long pants and long sleeves so you can easily see any ticks.

· Tuck shirt into pants and tuck pants into socks.

· Use EPA-approved tick repellents and insecticide as directed.

· Do a thorough tick check upon returning inside.

· Remember! Ticks especially nymphs are tiny and may be hard to see.

*Nymphs are the size of a poppy seed.

Contrary to popular belief ticks do not insert their entire head into you, just a long beak with barbs. If the beak breaks off it is no worse than a wood splinter…it will eventually dissolve. For more helpful information on ticks and illnesses they may cause see The Cape Cod Cooperative Extension website

May 12th

6:00 - 6:45 p.m.

Stony Brook will be holding a virtual Kindergarten Orientation for students entering Kindergarten in the fall.

More details to follow

A feasibility study is being conducted in the town of Brewster to look at building space and usage. The Brewster Schools and Town of Brewster are seeking proposals from qualified consultants to evaluate our current space and make an informed decision for our Town. The consultants will be asked to evaluate and consider enrollment trends, capacity, space and quality of space, flexibility, instructional practices, programmatic needs (e.g. special education service delivery), technology infrastructure, and school use. From the results of this study the selected consultant will then create a clear and concise report for the Brewster School Committee and Town of Brewster. This feasibility study is also considering the options around consolidation of the two elementary schools if that becomes a reasonable path moving forward for the Town of Brewster.

News from the Library Media Center

In the month of March our Kindergarten classes have been exploring the rainforest, rainforest animals, and Spring. In technology class students have completed several different activities in Seesaw to categorize, sort, and count animals. They have also listened to a nonfiction book about the rainforest and discussed the different layers of the rainforest and animals that live in each of these layers. This week we began talking about Spring and the students listened to the story When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes. Next week we are looking forward to a Spring Scavenger hunt and using our iPad cameras to photograph items in nature.

Grade 1 has been exploring the Solar System this month. The students have listened to different books and videos about the Earth, Sun, and the Moon. They were recently introduced to a program called Book Creator on their iPads and will be creating their own book using some of their work from the classroom to complete this project.

In grade 1 they have also been focusing on the theme of Kindness. This week students listened to the story The Kindness Quilt by Nancy Elizabeth Wallace and then created their own kindness quilt square. Once all the squares are completed the quilt will be put together and hung on the wall for all to see and share their acts of kindness.

Grade 2 has been working hard to complete a typing lesson each week in Typing Quest Jr. These lessons challenge the students to keep their hands in home row position, to use the screen as their guide, and to focus on their letter accuracy rather than speed. Second graders also continue to enjoy our Coding Unit on code.org and have recently been searching for an animal to research for our spring project. Ask your child which animal they plan to research!