10/14/16

Hello Doolittle Families,

Each Friday afternoon right before dismissal, I meet with one bus of students. During these meetings I explain that I want students to enjoy their ride to and from school. I simplify my expectations for bus behavior into 3 brief rules:

1. Be Safe

2. Be Nice

3. Follow the Seating Plan

I ask students to give examples of the first two rules and they always have great suggestions such as; stay seated, keep your hands to yourself, and no bad language.

Then the students and I review the seating plan. 6th grade students get the back seats, then 5th grade and then 4th grade. Students in grades 1, 2 and 3 should be anywhere from the front of the bus to the middle but not in the back.

Finally, I ask the students to tell me about any situations going on during the bus ride that they would like me to address. I ask them not to name names in front of everyone but to let me know what is happening. Then we discuss how to handle these specific situations.

I know the bus ride can be challenging as there are many students and limited supervision. I ask for parents’ help in addressing bus expectations with their children.

If there is ever a problem on your child’s bus, please let me know and I will do my best to address and end the problem.

Picture of the Week:

We have new cafeteria tables which greatly help with setup and clean-up.

They also allow more students to sit together which is socially beneficial.

10/7/16

Hello Doolittle Families,

I’m looking forward to our Trunk or Treat. It was a lot of fun last year.

Volunteers from the PTA are working to make it even better this year.

Trunk or Treat will be on Friday, October 28.

To eliminate the long lines that occurred last year we are staggering times for students to come based on grade level. Siblings are welcome to attend whichever time works better for families.

Grades 1&2: 6-7pm

Grades 3&4: 6:30-7:30pm

Grades 5&6: 7-8pm

Students will begin in the All Purpose Room.

We ask those attending to bring a bag of candy to share.

Next week we are off on Monday for Columbus Day and Wednesday for Yom Kippur.

Picture of the Week:

The Cheshire High School Marching Band performed for us this week!

9/30/16

Hello Doolittle Families,

I can’t believe we are almost into October. Our first month in school has flown by!

Conferences:

In October we have parent conferences scheduled on Wednesday 10/19, Tuesday 10/25 and Thursday 10/27. These are early dismissal days; Doolittle School lets out at 12:40.

Conferences are important! Conferences are an opportunity to ask about your child’s strengths and needs as well as how you can work with the teacher to ensure they are learning as much as they can. Most importantly conferences help create and maintain lines of communication between families and school. Good communication is key in helping students succeed.

Call the office if you have questions or need to set up a time to meet with your child's teacher.

FOOD!

A number of folks have asked for more clarification on our new procedure for maintaining control over what food comes into classrooms.

• No food should enter classrooms unless it is pre-packaged with an ingredient list beginning on Monday, October 17th.
• ALL food means both snacks and food for celebrations.

• There are no restrictions on food eaten in the cafeteria.

• We’ve always had peanut and treenut free classes. How we manage these rooms has not changed and requiring pre-packaged food should make things better!
• Mainly we would like to eliminate homemade food in classrooms (snacks, parties, celebrations, etc.) as we have no way to verify the ingredients
• Fruit and veggies are OK
• If you buy snacks in bulk (big bag of pretzels) and then send in a smaller bag for snack - this is OK but we need the ingredient list the first time. Take a picture and email it to your child’s teacher or Mrs. Zimmitti.
• When parents purchase things from a restaurant (like a pizza) this is OK but we need an ingredient list from the restaurant or assurances that it does not contain peanuts, treenuts or whatever other allergens are a concern in your child’s classroom.
• Let me or Mrs. Zimmitti know if you have questions.
• It is a good idea for room parents to contact Mrs. Zimmitti before any event involving food.
• Safe Snack Guide

Picture of the Week:

A young man who has been away serving our country, stopped in

to surprise his little sisters.

9/23/16

Hello Doolittle Families,

Yesterday we held a Fire Drill at Doolittle School.

Students exit the building quickly and go to their designated areas. Teachers then use Walkie-Talkies to communicate with Office Staff to account for everyone in the building.

In addition to Fire Drills, during the year we practice Lockdown Drills, Secure School Drills and others. Whenever we practice an emergency drill, members of the fire department and police department are on hand to observe the drill and give us feedback. Working with first responders has greatly improved the efficiency and effectiveness of our drills which will help keep us all safe in the event of an emergency.

The Doolittle Safe School Committee meets monthly to discuss our drill procedures as well as other information to continually address safety needs at our school.

If parents ever have concerns, questions or suggestions to improve the safety of our school we are happy to hear them!

Picture of the Week:

Climbing in Gym

9/16/16

Hello Doolittle Families,

Our Open Houses this week were Great!

It was nice to see so many of you.

Establishing a good relationship between teachers and families as well as opening lines of communication is key to students’ success in school.

At the open house I mentioned that due to the number of students in our school with serious food allergies we need to have a tighter control on what food enters classrooms.

Therefore we are beginning a new procedure for food in classes:

Beginning Monday October 17th 2016,

NO FOOD is allowed in classrooms unless it is prepackaged with an ingredient list

• Fruit and veggies are OK
• If parents buy in bulk (ie. big bag of pretzels) and then send in a smaller bag for snack - this is OK but we need the ingredient list the first time.

Due to the switching of Classrooms - ALL 4th and 5th Grade Classrooms need to be nut free.

All food to be shared in classrooms must be checked by Mrs. Zimmitti, our school nurse.

Thank you for your help keeping our school safe for those with serious allergies!

Picture of the Week: 

Recess!

9/9/16

Hello Doolittle Families,

We held our first Town Meeting this morning. Town Meetings are whole-school assemblies where students share learning and important information with one another. Our Town meetings are completely run by students. This opportunity gives them practice with public speaking in front of their peers which is a difficult thing to do.

The number of Doolittle Students with severe food allergies seems to increase each year. To protect our students with food allergies, Doolittle School will begin requiring that all food consumed in the classroom be prepackaged with an ingredient list.

We will begin this new procedure in mid October. More information will be available prior to the start date.

Upcoming Dates:

Tuesday, September 13 @7pm - Open House for Grades 1-3 (except Notaro and Chase)

Thursday, September 15 @7pm - Open House for Grades 4-6 & Notaro and Chase

Dismissal - Dismissal begins at 2:35. Parents may decide whether their child is dismissed as a Bus Rider, Parent Pick-up, or Walker. Be sure your child’s dismissal information is correct in PowerSchool  (Parent portal, After School Transportation Notes)

- Walkers - Students assigned by their parents as walkers are allowed to leave the building on their own at dismissal time. There is NO supervision for them outside of the school building.

- Parent Pick-up - Students assigned by their parents as Parent Pick-up, walk to the gym at dismissal time and wait there for parents. Parents picking up children are asked to please park in the Oak Avenue parking lot or at the end of the Cornwall Avenue driveway and then walk to the gym to sign out their children with the teacher on duty.  ID may be required.

- Bus Riders - Students assigned by their parents as Bus Riders wait in their classrooms at dismissal time until their bus is called. Bus numbers are called as each bus arrives. Students are escorted out out of the building and to their assigned bus in an orderly manner.

- Students attending YMCA aftercare are dismissed from classrooms and go straight to the Doolittle Cafeteria.

If your child’s dismissal plans change for the day, send a note with a signature.  A note will ensure that everyone - teachers, office staff, and dismissal staff - is aware of the change.

Hard at Work

9/2/16

Hello Doolittle Families,

Our first week of school has flown by!

It is amazing how quickly students adapt to new routines and schedules. There is already some great learning and work taking place.

Many thanks to families for entering their updated information, especially dismissal plans, into Power School. This is a big help to our school in many ways.

If you have not entered updated information into PowerSchool - please do so ASAP.

PowerSchool

Below is a link to additional Back to School Documents:

http://www.cheshire.k12.ct.us/district-information/back-to-school-documents

16-17 Cheshire Public Schools Calendar:

http://www.cheshire.k12.ct.us/district-information/school-calendar

Upcoming Dates:

Monday, September 5 - No School Labor Day

Tuesday, September 13 @7pm - Open House for Grades 1-3 (except Notaro)

Thursday, September 15 @7pm - Open House for Grades 4-6 & Notaro

Students learning the lunch routine