Willett Whaler - August 23, 2024

August 23, 2024

Dear Willett Families,

We want to welcome all students and families to the 2024-2025 school year. We are very excited to have all of our Willett friends and staff returning and look forward to a wonderful, fun filled year of learning.

We are delighted to share that all of our classrooms are now equipped with air conditioning.

Start Dates:

Grades 1-4 students begin on Tuesday, September 3, 2024.

Kindergarteners at Willett will have orientation on Tuesday September 10, 2024. Last names A-L orientation will be at 10:00-11:00. Last names M-Z will be at 1:00-2:00 pm.

Kindergarten students begin school on Wednesday, September 11, 2024.

We use ASPEN as our student information system. Directions below will allow you access to the name of your child’s classroom teacher.

TO VIEW A STUDENT'S HOMEROOM:

FROM A COMPUTER DESKTOP:

Log into your Aspen account at https://ma-attleboro.myfollett.com (If you do not know your username, or need you password reset, please contact your child's school directly.)
Click the 'Family' top tab
Click the name of the student you wish to view
The student's homeroom number and teacher is listed in the middle column of the 'Details' page.

FROM A MOBILE DEVICE:

Log into your Aspen account at https://ma-attleboro.myfollett.com (If you do not know your username, or need you password reset, please contact your child's school directly.)
Click the Menu button in the top left corner
Select Family
Scroll down to see the Homeroom and Homeroom Teacher field

If you have multiple students, you can change the student by clicking on their name at the top of the list and selecting from the dropdown list.

Arrival and Dismissal

Doors open-arrival at 8:30 a.m.
Doors will close at 8:45 sharp. Please report to main office if arriving past 8:45.
Classes start- 8:45 a.m.
Dismissal is at 3:25 p.m.
Early Dismissal days end at 12:25 p.m.
Breakfast is served 8:30-8:45. Breakfast is free for all students.

Walkers

Walker students will enter and exit through door 9 located near the center of the playground/blacktop area in the back of the school.
There is NO supervision before 8:30am. Please do not leave your child unattended.
Door 9 will be opened at the bell at 8:30 for arrival and 3:25 for dismissal.
Please be on time.

Bus Students

Bus students will be met by staff at the front circle drop off and supervised during loading and unloading.
When bus routes are ready, they will be posted on www.attleboroschools.com.
Please be at your stop at least 10 minutes before the estimated time of pick up/drop off every day. Once three full weeks have gone by, you will have a more realistic, regular time that the bus arrives/drops off at the designated bus stop.
A reminder that the first 2 – 3 weeks of the bus route, times may be off by 5-15 minutes or more as everyone adjusts to more traffic on the roads when school begins as well as those families who take that extra minute to give a good-bye hug or words of positive encouragement.
If your child normally takes the bus but will need to be picked up instead, please notify the classroom teacher in writing.

Car- drop off/pick up

Drop off and pick up using the car line on Riverbank Road only.
Please do not pass another car in the queue, make a u-turn or stop and leave your vehicle.
Parents remain in their vehicle. School personnel will assist your child as needed.
Please have your child exit the vehicle on the crosswalk side only. It is not safe to exit the vehicle on the street side.
If your child uses a booster seat, please have them practice how to unclip themselves once it is their turn to exit the vehicle.
If your child needs helps being clipped into their seatbelt or a booster seat at dismissal, please pull slightly forward to the large tree (about 30 feet) where there is more space for you to pull your car over so that you can help them.
Student name placards will be distributed to Kindergarten families who will be picking up students using the car line. They should be displayed in the front windshield during pick up time at dismissal. They contain the child's name which helps us to dismiss children efficiently.
If your older child (grades 1-4) still has their placard from previous years, please use that one. If you need to have your placard from previous years replaced, please send an email to cbrierly@attleboroschools.com and krebelo@attleboroschools.com

The line looks daunting but we do have an excellent, safe and efficient system for getting students dismissed quickly to their vehicles. Please be patient. The line gets quicker after the first few weeks of school.

Early Dismissal Pickup

If you are picking up your child early for an appointment, please notify the classroom teacher in writing. Please pull in front of the school, park along the curb and ring the bell. Your child will be directed to meet you at the door once you arrive. We ask that all early dismissals are planned for before 3:00 p.m.

Lunch

Lunch is free for all students. A lunch count is taken each day in the morning to ensure the correct number of school lunches are prepared.
We ask that lunches from home are nut free when possible. Safety precautions will be followed if nut products are packed in a lunch.
If your child has any food related allergies, please be sure to directly contact our nurse, Vicky O'Malley, at vomalley@attleboroschools.com or call the school and ask to speak with her.

Snacks

Classrooms will remain nut safe during snack time. All snacks that will be eaten in the classroom must be nut free. A snack should be sent with your child every day. Please be mindful of the packaging difficulty of snacks. We encourage healthy eating for snacks.

Recess

Held outdoors whenever possible.
Indoor recess if the "feels like" temperature drops below 25 degree or there is rain, snow or ice.
Parents should help students choose clothing appropriate for the weather.

Extra Clothes

Please send a seasonally appropriate change of clothes that will stay in your child’s backpack for needed changes that won’t require a visit to the nurse to borrow clothes. This is for ALL grades as occasionally, we will have a child spill something on them in lunch or Art and need a change of clothes in addition to bathroom accidents that may occur

School Technology Devices:

Entering K- No devices will be assigned to individual kindergarteners. No devices will be brought home by K students. There will be devices available inside of the classroom for use at school, as determined by the teacher.
Entering 1- No devices will be assigned to individual first graders. No devices will be brought home by grade 1 students. There will be devices available inside of the classroom for use at school, as determined by the teacher
Entering Grades 2-4- Every grade 2, 3 and 4 student who currently has a device (chromebook), will continue to use that device for school purposes, as determined by the teacher. We ask that you please send it fully charged into school daily. Incoming grade 2 students and other students new to the school in grades 3 or 4, will be assigned a device.

ID Badges:

All children will be issued an ID badge and lanyard early in the school year. The ID will be in your child’s backpack or looped through the strap when they leave school each day. Please work with your child to establish a routine to remember their ID every day. They need their badge for breakfast and lunch, so its very important for them to keep it safe and not lose it. Even when breakfast and lunch is free, students must have their badge as we still need to accurately account for all meals given.

Communication:

Please make sure you go through your child’s backpack on the first day and every day.

Keep checking your email for updates and additional information.

We send out the Willett Whaler newsletter through Apptegy weekly, on Fridays.

Again, we look forward to working together with our students and families to ensure a safe, engaging and productive school year. Please reach out to us with any questions.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Cateon, Principal

Christine Brierly, Assistant Principal

PTO Board Members:

🔹 Kait Nardini, President

🔹 Erica Little, Vice President

🔹 Darcie Schillinger, Treasurer

🔹 Andrea McCaughey, Secretary

🔹 Erin DiBacco, Fundraising Coordinator

🔹 Molly Cornetta, Volunteer Coordinator

🔹 Cindy Kenney, Content Coordinator

🔹 Meghan McHealy, Book Fair Coordinator

🔹 Cindy Selinger, At-large Member

Willett Community Contact Information

📢 Attention Willett Families! 📢

We're excited to announce that the Willett PTO is putting together an all-school directory to help connect parents and caregivers of our students. This directory will be a valuable resource for facilitating communication outside of school.

Additionally, we're aiming to create class-specific parent contact lists. This will make it easier for us to coordinate class-wide projects (like teacher gifts) and potentially organize outings.
If you have multiple children at Willett, please fill out the form once for each child. Don't forget to check the box if you're comfortable with your contact information being shared within the Willett Community. *No information will be shared without consent.

Have questions or need assistance? Feel free to reach out to us at willettptopres@gmail.com.
Thank you for helping us strengthen our community at Willett!