Mathewson Elementary School
PAWprint August 27, 2021
Hello Bulldog Families!
It has been a busy week here at the building. We are pleased to provide the link to the Back to School 2021-22 Webinar that took place on Aug. 24th. Dr. Cutaia and Dr. Fedigan covered a wide range of material connected to our return to school. The video is approximately 1 hour. We believe you will find it helpful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nY3-DT1bbGk
Staff has been busy coming in and setting up our learning environments for your children. This week grade level teams reconnected and refreshed themselves with important information all about the start of our school year for safety and daily practices. Next week staff is in for two days of continued reconnecting and training and then we look forward to welcoming our K-5 Students on Wednesday, September 1st!
Since our last PAWprint we are happy to welcome Ms. Isaac as a new bulldog member to our 5th Grade Team!
We know this is a happy but also nervous time for our families. Please know your children are in great paws with our staff. We look forward to building PAWsitive relationships with you and your children all year. Teacher welcome letters will be sent out beginning today and going into next week so look in your email for their “Welcome to the Classroom”.
Have a PAWsitive weekend and enjoy the remaining days of summer!
Melissa, Currier Principal
From last week’s Print: Important news for RESTART!
At Mathewson Lunch will be served in each classroom as we did last year. Students will be eating lunch in their space 6 ft away from other friends. Snack also will be in rooms and staff will ensure that spacing is appropriate. When weather is nice we hope to have snack outside as well.
Kindergarten Orientations: We look forward to seeing our Kindergarten Families next week. For this orientation we will meet you outside for a brief welcome and information all about Mathewson! Please be sure to attend at the time that corresponds with your child’s teacher assignment: Ms. Rodrigues 1-1:30, Ms. Murphy 1:45-2:15 and Mrs. Conlan 2:30-3 pm. We can’t wait to welcome you!
Arrival and Dismissal Information was mailed. Please keep an eye out for it. The mailing will include overall dismissal information. Additionally, you will find a yellow dismissal form which should be completed and sent in with your child on the first day. Here is a copy of our Arrival/Dismissal Procedures and Hang Tag Process. Please take a moment to review these as traffic patterns and arrival/ dismissal procedures have changed. It is important that you review these practices prior to the first day of school. Additionally in your mailing we have included a pick up tag for student’s families who pick up in cars in the afternoon. Pick up guidelines have been sent to all families in the event that their method of transportation from school changes during the school year.
Students at the elementary school level enjoy a day that is made up of these components: Morning Meeting and Social & Emotional Learning, math, reading, writing, speaking & listening, science, social studies, specials (including art, media, physical education, and music), lunch, and recess. In K-3 students also have Spanish as part of their studies. This year, specials will return to a Monday through Friday rotation. So throughout the week, students will have Art, Media, Music and Physical Education.
Please remember to send in a reusable water bottle with your child. They have access to our water stations and can refill as necessary throughout the day. Students may also get snack/ breakfast and lunch at school or bring their own from home. Please visit our district website for more information from food services.
If your student has a district issued Chromebook, please make sure your student brings it fully charged the first day of school. We will be teaching our students how to access key materials online. Students previously not issued district Chromebooks will be issued devices as needed the first weeks of school. As always, if your family is having trouble with your district issued chrome book, please contact our IT through computerhelpdesk@milforded.org or at 203-783-3446. Resources can also be found on our district MPS ChromeBook Resources page.
Face Covering or Masks are required. Students and staff must wear face coverings or masks that completely cover the nose and mouth while inside the school and on the bus, with exceptions only for those students for whom it is not safe to do so due to medical conditions. Parents are responsible for making sure their child has a mask (or face covering) each day upon arrival to school. Schools will have backup disposable masks available for students who forget them as an emergency practice only. NOTE: Masks with exhalation valves can NOT be used. Mask Breaks will take place periodically during the day.
Additional Back To School information can be found through the district website at www.milforded.org.
We hope that your families enjoy the remaining days of our summer break. As always, if you have any questions after reading the information online, you can email me or call the school at (Add building specific information here)
Looking forward to seeing all our students on Wednesday, September 1st.
If you don’t already follow us on social media please do:
Follow Mathewson School on Twitter @ BePAWsitiveMPS
We appreciate your support and assistance in making Mathewson a great place 
to LIVE--LEARN--BE PAW
Dear Mathewson Families,
My name is Mrs. DiFederico and I am so excited to be your child’s STEM Lab teacher this year. At the elementary level, we lovingly refer to this space as “The Light Bulb Lab!” It is where great thinking happens! You may have heard of me before. I was on the 5th grade team at Mathewson for five years. Last year, I was at JFK, grade 5. This new Lab position opened up and with my love of Science, I knew it would be a great fit for me.
This year I will coordinate the use of the STEM Lab for ALL grade levels,
K - 5. The classroom teachers and I will be co-teaching Science both in and out of the Lab. Grade K - 5 students will be “doing” science en route to acquiring a core body of knowledge, an understanding and appreciation of the nature of Science discovery, and the ability to think and reason scientifically in order to make sense of the world around them.
This will be a great year of learning and exploring together. I am looking forward to meeting and working with all Mathewson students this year. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me: ddifederico@milforded.org.
Sincerely,
Mrs. DiFederico
