Mathewson Elementary School
PAWprint October 8, 2021
Hello Bulldog Families!
It’s been a busy and PAWsitive week here at school! We are all getting excited for the cooler weather and that brisk breeze at recess! October gets us into some deeper dives with learning and more assessing of how we learn best. Teachers will be working with your students on various Literacy Assessments over the next month. Be sure to read this edition of the PAWprint to read about some Spook-tacular Halloween/Fall activities that our school has to offer. We look forward to seeing you soon during conference time. Until then stay PAWsitive and thanks for your ongoing support of all we do!
Please join us for our next Mathewson PTA Meeting which is held virtually using this link. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 12th at 7 pm. Hope to see you online!
Attention 5th Grade Families! We are happy to host a Fall Music Night to celebrate our fifth graders on October 19th @ 5 p.m. Please click here to access the letter about this event. We are so happy to be able to start having some events back on campus.
Conference Time!
We are pleased to announce our Fall 2021 Elementary Virtual Conference Schedule:
Wednesday, October 20 th 1:45-3:45 p.m.
Thursday, October 21st 5:30-8:00 p.m.
Friday, October 22n 1:45-3:45 p.m.
*Please note that we will have a modified early dismissal time on the conference days to accommodate the conference schedule. Students will be dismissed on October 20th, October 21st and October 22nd at 1:15pm.
Our fall conferences will be held virtually and parents/guardians will once again have the opportunity to select a conference time through “My Conference Time”. We are looking forward to meeting with you to discuss your child’s learning! Fall conference sign up information will be live on our school website from Friday, October 8th, at 9:00 a.m. through Monday, October 18th, at 12:00 p.m. Quick tip: Look for emails from “noreply@myconferencetime.com” when searching email for conference confirmation communications.
Please save the date for our Mathewson Fall Family Night on October 27th. See the flyer for this event below. Please help and volunteer at the event. Use this link to find out how you can help out!
We are happy to announce that we are bringing back our Halloween Costume Parade this year! Please scroll further in our PAWprint for all the fun details!
Also a further but also important look ahead is to November 4th which is our Mathewson School Picture Day!
Melissa Currier
Melissa Currier, Principal
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Important Dates, WOOF!
Tuesday, October 19th at 5 p.m. Mathewson Fall Music Night for GRADE 5 ONLY
Tuesday, October 19th at 6:30-7:30 p.m. Back to the Future: Becoming Stronger Together by Alicia Farrell PH.D.: More info is here
October 20, 21, 22 Elementary Parent Teacher Conferences and Early Dismissal at 1:15 p.m.
Wednesday,October 27th Early Dismissal for Students at 1:25 p.m. (Staff Professional Learning Workshops)
Friday, October 29th - Elementary Costume Day
Tuesday, November 2nd- No School for students (Staff Professional Learning Day)
Thursday, November 4th --Mathewson School Picture Day
Wednesday, November 24th- Early Dismissal for Thanksgiving Recess @ 1:25 p.m.
No School Thursday, Nov 25, 2021 and Friday, Nov 26, 2021 for Thanksgiving Recess
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MPS Elementary Costume Day
Friday, October 29, 2021
We are so excited for the return of the annual costume parade. Our goal is to create a school community-building event that is safe, limits contact, minimizes potential exposures, maintains social distancing and celebrates the time of year. Information is provided below to ensure a safe and fun event for all.
Here is the Mathewson Parade Schedule
Time | Grades |
9:00 am | Kindergarten and Grade 4 |
9:45 | Grade 1 and Grade 3 |
10:15 | Grade 2 and Grade 5 |
Families are able to come and view the brief parade portion of Costume Day.
Health screening - A reminder to families that students and spectators must complete a self health assessment checklist the day of the event and remain home if they are experiencing any symptoms. Click here for link.
Social distancing/masking - visitors from separate households must maintain 6 feet of social distance. All visitors must wear face coverings while on property.
Visitors must stay within the designated viewing area and maintain 12 foot distance from students. Cones and tape will be used to mark this distance. For Mathewson we will parade from the back of the school to the front. You can space yourselves along the parade route which will be the soccer field all the way to the Parent Pick Up Door. Lots of great viewing to be had!
We ask that you please do not arrive more than 15 minutes prior to your scheduled time. Parking will be limited, plan for on the street parking
Visitors will not be permitted in the building and cannot give items to students during the parade.
In order to be ready for our next group we ask that all visitors leave as soon as your child’s parade concludes.
In the event of inclement weather, the celebration will be classroom based without visitors.
Student Costumes
Students in grade K and 1 may want to wear their costumes to school. Other students should bring their costumes in a labeled bag.
Once the costume activities conclude, students will be able to remove their costumes to be more comfortable for the remainder of the day.
Children must have a costume appropriate for elementary school aged children. Gory/violent images are not good for our little ones.
No props, toy weapons, costume face masks, or make-up, etc., are allowed.
Students must wear a “covid” face covering in accordance with our pandemic masking protocols. Costume masks are not considered face coverings. (Due to the nature of students stopping and potentially coming within close proximity of other students, this is the safest way to manage this.)
Any family who does not wish their child to participate should contact the teacher in advance so that we may make appropriate arrangements.
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Older News…. But Still Important!
Bus Seating: To further our safety efforts for our learners, our elementary schools, in collaboration with Durham Bus Company are developing a bus seating chart with assigned seats. The goal for each bus-riding student is to minimize the number of students quarantined should an individual on the bus test positive. Over the course of the next week or so, students will be assigned their seats. Buses will have stickers with row numbers above the window to assist in students locating the proper seat. You can help by:
Reminding your child to sit in their assigned seat at all times. Having your child stay in their assigned seat will help support their safety and the safety of others to stay healthy while on the bus.
Having students wear their masks for the entire ride.
These protocols are necessary to mitigate exposure and spread of the COVID virus. Thank you for your cooperation and partnership in this important matter. Our schools will be working diligently to get these seat assignments in place. Please understand there may be a delay as we implement this process of assigned seating on the bus over the next few weeks.
Protocol for Contacting Tracing after school hours and on weekends -
When a school receives notification of a possible positive COVID-19 case there may be times particularly when we are notified after school hours or on weekends, that families will be sent an email indicating that their child is to stay home the next school day and that a school nurse will contact the family to discuss the matter and provide guidance on what happens. We thank you for your cooperation as we continue to navigate through these times together and put safety first.
Attendance :If your child is absent from learning, you must log in and report the absence that day through the PowerSchool Parent Portal.
Teaching and Learning Hub: This week the Teaching and Learning Department shared with the Milford Public Schools Teaching and Learning Community Hub, an online space for our community to access curricular materials and resources as well as a virtual space to access additional information to support our home school partnership. You may access the Milford Public Schools Teaching and Learning Community Hub via this link.
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Meet Our Staff Slides 21-22
(Learn about the caring adults that we have in our building)
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Follow Mathewson School on Twitter @ BePAWsitiveMPS
to LIVE--LEARN--BE PAWSITIVE