Change the Dates...

Grades 3-5 Science Fair

It’s not too late for our students in Grades 3-5 to participate in the Science Fair.  Because of yesterday’s storm the Science Fair has been rescheduled to Tuesday, March 21.  It will be held in the gym from 4-5.  This is a great opportunity for our budding scientists to dig deeper into a topic of interest.

Our young scientists in grades k-2 were eager to share their discoveries, much to the delight of their audience.  

I want to express my gratitude to Wyatt Oswald for organizing and facilitating this wonderful event for our students.  It’s experiences like these that encourage collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking, presentation skills, and most importantly, a love of learning!

Grade 5 Moving On Ceremony

With spring days away I’m hopeful that snow days are behind us.  This year the Moving On Ceremony for fifth grade students will be held on Monday, June 26th, beginning at 6:00 in the gym.

Friendly Reminders

The snow has wreaked havoc with our arrival and dismissal routines.  The DPW and custodians have been working incredibly hard to ensure that our sidewalks and parking lots are clear of snow and ice, but Mother Nature has been especially brutal.  I assure you that we will continue to work to improve the conditions of our school grounds.

To ensure the safety of our students it is more important than ever to follow our morning and afternoon routines.  Please:

• Park in marked spots.  Parking on Bates Road causes our flow of traffic to come to a grinding halt.
• Do not park in the car pick up line.
• Use the Car Pick Up and Drop Off line on Bates Road only.  Accessing the adjacent neighborhood streets jeopardizes the safety of our students who walk to school.

Important Reminders

K-2 Winter Concert

Just a reminder that our K-2 March Concert is this Wednesday at 6pm at the Lincoln Elementary School.  Doors will open at 5:30.  Kindergarten students should meet their teachers in the Lincoln library and first and second grade students should meet their teachers in the Lincoln cafeteria.

Muraco Science Fair

The science fast is fast approaching!  We look forward to seeing our young scientists share their love of science.

Last week during Community Meeting, Mr. Wyatt Oswald, parent of a second and fourth grade students, mesmerized the audience with an explanation of how biologist measure the age of the tree.  Students were asked to estimate the age of a tree in the Fells, and they were eager to hear if their estimate was close.  Many thanks to Wyatt for taking the time to share his passion with our students!

Our celebration of literacy was a smashing success!  The creativity and love of reading was evident as students held their heads high while showing off their literary creations. It was a feast for the eyes.

Thank you for your Donations to Pages From Patrick.  Our donations will make a difference for the many children who access the Freedom School.

Friendly Reminders

• Wednesday, March 8:  K-2 Winter Concert; 6:00 in the Lincoln School auditorium'
• Thursday, March 9: Student Council Meeting at 7:45 in the library.
• Thursday, March 9: Release Day...  All students are dismissed at 11:30.
• Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, March 15-17: Conference Days. All students are dismissed at 11:30.
• March 13:  K-2 Science Fair; 4-5 Muraco gym
• March 14:  3-5 Science Fair; 4-5 Muraco gym

What a Parade!

Mr. Oswald Sharing His Passion!

Hats Off to Literacy!

Guest Reader, Caren Connelly, Sharing Her Love of Reading!

Our Doors Show our Love for Reading!

For the Love of Literacy!

Hats Off to Literacy Day!

On Friday we will be celebrating Dr. Suess' birthday in style! We have "celebrity readers", classroom doors will be decorated, and we will host our second annual Hat Parade at Community Meeting.

We are encouraging ALL members of the community to design a hat that reflects their favorite: character, book, author, genre, scene... Anything is possible! We look forward to a colorful, creative parade on Friday!

Pages From Patrick

Two years ago the Muraco Community led a literacy initiative called Pages From Patrick to honor Patrick Gill, a former Muraco student who died in September 2014.  The summer before he died, Patrick had volunteered in a program called Encounter, where teens from St. Mary’s in Winchester spend one week of the summer in the Washington, DC area in various settings.  

Patrick worked at the Freedom School, which is a literacy program that fosters positive literate experiences for underprivileged families.  In his short visit Patrick made a strong connection to one little boy and came home with the intention of continuing to help his new friend.  It was that friendship that inspired Patrick’s mother, Susan, to reach out to the little boy.

Susan’s act of kindness inspired the Muraco community, and with that Pages From Patrick was born. Because of the generosity of the Winchester community, Susan and Melissa Testa were able to deliver over 30 boxes of books and school supplies to the Freedom School (over 1200 books!) Their visit included some time spent with the staff and children of the Freedom School Program.  They saw first hand how powerful the program was and how helpful these supplies were.  

Other Winchester teens have continued work at the Freedom School.  Last summer, during the Encounter week, the teen on site at the Freedom School shared her connection to Pages From Patrick with the staff.  She learned that the books and supplies delivered in 2015 lasted almost an entire year at the Freedom School!  The staff was sincerely grateful and touched by the generosity of the Winchester Community.

Pages From Patrick is based on a foundation of friendship and a love of literacy.  Both of these values are true to the Muraco Community each and every day. In that spirit, the Muraco Community will once again participate in Pages From Patrick.  There will be several collections from now until the close of school.  The first will be in conjunction with our celebration of literacy on Friday, March 3rd.  This Friday, we are encouraging all members of our community to bring a NEW book to school to kick off this service project.  The Freedom School is in need of NEW books from preschool to young adult.

We appreciate your consideration and are eager to share our love of literacy!

Muraco Students Love to Read!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Day...

For many of our students recess and lunch are the highlights of the day.  It is a time for our students to socialize and participate in activities of their choice.  This is also the time of day with the least amount of structure making it difficult to navigate for many of our students. In an effort to make recess and lunch enjoyable for ALL, students and staff are looking at what is working and what needs to be improved.

Steps taken to reach our goal:

• Use Community Meeting, PE classes, classroom meetings, and Student Council meetings to address issues and to clarify expectations.
• Maintain a sufficient amount of recess equipment.
• Clearly define expectations for play.
• Review best practices for supervising students on the playground and in the lunchroom.
• Ensure that students have their allotted time for play and lunch.
• Begin a staff member led Game of the Day for students who could benefit from a more structured form or play.  We are bringing back the classics!
• Celebrate students who are models of expected behavior.

How can you help?  Please be sure that your children:

• Have the appropriate clothing.  We go out when the temperatures are above 20 degrees.
• When there is snow on the ground, students must have boots and snow pants to access the entire playing area.  If they do not have boots and snow pants, students are limited to playing on the hardtop.
• Leave their sports equipment at home.  We will provide ALL equipment to ensure that all students are safe.
• Remember that recess is all about having FUN, including others, and good sportsmanship.  

As always, we thank you for your partnership!

One of the Snow Days at the Kirby's!

Trashing Negative Thoughts and Words!

Teamwork!  Human Merry-Go-Round

First Grade Scientists!

So Much to Celebrate!

The Patriots' win is not the only reason to celebrate!

Thank you for your many contributions! Our students have participated in many enrichment activities thanks to your generous donations to the Annual Appeal.  All of our students were thoroughly entertained by Li Liu, a most amazing acrobat.  Our kindergarten students loved the puppet show that incorporated song and rhymes; our first grade students had their hands in the clouds (shaving cream) with a visiting scientist; and a scientist from the Discovery Museum made the States of Matter come alive for our second grade students!

Professional Development Day:  Last Thursday teachers had the opportunity to participate in workshops and to collaborate with their colleagues to design lessons.  Some of the topics that were discussed and further explored were: Differentiating Instruction, Executive Functioning, AdHD, Analyzing Data, Integration of Technology, and Best Practices in Literacy and Math.  There is so much talent in Winchester, and we cherish the time that we have to collaborate.

Grades 3-5 Winter Concert: The students delighted their audience with a night of song and dance. Mr. Saraydarian brought out the musicians in all of our students. Next up...Kindergarten - Grade 2 who will be performing on Wednesday, March 8th, at 6:00, in the Lincoln School auditorium. More details will follow.

Young Scientists are learning about States of Matter

K Students Enjoying a Puppet Show

Bingo was Great Fun!

Third Grade Performers getting in the Zone!

Wow!

Muraco Happenings

Save the Dates:

• Bingo Night: This Thursday, January 26th, from 6:00pm-7:00pm
• Release Day: Thursday, February 2
• Grades 3-5 Winter Concert: Thursday, February 2nd, from 6:00pm-6:45pm

Student Council:  The Student Council meets on the second Thursday of each month to plan activities and to share ideas to make our great school greater.  Please check out their blog to learn more.   http://muracowizardswisdom.blogspot.com/

Flannel/Fleece Friday:  The Student Council is hoping that ALL members of our community will come to school on Friday sporting their favorite flannel or fleece attire.

Friendly Reminders

• School begins at 8:30.  I appreciate your efforts to ensure that your children arrive to school on time.
• If you are driving your children to or from school, please use Bates Road.  The adjacent streets, Irving, Tufts...are not meant for arrival or dismissal car traffic.  The additional traffic is making those walking paths unsafe for our students.
• There have been many glass containers that have broken during lunch.  Please do not pack your child’s lunches in glass containers.  It is a safety hazard.  

Fifth Grade Student Leads the Chorus! 

Second Grade Book Tasting!

So Much on the Menu!

Our Muraco Teams are Busy!

Matthew Comenitz- Marlow's Christmas Tree Book Signing

Wednesday, December 7th, at 4:30

Matthew Comenitz, first grade teacher, will read and sign copies of his new book, Marlow's Christmas Tree. Marlow is a mouse who loves Christmas more than anything in the world, but he has never had a Christmas tree of his own. He decides that this year will different, and goes in search of his own Christmas tree, but it's not an easy task for a little mouse! Matthew, who is a 1st grade teacher at Muraco Elementary School in Winchester, originally came up with the idea for his story while living in an apartment in Allston, where he met some of Marlow's real-life kin.

News from the Speech and Language Team

Gabriel Noble and Theresa Aceto-Black have created a website to help you better support your children at home. Their hope is that you be able to easily navigate this site to learn about programs and useful speech and language strategies to help your child access the curriculum.

Below please find the link to the site.  You can also find it on the Muraco School website in the Curriculum tab.  Be sure to check this site  periodically, as new information will be added.

https://sites.google.com/a/winchesterps.org/winchester-speech-and-language-department/

Fourth Grade Students Practicing Mindfulness!

Making their Own Fun While Waiting for the Bus!

Friendly Reminders

• School starts at 8:30.  I am noticing that many students are arriving after the 8:30 bell.  Please help us instill good habits by having your child arrive to school on time.  
• It important that you turn off your car while waiting for your children at dismissal.  There is an idling law that we must follow.  
• All car drop off and pick ups should occur on Bates Road.  Please do not use the adjacent streets.  It is a safety issue, and we want to be respectful of our neighbors.

Your support and cooperation makes all the difference!  I appreciate your efforts.