R. H. Conwell Community News 2/10/2023

Worthington School District
147 Huntington Road
Worthington, MA 01098
413-238-5856
gmorsedobosz@hr-k12.org

Dear Community:

The 100th day of school is planned for Tuesday, February 14th! Hard to believe we are more than halfway through the school year. Make sure to ask your child what they did in class to celebrate the 100th day!

School Choice: The Worthington School District has three school choice openings for the next school year. We have one second grade and two third grade spots available. Families living outside of the town of Worthington can call the school for more information or go to rhconwell.org for a school choice application. All applications are Due April 14, 2023 by 2:00 p.m.

PTO sponsored Valentine’s Dance:
The PTO is hosting a Valentine’s Day Dance on Friday, February 17th beginning at 6:00–8:00 pm. Bring the entire Family and party with DJ Dale Griffith!
Free entry!
Pizza $2.00 per slice Cookies and Drinks $1.00 each
World Famous Chocolate Bars $1.00 each
All proceeds directly support student field trips! Questions? Email worthingtonpto.ma@gmail.com

Pancake Breakfast: We had so much fun at the pancake breakfast! Thank you so much for attending the breakfast to support our 5th and 6th grade students! We raised over $700 for our trip! We had amazing volunteers and donors including adults and children. Special thanks to Ashley Tompkins, Jaime Ricci, Tiger Thomas, and Kate Dahill for running a smooth show in the kitchen. If you couldn’t make it, we will have more events coming up.

World’s Finest Chocolate:  We are currently selling chocolate bars (still have about 2,000 bars) to raise funds for the 5th and 6th graders Nature’s Classroom Trip. There are caramel, dark and milk chocolate, almond, and crisp bars for $1.00 each or $60 for a box! If you are interested in buying some chocolates to support our students please email Lisa at louellet@hr-k12.org or stop by the office!

Used Book Bazaar: The R. H. Conwell PTO will host a Book Bazaar during the week of March 16 and 17th from 9-3 p.m. for students during school hours and will be OPEN to the PUBLIC on Saturday March 18, from 10 am to 4 pm with a Pulled Pork Lunch (sandwich, coleslaw, chips and drink) available for $10.00!!! This will take place in the school cafeteria and all books at the Bazaar will be sold for $2.00.

  • Book Donations Needed! Please consider donating new and gently used books and audiobooks for our preschool through 6th grade students and also family and community members of all ages! Please drop off your donations M-F between the hours of 9-3 at the School’s Main Office.

If you have any questions please email the PTO at worthingtonpto@gmail.com

Summer Program

The After-School Program will be offering a summer program for enrolled R.H. Conwell students grades kindergarten to 6 (This school year’s grades K to 6). The program will run from July 10th to August 3rd, Monday through Thursday from 8:45 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Students accepted into the program will need to commit to attending for the 4 weeks. Program activities will build off of each other each week and consistent attendance is a grant requirement.

Outdoor Adventure and Exploration Camp

Students grades 2 to 6 will go on field trips to fish, swim, canoe, hike, explore the woods and explore the Connecticut River. On the days we are at the school students will work on a project in our wooded area, will learn archery and will participate in fun cooperative and water games.

Nature Explorers Camp

The summer program for grades kindergarten and first will be play based. Students will be going on field trips to the Worthington Library to participate in their summer youth series. Students will also visit area children’s museums and parks to splash, play and explore. On the days students are at the school they will work on a project in our wooded area and students will participate in fun cooperative and water games.

The summer program is free due to the DESE 21st Century Community Learning Center Grant! Registration forms for the summer program will be handed out in student’s school day classrooms the week after February break and will be sent out in “Community News”. If you have any questions please contact Shannon Madden at smadden@hr-k12.org.

Hilltown Community Health Center News: Hilltown Community Health Center (HCHC: www.hchcweb.org) is a nonprofit health care provider with sites in Huntington, Worthington, and Amherst that serves all individuals, regardless of ability to pay. HCHC provides medical, dental, behavioral health, and optometry services. We take seriously our responsibility to identify and address the needs of the community. We are asking people in our community to consider taking a few minutes to fill out our Community Health Needs Assessment. Here is the link for taking the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/chna23. It can be completed in English and Spanish. If you would like to take the survey and speak another language, we will happily make an appointment and provide an interpreter. Please let the school know or email ddistefano@hchcweb.org in your language, including information regarding how to contact you. We will get an interpreter so that you can share with us. We thank you so much for your consideration!

Hilltown Family Center Playgroup: Every Monday at R.H. Conwell beginning at 8:30 for infants and toddlers beginning at 9:45.

Reminders from Nurse’s Office:

  • If your child is going to be absent or tardy, please cc mbreymann@hr-k12.org and louellet@hr-k12.org.
  • Our COVID test expiration dates have been extended again, so contact me if you need any.
  • If you have a health concern about sending your child to school, you may reach Nurse Meg by text at 413-320-8172 or email at mbreymann@hr-K12.org before 7:00 a.m. and until 7p.m.
  • During school hours, Nurse Meg can be reached at 238-5856 extension 1.
  • If you find unfamiliar clothing or ice packs in your home or child’s backpack, please return to the school! We especially need small pants and snow pants.
  • I will be vision screening Grades 1 through 6 next week, so if your child wears glasses, please make sure they bring them to school. Thank you

Upcoming Events:

February 16, 2023: Parent Coffee with Gretchen beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the office

February 16, 2023: PTO meeting beginning at 6:00 p.m.

February 17, 2023: PTO Valentine’s Dance

February 20 – 24, 2023: Winter Vacation Have a wonderful weekend!

Warmly,

Gretchen Morse-Dobosz
Principal/Superintendent, Worthington School District
gmorsedobosz@hr-k12.org